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Protect landowners from the use of deception, fraud, harassment, intimidation, misrepresentation, or threat, in acquiring easements or easement options.

This bill protects South Dakota landowners from deceptive or aggressive tactics when companies try to buy easements (rights to use land for things like pipelines or power lines) by making it illegal for utility or private company employees to use fraud, intimidation, threats, or misrepresentation during negotiations. If a court finds these illegal tactics were used, it can void the easement agreement, return any payment to the company, or award the landowner up to three times the compensation as damages, plus attorney fees. The bill also requires utilities to face additional penalties if they knowingly allowed or participated in such misconduct.

Prohibit the exercise of the right of eminent domain for the construction of certain facilities.

South Dakota will prohibit companies from using eminent domain to build pipelines that transport carbon dioxide or hydrogen, even if they obtain other required permits and approvals. The bill also clarifies that utility companies using eminent domain for transmission lines are not automatically granted federal eminent domain rights. This removes eminent domain authority specifically for carbon dioxide and hydrogen pipelines while preserving it for other types of pipelines and transmission lines.