Eminent domain is and has been affecting and afflicting farmers and homesteaders throughout the United States for some time now. What exactly is Eminent Domain? The definition is as follows: The right of a Government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. Eminent Domain: Affecting And Afflicting Homesteaders For the longest time, eminent domain was used when the city or state was going to build a new road or expand the highway. This allowed the government and the associates affiliated with the job the access and entitlement to access other people’s property in order to do the job or task at hand. In a majority of issues from the past, the use of eminent domain was strictly to be used when a majority of the people in the area AGREE to allow the access to their property with only a few citizens refusing. Things have since changed in a big way. | More and more For-profit companies and agencies are gaining access to the use of eminent domain. For-profit corporations such as fracking, mining, and oil companies. Some of them are being allowed access to this Governmental power in order to take the land or access it from their owners regardless of any objection. Of course, they will send out checks as compensation to the owners but it is a power play. They gain the access to the property whether or not the check is cashed. The use of eminent domain has many farmers, homesteaders, and survivalists on the edge of their seat. It is being used for almost everything now, building highways, gas and oil pipelines, fracking set-ups, strip malls, you name it they are using it. In cases of the pipelines and fracking stations, there is a major risk of the farmland becoming contaminated with chemicals or an oil leak. The Effects & Afflictions 18,000 gallons of crude oil spilled onto an Oklahoma farmers land. Kingfisher County resident Steve Pope a cattle rancher and his family are devastated by this accident. That is almost 120 acres of good land that is now ruined. Luckily for Pope, there were no cattle on that part of the land yet and now there’s no telling how long it will be before it is safe to let them roam that area. Steve Pope also grows crops of wheat on his land as well. There is a creek not far from the land that he and his wife are concerned may be contaminated when the rain washes the oil down. Back in 2013, a farmer in North Dakota had to report an oil spill on his wheat farm. Somewhere around 20,000 barrels of Bakken oil flooded his farm fields. He will not be able to farm anything on that land for a few years to come and even then he will have to get the soil tested and be cautious. If you take the time to look into it, you will find many more cases such as these. Homesteaders, Farmers, and survivalist are left in the muck while big oil and fracking just keep raking in big bucks. Rhett Creative shows an illustration on what is eminent domain: Survivalist should be concerned, furthermore, we should all be looking into ways to safeguard ourselves and our land. Without clean air, land, and water all of life will suffer. Eminent domain was once used with good intentions to better communities in mind. Unfortunately, it has become nothing more than a gateway of greed. Protect your air, protect your water, protect your land, and defend your rights. Without a healthy Earth, no one will survive if TSHTF. Know your rights! Did you find this list helpful and interesting? Let us know in the comments below. Learn how to buy a property for homesteading! Follow us on facebook, instagram, pinterest, and twitter! Feature image via Flickr