by Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

July 12, 2024

A predominantly Black neighborhood in Hancock County has a second chance to stop a railroad company from forcibly taking land to build a rail line extension that is being presented by owners as a major economic boost for the area.

The Georgia Public Service Commission has scheduled an Aug. 6 hearing as it considers an appeal filed by a group of Hancock County property owners who are seeking to overturn a recent ruling that permitted the Sandersville Railroad Co. to acquire land through condemnation.

Company officials said exercising eminent domain is the last resort after landowners refused to negotiate deals for their land. According to the company’s plans, property owners will not be required to relocate their homes and will be able to access pastures and other areas for hunting and fishing without restriction.

The eminent domain law authorizes governments to seize land for public use for the purpose of building new roads, utilities, and other infrastructure. 

The Sandersville Railroad Co. plans to construct the 4.5-mile Hanson Spur rail line that connects the Hanson Quarries with the CSX Transportation rail line that runs along Ga. Highway 16. Local manufacturers would use the short train track to deliver granite, liquid asphalt, paper-quality wood chips and various other materials to Savannah, Macon and other cities.

The PSC hearing next month is the latest in a case involving the railroad company, Hancock County neighbors and an intervening group of community members dubbed the No Railroad In Our Community Coalition. The Sparta property owners who refused to sell any of the land have expressed their defiance being forced to give up land in some cases has been handed down from prior generations. 

Thomas Bond, a hearing officer for the commission, ruled in April that the railroad company’s plans to build the line serves a public interest and meets the legal standards for condemning property.

In a June 6 letter, Sandersville Railroad attorney L. Craig Dowdy accused the attorneys representing the 18 Hancock County property owners of attempting to intentionally delay the appeal process.   

The No Railroad parties are assisted by the Southern Poverty Law Center, while the property owners are represented by the nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice.

“Opponents have acted in lockstep to oppose Sandersville’s Petition for Commission authority to acquire real estate by condemnation,” Dowdy wrote. “Through their collective team of at least 10 attorneys, they have sought to obfuscate the facts and requirements of the statute and have made it clear that they desire to appeal to the highest courts any Commission decision with which they do not agree. The Commission should reject this strategy and proceed in the usual order.”

The five-member PSC, established in 1874 as the Railroad Commission of Georgia, will now decide the appeal. The commission’s name changed as it expanded its responsibilities to regulate natural gas, telecommunications, and electric utilities.

Sparta neighborhood residents say they are worried about the level of noise from trains traveling the line, potential property damage and the further expansion of the noisy and dirty rock quarry. 

This project will require the company to acquire about a 200-foot-wide right of way for a track line that will be built about 1,000 feet away from the majority of homes and a couple hundred feet away from several houses near the quarry. According to the company, 130-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall berms will be built to buffer the noise of the trains.

According to the Sparta neighbors’ attorneys, Sandersville failed to meet the burden under Georgia statute to justify taking the land for business purposes. Furthermore, they claim that the initial PSC ruling ignores the substantial evidence showing that the project benefits only private interests and is not economically feasible.  

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a government taking of private property to facilitate a private development for economic growth can be considered a public use.

“Although the commission does not have jurisdiction to hear and decide federal statutory claims, race is not a new argument in these proceedings,” the SPLC’s June 20 brief states. “The (No Railroad Coalition) has continuously highlighted that the privately owned Sandersville Railroad Company intends to condemn and take land in a predominantly Black county.” 

The Sandersville Railroad is closely held by the family of president Benjamin Tarbutton III, a former chairman of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and former co-chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Tarbutton’s grandfather bought the railroad company in 1916 and is credited with using it to spur economic growth that included the construction of three kaolin clay plants by the 1950s. 

The Black Sparta neighbors have become a symbol for property owners’ rights in their fight against Sandersville Railroad, which is promoting the Hanson Spur line and rock quarry expansion as major financial investments for the region. Hancock is one of the poorest counties in Georgia, with nearly a third of the population living below the federal poverty level.

During the construction of the proposed new spur, Sandersville Railroad officials said it plans to employ around 20 temporary workers and that the project will create a dozen permanent jobs with salaries and benefits averaging $90,000.

“The Hanson Spur, along with the future expansion of the Hanson Quarry, will be the single largest private investment in Hancock County history, bringing more jobs, new opportunities and added tax revenue to the area,” Sandersville Railroad says on the project’s website. “Most importantly, it will create a brighter future for local residents.”

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