BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. — A Bullitt County judge has made a decision in the case between LG&E and Bernheim before finally deciding the fate of the beloved forest.
This comes after two days in the courtroom, LG&E claiming thousands of customers in Bullitt County are at risk of losing service and hundreds more have been denied because the current system can't support them.
LG&E argues the company can condemn the northern part of Bernheim's property through eminent domain to build a natural gas pipeline.
Meanwhile, Bernheim leaders are fighting to hold onto the land, saying an agreement made with the state in 2018 protects the forest from development.
Local conservationists packed the courtroom on Tuesday to make their voices heard, some wearing shirts reading, "Save Bernheim now, Stop the LG&E pipeline and the climate crisis."
Maggie Hettinger, who lives close to Bernheim Forest, told WHAS11 on the first day of the trial she worries about the precedent set if the judge rules in LG&E's favor.
"If it's broken here, it can be broken anywhere, and our whole chain of conservation and wildlife movement really is focused on this place. It's a big deal," she said.
The judge is now giving both sides two weeks to provide written documents laying out final arguments before making his decision in the case.
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