Opposition Growing In Frederick County To Proposed Transmission Line

Affected property owners are upset they could lose their lands to make way for the project.County Councilman Steve McKay  (Photo from Frederick County Government website)Frederick, Md (KM) There’s growing opposition to the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. That’s a nearly 70-mile long  transmission line which is expected to run through northern Baltimore County, Carroll County and southern Frederick County.County Councilman Steve McKay spoke about that recently on WFMD’s “Morning News Express.” “This is all being done to feed the northern  Virginia data center alley,” he says. “Will Frederick County benefit from it? For sure. Will the Quantum Loophole project benefit from it eventually? Yeah, but that’s not why it’s being done. The reason it’s  being done is the need for power for the data centers in northern Virginia,” he says.The developer of the project, the Public Service Enterprise Group, says it was awarded a contract by PJM, which manages the electric grid in this region, to build the line. It says the line will meet the growing electricity need in the region.Councilman McKay says this line will have an adverse affect on Frederick County. “This is actually going to impact Frederick County significantly. It’s going to Carroll County. It’s going all the way to Baltimore County. It’s gong through people’s property. It’s taking people’s property from them. And it’s devaluing their property,” says McKay.McKay says PSEG has said it will use eminent domain in order to obtain the property needed for the line; and it will be more than just  a power line traveling over someone’s property. “It’s the footprint, the tower could be on your land. The path of the line could be over your land. And when that happens, that changes what you can do with your land. There are things that you can just no longer do We have power lines that could go over tree farms. They can’t grow those trees under those lines anymore,” says McKay.He says PSEC could have used existing rights of way to deliver that power. :”I recognize we do need the power at times. My biggest concern is that they haven’t done nearly enough to really exhaust the existing rights-of-way. that goes through those areas, and can they do more with them,” sys McKay.PSEC has held public information briefings in Frederick,  Carroll and Baltimore Counties to present its project. The company has not yet  applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission regarding this project. The PSC would have the final say on whether to authorize this power line.McKay says right now, this 500-kilovolt transmission line is in the hands of the state. “We don’t have the authority to say yes or no. But that doesn’t mean we won’t any influence over it,” says McKay.But there  is some hope. “Recently, you saw the Carroll County Board of County Commissioners came up with a really, really powerful statement in opposition. I really appreciated what they said. I think we should do the same here in Frederick.” he says.A forum on this project is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31st at LInganore High School from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.By Kevin McManus