The developer behind a large transmission line that has become a lightning rod across rural Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties plans to seek court permission to survey properties after being denied access by landowners along its proposed route for months.
The step, announced Wednesday by Public Services Enterprises Group, comes as the company’s Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project has sparked an uproar in Central and Western Maryland, uniting landowners and environmentalists in opposition. The region’s electric grid operator, though, has said the approximately 70-mile transmission line is a critical upgrade as the region faces ballooning energy demand.
PSEG applied for a project permit from the Public Service Commission in December, but to proceed with this process Maryland regulators require the company to complete environmental surveys. The majority of landowners PSEG has approached have either denied access or not responded, according to a company fact sheet.
As a result, PSEG’s project director, Jason Kalwa, said the company plans to ask a judge next week to grant temporary access to 90 properties. If PSEG is still unable to negotiate access after that, the company will seek court permission for more properties, Kalwa said.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Adam Willis over at The Baltimore Banner
