Carroll residents have expressed varying degrees of concern and frustration with a proposed power line that would cut through the county.
The developers of the $424 million Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project may invoke eminent domain to seize private property to install 70 miles of new transmission lines through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties. Eminent domain was among the top concerns for those who attended one of two public information sessions in Westminster July 11.
PJM, the Regional Transmission Organization responsible for operating power systems that provide energy for all of Maryland, has contracted with the Public Service Enterprise Group to complete the project, with a proposed date of operation in June 2027. Baltimore Gas & Electric is among PJM’s member companies.
The proposed route would cut through King’s Tree Farm, said owner Jeremy Myers, 48, of Hampstead.
“I’m one of the larger in our area that are affected,” Myers said, “but a lot of farmers would be affected.”
The 320-acre evergreen and deciduous tree farm in the eastern part of Hampstead was established in 1968 and has grown since being purchased by the Myers family in 1993, according to the farm’s website.
“I love what I do for a living,” Myers said. “My kids love what I do for a living. I’m going to lose that business and lose their futures.”
The project’s route would cut directly through the middle of Myers’ property, through space the business uses as a centralized loading area for trucks carrying outgoing products, Myers said. The land is home to five farms, four of which would be impacted.
“The hub, logistically, of my business would be totally destroyed,” Myers said. “How am I going to get the product back there when this comes right down the middle?”
Myers said no representative of the Public Service Enterprise Group has reached out to him yet to begin a dialogue about his property and its value.
Jason Kalwa, who manages the energy project for PSEG, said the company is in the early stages of hearing public feedback and has yet to file for a single permit.
“One thing I want to be clear on is that this is really just the first step in the process,” Kalwa said at the Westminster session. “This is not the end of getting public feedback, it’s the very first step in getting that public feedback, and [we’re] really excited to see the folks here. Ultimately, we’re looking for feedback on the alternative routes.”
Project faces growing opposition
Several online groups and organizations have accumulated thousands of new members since the informational sessions. A change.org petition to stop the project had more than 5,500 signatures as of Friday . The social media group STOP MPRP has over 8,000 members, while Marylanders Against Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project on Facebook includes more than 3,000 people. STOP MPRP has also sponsored the sale of T-shirts and yard signs.
Wakefield Valley Citizens to Protect Farmland Coalition against the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project reached nearly 1,000 new members during the info sessions, according to spokesperson Jenny Teeter. The group encourages members to email the public service commission and spread the word about the project.
Danielle Konstandinidis, 45, of Mount Airy, said she attended one of the information sessions to express her opposition to the project, clad in a shirt that said, “Stop the powerline projects!! Save our Farms,” and, “Fields Feed Families, NOT power grids! NO Eminent Domain for Corporate Gain.”
“One of the proposals is actually running directly through my house,” Konstandinidis said. “That is very unsettling as a homeowner with a family, to think that that could be taken from you, whether you like it or not, is something that’s just not OK.”
Konstandinidis added that she learned more about the project from the news than from the info session.
Beth Bowman, 68, who lives just west of Union Bridge, said she opposes the project, which would cut through her neighbor’s property.
“We’ve got a view of the mountains,” Bowman said. “It would go right through that view, and who’s going to get compensated for that? How can you compensate for that? It’s got to hurt your property values. Even if it’s not on your property, it’s going to hurt your property values. Nobody wants to live next to that.”
“Nobody wants to look at towers in their backyard,” said George Koenig, who lives just west of New Windsor, ” and nobody wants to deal with the steady humming of a major transmission line.”
Koenig, Bowman and Myers each expressed health concerns regarding the project.
The 500,000-volt transmission line would generate a low-frequency electromagnetic field, but, “no adverse health effects from low level, long-term exposure to radiofrequency or power frequency fields have been confirmed,” according to the World Health Organization. Electromagnetic fields may produce a heating effect in biological organisms.
Koenig said the event was as informative as it could be considering that PSEG staff were “inundated” amid the high turnout. But his biggest takeaway was the response from community members.
“I think that the one good thing for me, personally, is that there’s a lot of folks in this county that care about where they live and their neighbors,” Koenig said, “and that made me feel good.”
Taneytown Mayor Chris Miller said the project’s impact on his city would be minimal, but that he showed up at the session to support other county residents, and to stay informed.
Concerns about farmland
Carroll County should not shoulder the brunt of energy needs elsewhere, Miller said, and the threat of eminent domain has energized the community against the project.
“One of the main concerns is destruction of agricultural land,” Miller said. “I think [that is] gonna be at the top of a lot of people’s lists. And a lot of people know each other. This is neighbors, this is in our backyard, essentially, and we don’t really see the benefit from it here in the county. It would be a little different if it brought jobs or if it actually brought something to our county.”
Myers said the project should upgrade existing electrical infrastructure, rather than cut through his farm.
“I’m pro-innovation, pro-technology,” Myers said, “and this, to me, seems like we’re going back to 1950s land grab, destroy businesses, destroying homes, landscapes, forests, between farms, to continue the line. It doesn’t make an ounce of sense to me.”
Koenig said he encourages anyone to visit northern, rural parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties, so they can see for themselves what natural beauty is at stake.
Commissioner Joe Vigliotti said it would be “disrespectful” to take someone’s property using eminent domain.
The Board of County Commissioners stated its opposition to the project in a news release, after the July 11 public information sessions in Westminster. “Our priority is to mitigate any adverse impact this plan could have on the county’s citizens, community and land,” Board President Kenneth Kiler said in the release.
State Sens. Justin Ready and Christ West, as well as Dels. Christopher Bouchat, April Rose, Josh Stonko and Chris Tomlinson, who represent Carroll County in the General Assembly, “stand firmly opposed to the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project,” according to a letter distributed to meeting attendees.
“I keep telling everyone to email the governor’s office,” Bouchat said. “This can be a political issue.”
The Maryland Public Service Commission, a five-member board appointed to five-year terms by Maryland’s governor, must first approve the project. Public input is part of the process, according to a news release from the commission on Friday, and although PSEG has not yet submitted an application, interested parties may reach the commission by email: [email protected]
