Over the last two weeks, I have received a number of messages from Marylanders about a proposed transmission line project that would run through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. Residents were blindsided by the way the project has been rushed through without transparency as they learn of the devastating impact for their homes, farms and communities.
While it is critical that projects which go through the necessary process to secure community support should not be weighed down by red tape, it is clear that this standard has not been met in this instance. The New Jersey-based utility Public Service Enterprise Group’s plan to destroy a swath of land 70 miles long is a non-starter for the community and local elected officials — who were also blindsided.
The so-called Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would destroy environmentally sensitive land as well as some of the most productive farmland in Maryland. Clear-cutting our viewshed, slicing up prime agricultural lands and disturbing the water resources of an entire region should give us all pause and concern.
The process of attempting to rush this proposal through without a thorough dialogue with local officials or residents does a complete disservice to the community. Far from any kind of thoughtful process, “information sessions” were held on only one day in each of the affected counties. In addition to not prioritizing the input of the community, PSEG has blatantly threatened concerned landowners with eminent domain.
Given the lack of transparency and the impact on productive farmland and environmentally sensitive land, the Maryland Public Service Commission should reject this plan, or at the very least put it on hold indefinitely pending further community input. There is nothing “reliable” about a project where the community is cut out of the process.
I stand with the citizens and elected officials who have expressed their outrage about this project. Maryland deserves better.
Larry Hogan ([email protected]) was the 62nd governor of Maryland and is the state’s Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin.
