The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling earlier this month that gave the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) access to hundreds of private properties along the route of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP).
The MPRP is a controversial proposed 70-mile powerline that would cut a 150-foot wide swath across Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties. This includes more than 400 individual properties and hundreds of acres of farmland, old growth forest, wetland, and land in preservation.
The developer argues the power line is needed to prevent an approaching power crisis, and warns of rolling black and brownouts in the years to come. Opponents say the project is little more than a state-sized extension cable for Northern Virginia data centers.
