The Baltimore County Council is poised to pass a resolution opposing a proposed $424 million, 70-mile energy transmission line.
The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would cut through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties.
All seven members of the council voiced support for the resolution during a public hearing Tuesday.
“We are talking about one line today, but there are many that are coming in the future,” said Republican Councilman Wade Kach, who represents the rural northern part of Baltimore County.
Kach and others warned that the project threatens farms, wetlands, and the Prettyboy Reservoir.
“Water that hundreds of thousands of people drink will be dirtier, as will the bay,” said Renée Hamidi, the executive director of the Valleys Planning Council. “Thousands of trees that clean our air and mitigate climate change will be cut down. Farmland will be lost. Wetlands will be eliminated.”
The County Council, which is expected to vote on the resolution October 21, has no say in the final decision. That is up to the Maryland Public Service Commission.
PSEG, a New Jersey-based company won the contract to build the line from PJM, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity through 13 states, including Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Officials say the need for the transmission line is being fueled in part by the demand for data centers.
Since residents and local officials caught wind of the plan this summer, opponents have packed public hearings in the three counties. The Facebook group STOP MPRP Community Group has more than 10,000 members.
Opponents warned about the threat of land being seized through eminent domain.
Republican Councilman Todd Crandell said Tuesday night that this is not a simple case of “Nimbyism.”
“This is not ‘not in my backyard,’ this is ‘do not affect my personal property rights granted to me by the constitution,” Crandell said.
Michael Powers, who lives in Middle River, and is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 70, told the County Council that the project would be built responsibly and would mean hundreds of good paying jobs.
“As we move towards electrification, including the adaptation of electrical vehicles, tankless water heaters and other technologies, our energy infrastructure must evolve to meet the rising demand,” Powers said.
Otherwise, he said, “We will be facing rolling blackouts, brownouts. There will need to be a solution, if not this solution, the next one.”
PSEG is expected to announce soon the specific route the power lines would take if the project is approved.
In a statement Tuesday night after the County Council meeting Erica Palmisano, the Acting Communications Director for County Executive Johnny Olszewski said, “Our administration has consistently expressed concerns about the need, execution and timeline for the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. We have also shared our reservations about its potential impact on preserved properties in Baltimore County and the lack of information provided on how to avoid these impacts.”