Transmission Newsletter # 6
October 16, 2024
Baltimore County Council and Coalitions
Feedback from the County Council will be critical to the MD Public Service
Commission’s evaluation of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. Frederick
and Carroll County leaders weighed in early with their opposition to MPRP. We
thank Councilman Wade Kach for his leadership and his fellow Councilman for their support for Resolution 45-24. The resolution states Baltimore County Council’s firm opposition to the project and calls for the MD PSC to reject the MPRP.
PLEASE help ensure a positive outcome in the Council vote by writing ALL the
Councilmen in support of Resolution 45-24, Your email can be succinct and to
the point if that is easiest – but you are always welcome to add your story.
Timing for these letters is NOW!
Pat Young: Council1@baltimorecountymd.gov
Izzy Patoka: Council2@baltimorecountymd.gov
Julian E. Jones: Council3@baltimorecountymd.gov
David Marks: Council5@baltimorecountymd.gov
Mark Ertel: Council6@baltimorecountymd.gov
Todd Crandall: Council7@baltimorecountymd.gov
If you have friends living in other parts of the County, please pass this on and ask
them to write to thank the Council for their support on favor of Resolution 45-24.
NEWS ALERT – PSEG plans to contact landowners whose properties are
immediately affected by the preferred path of the lines – later this week. If you
receive a letter, know you have no obligation to engage unless and until PSEG
were to receive approval from the PSC – at least a year away. IF they ask for
access to a property to survey or check conditions, ask for irrefutable proof that
they are a utility authorized by FERC. At this point we understand they are simply
an LLC. Harford County had court cases surrounding this very issue. Also, please
contact LPT at office@thelandpreservationtrust.org or STOP MPRP, Inc on their Facebook page so that the preferred path can be gleaned at the earliest possible moment. My telephone number is 443.799.7428.
COALITIONS - Definition An alliance or a combined action. The process of bringing together different groups to work together toward a common goal.
No better a cause: The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project
Conservation Coalition
Coordinating together since September, a group of nine conservation groups have
been sharing ideas and project management. Meeting by zoom every other week,
representatives from The Valley Planning Council, Sparks Glencoe Community
Planning Council, The North County Alliance, Gunpowder River Keeper and The
Gunpowder Conservancy, The Manor Conservancy, and The Land Preservation Trust share what each group has accomplished and seek to find common ground for the future. The group welcomes The Catoctin Land Trust and The Carroll County Land Trust from Frederick and Carroll Counties respectively.
Example of how coalitions work:
The Frederick and Carroll CountyGovernments announced their opposition to MPRP early. Baltimore County Council opinion will be critical to the PSC decision making process. Over several weeks Council members read stories, studied maps, and learned facts about environmental degradation and loss of forest cover. Valleys Planning Council and Sparks Glencoe Community Association led the conservation coalition effort, presenting in person on October 7. STOP MPRP, Inc.representatives presented to the Council a week earlier. The combined appeals and your voice have resulted in Resolution 45-24. Good work.
STOP MPRP, INC. – Many thousand’s strong with daily news reports and outreach,
STOP MPRP, Inc is a grass roots 501c4 organization, built from the ground up and
created for the purpose of challenging the MPRP project. While influence initially
focused on Baltimore County, STOP membership cuts a wide swath across Carroll
and Frederick Counties as others find strength in numbers. Because STOP and the
Conservation coalition each have several shared goals, the two organizations can
be very effective in their separate approaches. When the Senate and Congress
staffers hear from several groups with related messages – they are far more likely
to listen. The message does not need to be the same – the Federal delegates hear
the unifying message that MPRP must be stopped as proposed.
Example of how coalitions work:
The Land Preservation Trust and STOP MPRP have each been active in Washington and Annapolis, reaching out to Federal and Maryland elected officials in efforts to help them better understand the project’s impacts to the region. Our contacts in Washington asked if there were other groups with similar goals. We were able to contact our conservation partners and Forever Maryland who quickly wrote and made calls. It got the job done with two powerful letters from Senator Cardin. We are confident STOP MPRP’s recent impactful swing through Washington’s Senate and Congressional offices will add significantly to this promising news.
Forever Maryland – If you have not read the Forever Maryland Letter with
its 25 signatures from conservation leaders throughout the State, then please do.
Forever Maryland, an association representing Maryland Land Trusts, aptly lays
out the case for Conservation with details of why High Voltage Transmission Lines
should not be permitted to be built on conserved land and productive farms. It’s a
question of public trust. The State and Counties and individuals committed
millions to preservation throughout the State and nowhere more so than in The
Piney Run Rural Legacy Area. The Gunpowder Rural Legacy and Carroll County RLA
are just to the East and the West of the Piney Run. The easements were approved as perpetual and must stay that way. Anything else constitutes a violation of the easements.
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Farming Groups – The Maryland Farm Bureau, The Baltimore County Agricultural Advisory Board, and a newly formed Upperco Trenton Area Preservation Alliance –
have all spoken out in opposition to MPRP. The project manager, PSEG, is
persistent in stating the power lines and farming are compatible enterprises.
Today’s row crop farmers use enormous equipment which are not designed to weave to and fro between large obstacles. Drones are increasingly being used for seeding and applications for weeds and pests. Drones are not permitted near power lines. Small farms fare no better. Agritourism is incompatible with power line views; organic practices are incompatible with weed management applied by utilities. The list goes on. Simply put, the power lines will add to the cost of production tearing into the farmers’ already slim margins. Add to this the many MALPF, County, and DNR easements on prime
soils and the implication is manifold.
Would it make sense for these various groups to coalesce into a single strong
voice? For now, the messages are related and have a common goal. Think of us as
oarsmen in a shell, each playing our part to drive the boat to the finish. However,
if or when this project reaches the Public Service Commission (PSC) possibly the
time spent building coalitions will prove a blessing. It could be there will need to
be one combined Intervenor at the PSC, or it may prove more effective to have
several, with each taking its most appropriate role related to its purpose and goal.
You can be assured that the various coalitions will meet, weigh the options and
make a decision which is best for the cause.
Thank you for writing to the Council, for watching the mail, and for your unending
support.
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My best,
Victoria C. Collins