The Public Service Enterprise Group made a filing in federal court Wednesday seeking court orders to access and survey properties on the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project path, according to Marijke Shugrue, a spokesperson for the company.

PSEG was contracted by PJM, the organization responsible for operating and planning Maryland’s electric grid, to build a 70-mile power line that would run through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties. The $424 million project is projected to be operational by June 1, 2027, but PSEG must complete environmental surveys before the project can begin.

The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project will help maintain power grid reliability, increase the supply of electricity in Maryland, and reduce the cost of power, project director Jason Kalwa said in a news release. Because Maryland imports 40% of the energy it uses, a new transmission line is required to move more electricity.

The project, which could invoke eminent domain, has been controversial in Carroll since it was announced. County lawmakers have opposed the project, saying it would threaten the environment, increase local energy costs, result in a loss of farmland and revenue for farmers, and have other harmful effects.

Stop MPRP, a nonprofit that aims to represent residents of the affected tri-county region, is among several community advocacy groups to recruit hundreds of members. Director Joanne Frederick said Stop MPRP will evaluate the PSEG’s court filings before determining if legal action in this case will be the best use of the organization’s resources.

“It’ll be very telling where PSEG is to make these initial filings,” Frederick said, “and most large corporations that file cases like this try to find the judge that they think will be the most sympathetic to their cause. It would not surprise me at all if PSEG is going to consider that tactic when they make their initial filing.”

An entity may not hand-pick a judge but may file in a jurisdiction where judges are perceived to be more sympathetic. Carroll County Commissioner President Ken Kiler said attorneys representing the county will likely testify or otherwise attempt to block PSEG from receiving the court orders that would grant property access.

PSEG has been seeking a temporary right-of-entry from property owners on the project’s path since December.

The company contracted with Contract Land Staff and authorized payments of $1,000 to owners of land that PSEG must survey, strategic communications manager William Smith said in an email in December.

“Despite our efforts to engage with property owners and even offer reasonable compensation, we have been unable to gain voluntary access from a sufficient number of property owners that will allow us to conduct these environmental surveys,” according to Kalwa.

When completed, the results of the surveys could require PSEG to select a different path for the power line project, Frederick said.

“The result of these surveys could be that they will determine that the selected route is actually not adequate for what they want to do,” Frederick said, “either because of soil conditions or because of additional wetland mitigations. It could be that the results of these surveys actually cause them to have to move the line again, which then could impact a whole bunch of other people that aren’t even impacted currently.”

Frederick urged landowners should band together to oppose the project.

“PSEG has threatened the landowners across these three counties from the very beginning,” Frederick said. “They threatened us that we need this power or we’re going to have blackouts and brownouts, and now they’re threatening us with lawsuits if we don’t allow access to our property, so their tactics are not necessarily surprising. It certainly does beg the question, does Maryland want a company like this, who is aggressive and litigious, coming into the state of Maryland to do business? I would say not, but we’re not surprised by them being aggressive against landowners.”

The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project must receive a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Maryland Public Service Commission, a five-member board appointed to five-year terms by the governor before construction can commence. The commission will typically render a decision in nine months to a year for cases like the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, according to Tori Leonard, a spokesperson for the commission, but approval could take longer in complex cases. PSEG applied for a certificate on Dec. 28.

Have a news tip? Contact Thomas Goodwin Smith at thsmith@baltsun.com.