When a proposed 70-mile power transmission line threatened farmland, property rights and rural communities in the state, Maryland Farm Bureau mobilized members, landowners, counties and coalition partners against the plan, resulting in a significant delay in the final decision.
The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is a proposed 70-mile transmission line cutting through farmland, private property and communities in Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. While the proposed project itself was a problem, so was the precedent it would set.
The transmission line was deemed necessary by PJM, the organization that manages the electric grid covering Maryland, 12 other states and Washington, D.C. As the company that won the project bid, PSEG was seeking the necessary approval from Maryland’s Public Service Commission.
Once the transmission line approval process was in motion, Maryland Farm Bureau established a handful of goals, including protecting farmland and farm families from eminent domain and loss of productivity and delaying or stopping the project at the PSC by highlighting the flawed fast-track schedule.
Maryland Farm Bureau was engaged at all levels, from staff who did policy research, member outreach and coordination with allies to Maryland Farm Bureau leadership who leveraged existing relationships to build a broad coalition of support. Partnerships with county governments, civic organizations and conservation groups amplified rural Maryland’s message and demonstrated the widespread opposition to the proposal.
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