Gunpowder Valley Conservancy Stands With Land Trusts in Opposition to MPRP

ProposedPowerline_blog

Gunpowder Valley Conservancy Stands with Land Trusts In Opposition to Proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) Powerline Locations on Permanently Preserved Lands

America loses a football field worth of forests, grasslands, ag land, deserts, and natural places to development every 30 seconds1. Federal and state lawmakers across the country have enacted laws and adopted policies supporting the permanent protection of our rapidly diminishing yet critically important natural capital of clean air and water, wildlife habitat and natural lands. Conservation easements are key to they efforts. They serve a vital public need that has been recognized by lawmakers, scientists and scholars.

As many of you know, Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties are faced with the prospect of a new 70-mile transmission line route, known as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP). The proposed route crosses numerous easements held by state and local governments and land trust. In the Piney Run Watershed Rural Legacy alone, there are 29 properties protected with easements in the path of the proposed route.

The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy (GVC) has signed a joint letter with 21 land trusts and conservation organizations to voice our opposition to MPRP powerline locations on permanently preserved lands. Allowing transmission lines to travel through preserved properties violates the requirements of the IRS, the purpose of our non-profits, and most importantly the trust that landowners have placed in land trusts to protect their land in perpetuity. Doing so is inherently detrimental to the scenic, natural, recreational, productive, and open space attributes of the properties that land trusts are obligated to protect.

Click here to read the full letter from Forever Maryland

Ways to Get Involved

  • Wednesday, August 21: Baltimore County residents are encouraged to attend a Town Hall concerning the MPRP on Wednesday, August 21, from 6 – 10 pm at the Hereford High School auditorium. Organizers are asking for RSVPs to help them plan and organize. Click here for sign up link
  • Thursday, August 22: Carroll County residents are encouraged to attend a Joint Commissioner and Carroll County Delegation – Listening Session concerning the MPRP of Thursday, August 22, from 6 – 10 pm at the Carroll County Agricultural Center – Shipley Arena. Click here for sign up link
  • The Maryland Public Service Commission has established an email address for submitting public comment: piedmontcomments.psc@maryland.gov. At present time, PSEG has not filed a project application with the Maryland Public Service Commission. However, if the company does open a case, the comments submitted to the above address will be added to the public comments file.

WORKS CITED

1  Theobald, David M. and others, “Loss and fragmentation of natural lands in the coterminous U.S. from 2001 to 2017” Conservation Science Partners, 2019. Available at: https://www.csp-inc.org/public/CSP%20Disappearing%20US%20Exec%20Summary%20011819.pdf