The often-misunderstood issue of eminent domain is now front and center in debates over the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), which critics say would bring a 70-mile, high-voltage transmission line across central Maryland without much benefit for the state’s residents or economy.
The principle of eminent domain was established by the Fifth Amendment’s “takings clause,” which states that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.” As such, courts have consistently allowed federal and state governments to displace landowners for public projects like roads and highways, as long as these owners are paid for the value of their property.
Bethesda-based attorney Seann Malloy says the eminent domain sought for MPRP — which developers say is necessary to improve the reliability of Maryland’s electric grid — is controversial because the proposed development would impose high-voltage power lines onto the rural landscape of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties.
“It’s not like a local county or municipality taking parts of people’s property that abut a road to widen the road [or] put a sidewalk in. You’re cutting a swath through rural land,” said Malloy, owner and managing partner of Malloy Law Offices, LLC.
The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), a New Jersey-based power company contracted to construct MPRP, filed suit last week to allow itself to conduct environmental surveys of 90 properties for the project. More than 100 property owners have refused to allow PSEG onto their land for surveys, despite the company’s “numerous real and bona fide efforts” to obtain consent from landowners, the suit said.
Joanne Frederick, president of the grassroots opposition group Stop MPRP, Inc., described the legal battle as a “David vs. Goliath” situation between rural landowners and PSEG, which has a market capitalization of more than $40 billion.
“Now they want to come onto the land and figure out how they can take it. That seems unfair and unjust,” Frederick said, emphasizing her group’s belief in standing up for “terrified” landowners.
Malloy applauded the Carroll County Sheriff Office’s refusal to intervene in civil disputes between landowners and PSEG surveyors, as he said courts should resolve these issues.
“The sheriff’s department rightfully said, ‘We’re not gonna make our officers available for hire off-duty,’ presumably showing up in their uniforms to escort the workers on [the property] to do their survey,” Malloy said. “I think that’s rightfully so. Even the optics of it, let the courts figure it out before you take the heavy-handed approach.”
According to PSEG’s website, invoking eminent domain to secure land for the power line would be an “option of last resort” following continued efforts to “negotiate in good faith” with property owners. The company could initiate the process by obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the state, though Malloy says this is only a first step and does not mean owners would be forced to give up their homes.
“There’s lots of ways to derail something like this … Their lawsuit’s like on a conveyor belt,” Malloy said. “All it takes is the homeowners, a group of landowners to knock it off the conveyor belt and [PSEG] has to go all the way back to the beginning and start again.”
PSEG says its priority is to “work directly with each affected property owner to address their concerns and find mutually agreeable solutions” and added it is “currently focused on direct communication with property owners.”
Even though PSEG is a private company, Malloy said there is an argument for eminent domain because MPRP is ultimately a public energy project. As such, the case differs from the story of a Georgia homeowner who has repeatedly refused to sell her modest mid-century home to the iconic Augusta National Golf Club, annual home of the Masters Tournament.
“The operation of that golf course, Augusta National, is not to the benefit of the public,” Malloy said. “It’s a beautiful golf course, I love that tournament, but there’s no route to take this person’s house if they don’t want to sell.”
But Frederick balks at MPRP’s perceived public benefit, as her group contends the transmission lines would primarily power data centers in Virginia. She pointed to a Maryland Office of People’s Counsel report that found no new generation or additional transmission is needed to meet the state’s electric demand through 2042.
“We know that this line is primarily to serve Virginia and their data centers, and that can be confirmed through the way [PSEG] did the cost allocation for this project,” Frederick said. “… The cost allocation method percentage is determined based on who gets the most benefit from the project, and the vast majority of these costs are going to Virginia.”
Wes Moore weighs in
During a March FOX45 town hall, Frederick said she met with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s administration about the project last summer. At the time, said the governor did not respond to her requests for a follow-up meeting, and she does not truly know where he stands on the issue.
Moore said Wednesday that he does “not believe in eminent domain” — at least on a wide scale as the current MPRP proposal would demand.
“I’m always going to stand with the people on these issues, and I think that the challenge of this wide-scale eminent domain that they’re talking about is not something that I’m okay with,” Moore said.
Moore’s office did not respond to The Baltimore Sun’s requests to clarify what he meant by “wide-scale eminent domain,” or if he had immediate plans to meet with Frederick and other Stop MPRP leaders.
Frederick told The Sun her most recent efforts to discuss MPRP with Moore have ended with staffers pointing her toward the governor’s office online scheduling portal.
Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.
from Baltimore Sun https://ift.tt/neQIpDY
via IFTTT
