Maryland Landowners Petition Supreme Court Over Piedmont Power Line Surveys
A group of 60 Maryland landowners has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging lower court rulings that permitted surveyors from PSEG Renewable Transmission to access their properties for studies related to the proposed 67-mile Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. The landowners, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, argue that the preliminary injunction granted to PSEG went too far by allowing property access before the company's eminent domain rights in Maryland were definitively established. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had affirmed PSEG's right to conduct surveys, deeming the landowners' proposal unworkable, as PSEG requires these surveys to obtain approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission. The landowners contend that the appellate court's decision sets a dangerous precedent by authorizing a private entity to enter private property without first proving its sovereign power of eminent domain. The surveys, which began in June 2025, are nearing completion, but...
