NextEra, counties and conservation groups spar over proposed Mid-Atlantic transmission route through state wildlands

NextEra Energy Transmission and local officials told the Economic Matters Committee on Thursday that a narrowly drafted bill (House Bill 1270) should allow the Maryland Public Service Commission to consider a route that parallels an existing Potomac Edison transmission corridor through three state-designated wildlands. Opponents said allowing the route would set a precedent that could open other wildlands to development.

"This bill is about giving the Public Service Commission and DNR, when NextEra applies for a CPCN later this year, the ability to consider a more direct route," Rob Gergiola, who represented NextEra, said in testimony. NextEra argued that paralleling the existing 175-foot right-of-way would shorten the new 500 kV line and reduce greenfield routing, lowering environmental impacts such as additional forest clearing and wetland impacts.

NextEra and its specialists said preliminary routing analysis found alternatives that skirt the wildlands would add roughly 10 miles to the line and 15 to 20 miles of new greenfield routing when compared with a route that abuts the existing line. Caitlin McCormick, senior director with NextEra Energy Transmission, said the project could generate an estimated $400 million to $450 million in local economic benefits over a 40-year life if built.

Local elected officials expressed mixed views. Lee Beeman, county attorney for Allegany County, told the committee the board of county commissioners supports allowing the route to be considered because it could reduce impacts to private property and provides opportunities for local benefits such as a substation that would serve county customers.

Opponents included conservationists and local residents who said the three wildlands at issue'Big Savage Mountain, Bear Pen and Dans Mountain'are classified as type 1 wildlands and contain unbroken forest and important bird habitat. "If three wildlands can be open to development, so can the other 35 wildlands in Maryland," Kurt Schwartz of the Maryland Ornithological Society told the committee and urged an unfavorable report.

Environmental testimony highlighted the additional fragmentation, access roads, and habitat loss that overhead transmission and associated rights-of-way can cause. One opponent said the bill would be a notable deviation from Maryland's conservation record and could undermine public trust if allowed.

Several committee members asked technical questions about federal funding and whether routing through wildlands would jeopardize grants or federal partnerships. NextEra and committee staff said the company has entered data-sharing agreements with agencies and that DNR and the PSC can negotiate mitigation measures. The bill, as written, would not itself approve construction; it would make the paralleling route available for consideration during the PSC's certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) review, conditioned on PSC approval.

Witnesses said there will be additional public meetings and a PSC review process before any final routing decision. The committee heard both favorable testimony from county representatives and farm bureaus and unfavorable testimony from conservation groups and local residents. No vote was recorded at the hearing.