BALTIMORE — The New Jersey company behind a project to build nearly 70 miles of high-transmission power lines wants to move ahead with the regulatory process, without data from environmental studies in order to meet their completion deadline of June 2027.
Critics say the schedule is rushed.
WATCH: PSEG petitions state to move ahead in review process for power line project
On Tuesday, the five members of the Maryland Public Service Commission did not vote on the schedule proposed by the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), which would "bifurcate" or split the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity review process to keep it moving ahead while the studies remain stuck in a federal court battle.
Chairman Fred Hoover promised the wait wouldn't be long saying the order would be "out as soon as possible" after a two and a half hour long meeting.
The project to build nearly 70 miles of high-transmission power lines has been ill-received by landowners, special interest groups and local county governments, all of which also opposed PSEG's proposed timeline. It is the longest power line greenfield (undeveloped land) project in the state's history.
READ MORE: Pushing back against powerlines; Landowners file motion to dismiss
PSEG applied for the CPCN on December 31, 2024 an entire year after getting the green light from the Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Interconnection (PJM) Board.
"I'm just not understanding the great urgency in getting this done in nine months when you didn't seem to have such a great urgency in getting your filing to us," commissioner Bonnie Suchman said.
PSEG's attorneys claim work was actively being done in 2024 to determine the proposed route and alert the public.
"The company went out of its way to make sure it had those public information sessions not only in July, but in October in order to make refinements to that route. So as soon as that process was done, a route was ultimately selected in November, after a very lengthy process," attorney Joseph Curran III, who represents PSEG, said.
The project has already faced hurdles after landowners collectively denied the company permission to enter their properties to conduct environmental surveys. PSEG has turned to federal court to gain access claiming it has eminent domain.
A hearing was held last month, but no ruling has been issued yet. A judge asked both parties to file supplemental briefs by May 29, including more information about PSEG's claims of "irreparable harm."
While PSEG's council believes the surveys in question are not required to move forward with the commission, the Maryland DNR Power Plant Research Program says otherwise.
"While we understand that PJM believes that there's a significant rush to get this in service because the potential reliability concerns they should have known that a 67-mile greenfield line in Maryland would need to have field level survey data," said Sondra McLemore, Assistant Attorney General representing PPRP said.
Though no immediate order came from the PSC, their staff legal council indicated they wouldn't support PSEG's proposal and in cases like this, often defer to the PPRP.
PPRP says it cannot begin its work until the field studies are done, and once received it would be another six months until that work is complete.
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