Sugarloaf Alliance
Preservation * Smarter Growth * Transparency in Government
High Power Transmission Lines Proposed
to Cross the Sugarloaf Plan Area
As you've no doubt been reading, the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has been contracted to build a new 500,000-volt transmission line across Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore Counties (the so-called Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project or MPRP) to accommodate growing power needs driven primarily by data center development. Read the FAQs from the Office of People's Counsel here.
The map above illustrates how PSEG's proposed transmission line pathway might cross the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan boundary (the white line shows the Sugarloaf Plan boundary, and the yellow line shows the two proposed transmission line pathways through the Plan). See the full transmission line map here. Our understanding is that this new transmission line will serve data centers, primarily in Northern Virginia but also at the new Quantum Loophole complex.
Since our last newsletter, state and local public officials (from Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore Counties) have issued various levels of opposition to the transmission lines proposal. Read a summary here. Public opposition to the power lines has built quickly; read a summary here.
The Maryland Public Service Commission has created an email address for public comment: piedmontcomments.psc@maryland.gov See the calendar below for opportunities to comment at public meetings. Visit our
Sugarloaf Alliance website for elected representatives' contact information - they need to hear from you!
Sugarloaf Alliance is partnering with other regional organizations in opposition to the transmission line proposal. One organization - StopMPRP - has become a regional focal point for organizing public opposition. We encourage you to check out that resource and sign up for updates.
County IWW Advisory Group Aims at
"Comprehensive Rezoning"
The Frederick County Planning Office and the county’s Division of Economic Opportunity have teamed up to create the “Investing in Workers and Workplaces” (IWW) advisory group, populated primarily by folks in the business of property development. The county website says: “This plan…will increase land designated for targeted economic opportunity uses through the review of select growth areas and current land use designations…. A comprehensive rezoning will follow Plan adoption to implement the Plan’s recommendations.”
The IWW advisory group's meetings were not well-advertised or televised. We believe that the I-270 Sugarloaf Plan boundary may be in danger. In response to public pressure, the county has created public meetings in September. See our calendar below.
County Council Legislative Public Hearing
Temporary Growth Moratorium
Tues., Aug. 27, 7pm
Council Member Steve McKay has introduced legislation proposing a temporary growth moratorium in situations where schools are overcrowded. Read more here. Even though there are no schools in the Sugarloaf Plan area, the children of families living in the Plan area attend schools that are aren't keeping up with continued, dense housing development. We encourage you to follow the issue and read the legislation.
UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS
MPRP Transmission Lines
-Aug 21, 6pm, Baltimore County Town Hall. Hereford High School, 6-10 pm
-Aug 22, 6pm, Carroll County Town Hall with Delegates and Commissioners
Westminster Ag Center, 706 Agricultural Center Way, Westminster
Data Centers
Aug 29, 8-4:30pm, Maryland Data Center Summit, Frederick Community College (data center industry meeting - we heard there might be a protest opportunity; see below)
Frederick County "Investing in Workers and Workplaces" - IWW
Possible data center connection. Which areas will be targeted for rezoning?
Info Meetings offered by Frederick County:
-Thursday, September 19, 585 Himes Avenue, Frederick, MD 21703
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
-Wednesday, September 25, 585 Himes Avenue, Frederick, MD 21703
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
-Wednesday, October 2, 585 Himes Avenue, Frederick, MD 21703
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Building Moratorium
Frederick County Council
Public hearing for the Temporary Growth Moratorium legislation
Tues., Aug. 27, 7pm, Winchester Hall, 12 East Church St., Frederick
We received the flyer below, being circulated by opponents of the area's data center "gold rush." We share it, fyi.
