Maryland judge weighing potential hunting ban on properties in path of controversial power line project
A Baltimore federal judge will decide whether property owners in the line of the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project can hunt on their property when the property is set to be surveyed.
The company planning the project, PSEG, argued in court Tuesday that it's a safety issue.
For the property owners, though, it's a matter of being able to feed their families. Their lawyers argued that sufficient safety measures can be implemented.
In court, U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson was clearly torn. He recognizes the right of surveyors to do their job safely, as well as the right of people to hunt on their own property.
Abelson didn't hint at when a decision could come.
Balancing rights
The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, sometimes known as MPRP, is slated to run through hundreds of properties across Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick counties. The proposed 67-mile-long transmission line aims to help the state meet growing demand for electricity.
The project is now at the stage where surveyors need to check out where the project could be built, which means going out to those properties in person.
To assure safety, PSEG filed a motion to ban hunting during notice survey days. In court, PSEG lawyer Kurt Fischer said allowing hunting with surveyors nearby is "creating a recipe for a tragedy."
Lawyers representing property owners argued Tuesday for PSEG to be specific with when exactly surveyors will be on the land, and to at least allow hunting when surveyors aren't there. Also suggesting surveyors could wear something like hunter orange.
Abelson agreed that extended bans shouldn't happen, but he also agreed with PSEG's safety concerns.
In court documents, PSEG pointed to comments from a Facebook group opposing the project that appeared threatening.
"It's hunting season, I've got plenty of deer. Survey at your own risk," one of the comments read.
One of the property owners' lawyers said in court that the author has walked back his words.
"When that comment was made, a lot of fun hopped in there and said, 'Hey, be careful of what you say.' We recognized it could be perceived as a threat. We also knew it wasn't meant to be a threat; we knew it was kind of meant to be a joke," said Shawn McIntosh, from Sparks, Maryland. "It's not funny, you can't joke about that stuff."
Both sides agreed there could be a resolution if communication between surveyors and property owners improved.
Abelson also granted a new preliminary injunction on one of the lawsuits between PSEG and property owners, allowing surveyors to go onto more properties.
The need to hunt
Matt Moran, from Adamstown, Maryland, is one of the property owners in MPRP's path. He recently got a notice telling him surveyors will be on his property for all but one of the days in the upcoming deer firearm hunting season, which starts Saturday.
"That leaves me with one day to go out and get the venison that I need to feed my family, because I rely on venison to feed my family," Moran said.
For some, deer hunting is about protecting their property, too.
"[Since] we have a farm, we also use that time to keep the deer population under control," said Nancy Gardetto, owner of Copper Penny Farm in Adamstown. "If we can't hunt because [surveyors] maybe, possibly, might come onto our property, that is a significant issue for us."
