About 60 people attended a community meeting concerning potential routes for the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project Sunday at the Rexford Auction House in Bruceton Mills.
Those opposed to the project voiced concerns about damage to the environment, the possibility of losing their property due to eminent domain, and having major power lines close to their homes.
MARL is a 105-mile, 550-kilovolt “major highway” of overhead transmission lines stretching from Greene County, Pa., to Frederick County, Va. It’s to be constructed by NextEra by the end of 2031.
While the exact path from Point A to Point B has yet to be selected, Monongalia, Preston, Hampshire and Mineral counties are within the route selection study area in West Virginia. Maryland’s Allegany and Garrett counties are also included, as is Fayette County in Pennsylvania.
The project will require
a 200-foot right of way
along its entire length,
and some residents in the
potentially-impacted ar-
eas have started organiz-
ing and voicing concerns
about the possibility of
an “electricity superhigh-
way” running through or
near their properties.
“If it goes through Lake
of the Woods, it will de-
stroy the lake,” Stephen
Plumley said.
“It will affect migrating
birds and wild fowls and
destroy the woodlands,”
added his wife, Teresa, a
wildlife photographer.
“They want to parallel
and put a line on my prop-
erty,” Lee Moyers said.
“They were cutting trees
on my property without
permission.”
Loren Metzner of Lake
of the Woods said there
are rare, threatened
plants on that property,
including the long-lobed
arrowhead, weak-stalk
bulrush and slender wa-
ternymph. He said the In-
diana bats use the wood-
land openings for feeding
on insects, and use the
shagbark hickory and
snags with loose bark for
roosting. The area is also
home to the Allegheny
wood rat, which was as-
sessed for the Internation-
al Union for Conservation
of Nature’s Red List of
Threatened Species in
2024. Also found in the
area are the cerulean and
golden-winged warblers.
The cerulean warbler is
on the U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service’s Birds of
Conservation list, which
represents the highest
conservation priorities.
Following the meeting,
Delegate George Street,
R-Preston, said he is not
an official member of the
group, but he does not
support the power line.
“I don’t believe it’s a
good fit for Preston Coun-
ty,” he said. “It doesn’t
provide jobs and it’s not a
good fit for our land.”
Street said he has been
fighting eminent domain
for three years and intro-
duced another bill to end
it this year.
“This project gave me
the idea for this year’s bill
to protect Preston Coun-
ty land owners,” Street
said. “The bill would have
discouraged companies
like this one from using
eminent domain against
property owners. I hope
the concerns of private
property owners are tak-
en into consideration by
the Public Service Com-
mission.
During its May 28 meet-
ing, the Preston County
Commission approved a
resolution opposing the
project.
Photo by Jeniffer Graham
About 60 people gathered
Sunday in Bruceton Mills
to discuss the MidAtlantic
Resiliency Link Project.