Maryland landowners taking fight against utility project to US Supreme Court

Marissa Yelenik, The Baltimore Sun on Nov 6, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Maryland landowners are taking their fight against the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project to the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging a ruling that allows utility company PSEG to enter private properties for survey work without landowners’ consent.

A petition filed Wednesday challenges a preliminary injunction a federal district court issued in June 2025 that grants the Public Service Enterprise Group, or PSEG, access to properties to conduct field studies for the transmission line project. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision in August.

Attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents the landowners in the case, are asking the Supreme Court to consider reviewing the lower courts’ decisions, arguing the courts allowed PSEG to exercise eminent domain powers before it had been legally granted that authority.

The appeals court heard arguments in May after more than 100 landowners challenged the preliminary injunction granting surveyors access to private properties, arguing PSEG lacked eminent domain authority because it had not yet received a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the state commission.

The proposed 67-mile, high-voltage transmission line would stretch through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. The project has been the center of a multifaceted legal battle with affected landowners since early 2025, significantly slowing the cultural-resource surveys needed for the project’s state approval process, PSEG has said.

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