A pair of bills in the Maryland Legislature would help protect farmland from being seized under eminent domain for energy projects.
House Bill 81 would require certain agricultural property seized to be valued at 350% of the highest appraisal value of the property, while Senate Bill 189 would prohibit the use of eminent domain on preserved farmland.
The bills were discussed Thursday at the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee respectively.
Sen. Benjamin Brooks, D-Baltimore County, said the bill is a response to the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a 70-mile high-voltage transmission line through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties.
“Seizing these lands through construction of transmission lines would decrease productivity for farmland and agricultural and economic growth,” Brooks said. “These lands should not be a viable option for transmission lines because there was a promise that they would be preserved in perpetuity.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is expected to introduce a bill in the coming weeks to expand land access for new farmers.
Joanne Frederick, president of the organization Stop MPRP, said that of the over 1,100 acres planned for the transmission line, 245 acres are reported to be conserved land, and 1,801 acres within 500 feet of the right-of-way are conserved land.
Frederick said she owns property with two forest buffer easements and a land preservation easement.
“I can’t disrupt existing vegetation, I cannot disrupt the soil, I cannot apply pesticides, I cannot house animals in this land,” Frederick said, “and the power line comes through and takes 5 acres of this.”
The Maryland Farm Bureau also supports the bill. Tyler Hough, the director of government relations, said Maryland land preservation is renowned across the country.
“This legislation is not only about protecting land, but it’s about honoring commitments to Maryland farmers and land owners who have entered into these preservation agreements,” Hough said.
The bill would not limit the ability for landowners to enter into a contract with utilities, only prevent the use of eminent domain to seize property.
In the House, Delegate Nino Mangione, R-Baltimore County, said House Bill 81 would help protect Maryland’s farmland.
“Maryland has a deep, rich history in agriculture that benefits Marylanders and citizens across the entire country,” Mangione said. “We must do all we can to protect our farmland and our economic value to our hardworking farmers.”
The 350% premium, Mangione said, would recognize the value farmland and agriculture have for the state.
