'Bury the power lines'

The energy sector is transforming across the United States.

In Maryland, environmental groups have successfully pushed to close down one of the state’s last coal-powered plants, at Brandon Shores in northern Anne Arundel County.

That development has prompted BGE to expand the capacity along the transmission line that extends from the Graceton Substation in Harford County to the Batavia Road Substation in Harford County.

Eastern Baltimore County is the epicenter of this development.

The transmission line crosses into Kingsville, Perry Hall, White Marsh and Essex. The addition of new capacity is particularly worrisome for the rural, historic Kingsville community, for two main reasons.

First, Kingsville is north of Baltimore County’s Urban-Rural Demarcation Line, the boundary established in 1967 that separates areas served by public water. This means that Kingsville lacks the network of fire hydrants that makes it easier for firefighters to extinguish flames.

While the Kingsville Volunteer Fire Company has courageously served northeastern Baltimore County and southwestern Harford County since 1954, the lack of public water is a major challenge for large-scale incidents.

In my discussions with residents, they point to fires like the inferno that burned more than 153,000 acres in Paradise, California, in 2018. This disaster caused 85 civilian fatalities, injured 12 civilians and five firefighters, and destroyed more than 18,000 structures.

Paradise lacked metropolitan water sources.

Over the10-year period that ended in 2022, power generation was a factor in more than 22,000 fires across the United States.

Another source of concern is the impact of this project on the historic character of Franklinville and Upper Falls, and Kingsville’s scenic beauty.

For these reasons, I have introduced a resolution that calls for burying the power lines, to the greatest extent possible, that will be part of the Brandon Shores mitigation strategy. Jurisdictions like Loudoun County, Virginia, have explored this option as those places also deal with the impact of changes to our power grid.

There will be a community meeting on Monday, July 22, at 7 p.m. at the Upper Falls Odd Fellows Hall to discuss this situation. The hall is located at 7801 Bradshaw Road in Upper Falls.

Parking is limited, so we urge attendees to carpool. Hopefully, we can work together to ensure a safer Baltimore County in the future.