The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is filing court orders Tuesday to access the property of landowners along the route of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP).

In March, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program (PPRP) deemed PSEG’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the 70-mile-long power line as “administratively incomplete.”

In a letter to the Maryland Public Service Commission, the PPRP said the application lacked key information about why other routes were not chosen, as well as the environmental and economic impacts the power line would have on Baltimore, Carrol and Frederick County.

To collect the necessary environmental data, PSEG has offered certain landowners up to $1,000 for access to their properties, so they can conduct ground surveys. Residents across the affected counties have decided to not allow PSEG on their land.

Betsy McFarland is a member of StopMPRP, a non-profit organization opposed to the power line. PSEG plans to cut a one hundred fifty foot wide line between McFarland’s house and Benet Creek, where an electrical tower will be visible from her porch.

When the company asked for access to her land in Frederick County, she said no. With the announcement PSEG is seeking court orders, she’s concerned the electrical company won’t need her permission anymore. “To have a company out of New Jersey take people to court to gain access to their land is just wrong,” McFarland said.

StopMPRP plans to meet with legal counsel to help residents who may be taken to court by PSEG.