Garrett County Transmission Line Easements: MARL Project

Garrett County landowners are currently being approached about a proposed high-voltage transmission line -- the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) -- that needs a new, 200-foot-wide easement corridor roughly 35 miles long through the county. Garrett's own government has publicly urged caution before signing. Here's the project's real scope, timeline, and what to check before buying or selling land in its path.

This page covers what's specific to Garrett County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

What MARL is, and why it reaches Garrett County

The Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) is a proposed 500-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line running roughly 105-107 miles from Frederick County, Virginia, through West Virginia, into Maryland's Allegany and Garrett Counties, and on to Greene County, Pennsylvania. PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, selected NextEra Energy Transmission in December 2023 to build the line, driven largely by surging regional electricity demand tied to data center growth. NextEra's Maryland segment requires a new easement corridor roughly 200 feet wide and 35 miles long through Garrett and Allegany Counties, affecting an estimated 1,000 acres of both state-designated wildlands and private property.

The project's estimated cost has grown substantially since initial approval -- from roughly $441 million to a reported $960 million as of the most recent NextEra updates -- and certificate applications are pending before regulators in all four affected states, including the Maryland Public Service Commission. Maryland's case is not expected to be decided until late 2027 or early 2028, meaning the project's exact final route through Garrett County had not been fixed as of this research pass.

2025 state legislation, wildlands, and the county's public warning

Part of MARL's Garrett County route crosses land inside two state-designated wildland areas -- Big Savage Mountain Wildland and Bear Pen Wildland (a third, Dan's Mountain Wildland, is in neighboring Allegany County) -- which normally carry strong statutory protection against this kind of development. In 2025, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1270, which exempts the portion of these wildlands where the NextEra line would run parallel to an existing Potomac Edison transmission line from wildland-area designation, specifically conditioned on NextEra obtaining a CPCN from the Public Service Commission. This was a contested, actively opposed piece of legislation -- reporting describes real pushback from conservation groups and area residents over removing statutory protection from roughly 60 acres of long-protected wildland to accommodate the project.

In May 2025, Garrett County's own government issued a direct public notice -- through its Communications Office and County Administrator Kevin Null -- urging landowners who are approached about easement agreements related to this and similar utility/transmission projects to proceed with caution. The notice specifically warns that transmission easements typically grant a utility permanent access and use rights for towers, substations, and access roads; that such agreements are rarely renegotiated once signed; and that landowners already enrolled in USDA or state conservation programs should check with those programs first, since granting a new easement can affect program eligibility.

What to check before buying or selling land along the MARL corridor

If you're evaluating a Garrett County parcel anywhere in the western part of the county, ask directly whether it falls within MARL's study corridor or the final route once the Maryland Public Service Commission's CPCN case resolves (expected no earlier than late 2027) -- the Garrett County Planning and Land Management Division (contact: Chad Fike, cfike@garrettcountymd.gov, 301-334-1922) is the county's own point of contact for current routing information. Because the final route was not locked in as of this research pass, a parcel that appears clear of the project today could still be affected once the case is decided, and vice versa.

If you are an existing landowner who has been approached directly by NextEra or its representatives about signing an easement agreement, the county's own guidance is specific and worth following exactly: retain independent legal counsel before signing anything, do not treat the first offer as final since these easements are described as rarely renegotiated after signing, and check with USDA or any state conservation program you participate in before granting a new easement, since it can affect your program eligibility. Given the live eminent-domain concerns raised in state legislative testimony on this project, a landowner facing a non-negotiated approach should also ask directly whether the company has, or is seeking, condemnation authority for the specific segment crossing their property.

Utility Easements in Garrett County, Maryland: The MARL Transmission Line

What MARL is, and why it reaches Garrett County

2025 state legislation, wildlands, and the county's public warning

What to check before buying or selling land along the MARL corridor

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