top of page
PHOTO ESSAY:
POWER STRUGGLE
The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) is a proposed 500,000-volt transmission line to cross three counties in Maryland and is being developed by the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG). It has been at the forefront of the minds of many people in the counties affected, with hundreds of residents fighting against it.
Local farmers in the path of the proposed route in Frederick County, Maryland are concerned about how the power lines would affect the operations at their farms and are concerned for their safety. Frederick County residents are worried about the environmental impacts and the possibility of losing their homes. Many living in the path don't know what they'll do if the MPRP is built and are hoping the project doesn't move forward.
Tammy Naill-Waddell pauses for a moment with Snap at Autumn Springs Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. Tammy said the family’s farm is their sanctuary and the MPRP is a threat to the family’s safe space.
Tammy Naill-Waddell and her brother Lee Naill stand together while posing at Autumn Springs Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. Lee was shocked with 50,000 volts from power lines while working on a bridge as a construction worker in 1992 and had to get both of his arms amputated. The MPRP route is proposed to go above their driveway and Tammy said Lee would be scared drive underneath if it is built.
Tammy Naill-Waddell unfurls a flag reading “Stop MPRP Come and Take It” at Autumn Springs Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. She said she refuses to give the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) the permission for any of the land, such as the right-of-way needed to construct the MPRP.
Nancy Gardetto feeds Jim at Copper Penny Farm in Adamstown, Md., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Nancy Gardetto and her husband Chuck Gardetto always had a dream to own a farm, but are now worried about how the MPRP would affect farm operations.
Documents relating to the MPRP are shown in the Gardettos’ house at Copper Penny Farm in Adamstown, Md., on Monday, Feb. 21, 2025. The MPRP is proposed to cut across their front yard.
Sheep stand in a field as existing power lines are shown nearby at Copper Penny Farm, owned by the Gardetto family, in Adamstown, Md., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. When buying the farm, Nancy and her husband, Chuck, carefully considered the aspects of their farming operations and living situation with the existing power lines on the property. Though there are some restrictions, Nancy Gardetto said farming is possible with the existing lines on their farm, but the MPRP would double the problems the farm has had with electricity.
Nancy Gardetto drives a utility vehicle near cattle at Copper Penny Farm in Adamstown, Md., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. With the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), a 500,000-volt transmission line that would run through their front yard, the Gardettos are unsure how they would operate their farm.
Tammy Naill-Waddell stands by horses at Autumn Springs Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. Tammy said that part of the property is floodplain designated by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and flooding has occurred before. If the trees surrounding the property are cut down for the MPRP, it would increase the risk of significant erosion.
Lisa Gaver, left, looks at her husband Mike Gaver in one of the fields at Gaver Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Monday, March 31, 2025. Lisa Gaver said that different crops are “constantly rotated” through the 40-acre field and that it is one of the areas on the farm that would be affected by the MPRP.
Dark clouds roll in over the horizon near some of the farm’s attractions, shown on the right, while Lisa Gaver sits on the back on a utility vehicle as her husband Mike Gaver drives at Gaver Farm in Mount Airy, Md., on Monday, March 31, 2025. Over the last 40 years, the farm has grown into a sprawling agritourism spot, but now, the MPRP could devastate the farm’s operations, Lisa Gaver said.
Jay, left, and Alicia Weinrich stand for a portrait at their home in Mount Airy, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. In the early 2000s, the couple constructed their log house with the help of their family and friends. Now, the final route of the MPRP would cut through their property. Alicia Weinrich estimates nearly 50 percent of the trees on their property would be cut down for the project.
Light spills into the dining area of the Weinrichs' home in Mount Airy, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The house took around a year and a half to build from the ground up. Alicia Weinrich said that is was their dream to live there. Now, the MPRP could shatter that dream.
Shown through a window, Alicia and Jay Weinrich with their dogs at their home in Mount Airy, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. If the MPRP is built, the Weinrichs don't know what they'll do, and they're hoping the project doesn’t move forward.
Jay, left, and Alicia Weinrich sit with their dogs inside their home in Mount Airy, Md., on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The Weinrichs moved into the log house in 2005 after building it with the help of family and friends. Now, they are worried how the MPRP will affect their property and the environment around them.
Alicia Weinrich looks out at the trees on their property in Mount Airy, Md., on Thursday, March 20, 2025. "I'll be able to stand there at my kitchen sink and see the top post holding wires," she said. "And then, to top it off, that beautiful view that I have — this will all be gone because they're taking out all of my trees."
Cousins James Duncan, 14, left, and Sawyer Smith, 11, play in the pool at Margie and Steve Schroeder’s home in Ijamsville, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. If the MPRP is built, the line would go over the Schroeders’ pool and into the woods.
Margie Schroeder, left, sits next to her sister Victoria Nicodemus at the Schroeders’ household on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The Schroeders’ 25-acre parcel of land is part of a larger parcel of land that is divided among several of the Schroeders’ family members. Victoria lives across the field on the parcel. The two grew up on the land nearby. Since the family members live close together, it is common for them to walk across the field to the Schroeders’ home. But, if the MPRP is built, Margie said family members wouldn’t feel comfortable walking under the power lines.
Cousins James Duncan, 14, left, and Sawyer Smith, 11, play by the swing at Margie and Steve Schroeder’s home in Ijamsville, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. All of the routes PSEG proposed for the project would have gone through the Schroeders' property.
Margie, left, and Steve Schroeder pose together in the sun room of their home in Ijamsville, Md., on Thursday, March 27, 2025. They built the house's sun room as an add-on to the home to get a better view of the outdoors. This year marks their 50th year living in the home. Now, they are worried about how the MPRP would affect their property.
Margie Schroeder organizes towels at her home in Ijamsville, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 If the MPRP is built, the line would go over the Schroeders’ pool and into the woods. Margie said the couple's worst case scenario is that they could lose their house if the MPRP is built.
Brian Burns, the Schroeders' daughter's boyfriend, looks out to a sprawling field near the Schroeders' home in Ijamsville, Md., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Margie Schroeder said the MPRP would divide the acreage of the parcel of land and separate the Schroeders from the rest of their family.
Shown through the reflection of a mirror, Betsy McFarland looks out of a window where a Stop MPRP sign stands outside at the McFarlands' home in Adamstown, Md., on Monday, April 7, 2025. The MPRP would cut through the middle of Betsy and Mike McFarland's property. If the project is built, Betsy doesn't think she and her husband would want to stay in their home.
Betsy and Mike McFarland stand outside at their home in Adamstown, Md., which overlooks Bennett Creek, a tributary to the Monocacy River, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The MPRP would cut through the middle of the McFarlands’ property. They are worried how the MPRP will impact the environment and the wildlife.
A document sent to Betsy and Mike McFarland is shown at the McFarlands' home in Adamstown, Md., on Monday, April 7, 2025. The MPRP would cut through the middle of their property. This document from the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) offers $1,000 for a temporary right-of-entry to the property.
Betsy and Mike McFarland poses inside their home in Adamstown, Md., on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The MPRP would cut through the middle of the McFarlands’ property. As we settled in, I was like 'This is the house I'll die in.' I'm so happy to be here. I love this place," she said. "Now, of course, it's all threatened,” Betsy McFarland said.
bottom of page