Natural Resources - Wildland Areas - Overhead Transmission Lines

HB 1270 exempts three specific wildland areas (Big Savage Mountain, Bear Pen, and Dan’s Mountain) from being designated as protected wildlands if NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic, Inc. obtains a certificate of public convenience and necessity for an overhead transmission line. The bill modifies Maryland’s natural resources law to allow these areas to be excluded from wildland designation only after the Public Service Commission approves the transmission line project following public review, public hearings, and consideration of factors like reliability, economics, and environmental impacts. This change directly affects NextEra’s proposed transmission line project and the regulatory process for such infrastructure in those specific locations. The bill does not alter the standard requirements for transmission line approvals but creates a targeted exemption for these three wildland areas.