About Us
Citizens for the Preservation of Middletown Valley (CPMV) is a grass-roots citizen’s action organization seeking responsible and appropriate land use in Maryland’s agricultural and historic Middletown Valley. We are concerned about protecting our rich local history, our rural landscapes, and the environment here in Frederick County Maryland. For the latest information, visit our online forum.

The Latest Threat
A West Virginia corporation, Dominion Transmission Inc. (DTI), is planning on building an large 11-acre industrial facility on farm land located along Marker Road just outside of Middletown MD. This industrial facility is part of a huge "Gas Storage Factory" project. For complete details, use the "Quick Links" to the left.

News (7/18/2008)
The purpose of the inaugural SMART GREEN SHOWCASE is to provide examples of smart energy solutions - practical ways you can use less energy, save money, and help our country transition to domestic, cleaner and renewable energy sources. The conference will provide educational and networking opportunities for home owners and representatives of large and small businesses, academic and non-profit organizations. View details here.
When: Friday, July 18, 2008 from 8:00AM to 12:30PM
Where: FSK Holiday Inn

News (6/27/2008)
DTI files their status report for May. View it here. For those who think that DTI has "moved on" from the Middletown site:
— DTI extended the purchase option for the Marker Road property.
— Work was completed on finalizing responses to the comments and concerns of citizens expressed at the Middletown FERC Scoping Meeting...

So as I read it, ALL of your concerns have been adequately addressed. If you don’t agree, there is a forum set up to discuss… There is also a short poll set up on the forum... so, log in and vote!

News (6/19/2008)
Over 500 citizens show up to support the Jefferson community!!! CPMV testified at the Jefferson site scoping meeting and files a letter with the FERC. View it here.

Delegate Rick Weldon spoke forcefully at that meeting about FERC process improvement. A topic that is near and dear to CPMV's heart (see our 3/18/08 letter) and is now getting some attention from local politicians.

News (June 2008)
At the FERC's request, Dominion provides the summary of their "flow model" data that supposedly "proves" they need to build a compressor station between Myersville and Jefferson. I recently found the document. We read it differently.

News (6/19/2008)
The FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) scheduled a site tour and a meeting on June 19th in Jefferson about the Jefferson site. View the announcement here.
When: Thursday, June 19, 2008 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM
Where: Jefferson Ruritan Center (Lander Rd at Route 340, in Jefferson)

News (6/16/2008)
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett announced that he is hosting a meeting in Middletown for all Frederick County residents to discuss potential sites for a proposed new 14,000 hp compressor station by Dominion Transmission Inc. View his announcement here.
When: Monday, June 16, 2008 from 7:30PM to 9:30PM
Where: Middletown Middle School

News (6/17/2008)
An "Open House" is scheduled for next week about the new high-voltage transmission lines coming across our area! Read the FNP article here. Here's some background information. Here's the company website about the project.
When: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 from 5:00PM to 8:00PM
Where: Holiday Inn and Conference Center (adjacent to Francis Scott Key Mall)

News (6/16/2008)
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett announced that he is hosting a meeting in Middletown for all Frederick County residents to discuss potential sites for a proposed new 14,000 hp compressor station by Dominion Transmission Inc. View his announcement here.
When: Monday, June 16, 2008 from 7:30PM to 9:30PM
Where: Middletown Middle School

News (6/3/2008)
The CPMV latest Newsletter can be viewed here.

News (5/30/2008)
DTI responds to the issues raised at the February scoping meeting and during the FERC comment period for the proposed Middletown site... seems like there are no problems that can't be overcome... although it did take DTI over 175 pages to explain. Read it here.

There is also a new forum "CPMV's Response to DTI" where the DTI response can be discussed.

News (5/26/2008)
The FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) scheduled a site tour and a meeting on June 19th in Jefferson about the Jefferson site. View the announcement here.

News (5/22/2008)
There's news on the Jefferson site:

1. The Jefferson community has organized and now has a group that will represent their community. The group is named, "Jefferson MD Community Association" and their website is: www.jmdca.org
2. The FERC has posted the date and time for the scoping meeting for the Jefferson site. View the details here. Note, the document contains some information about the Marker RD site and DTI's intentions.

News (5/22/2008)
The Frederick County Division of Planning is holding an "Open House" in Middletown to discuss the upcoming comprehensive plan update. Planning staff will highlight trends & issues, share maps and data & be able to talk about the issues facing Middletown that are most important to you. These sessions will also be informational “listening” sessions share your ideas with the planning team and to guide the next steps of the process.
What: Comprehensive Plan Update (read more here)
When: Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 5:00PM to 8:00PM
Where: Middletown High School

This is very important! What type of development do you want to see happen in Middletown and throughout the county for the next 10 years. The last comprehensive plan was completed in 1998. This is a once in a decade opportunity to participate.
Note: The "Open House" is not a 3-hour meeting! It is very informal. Stop by and spend a few minutes to learn about the plan.

News (5/20/2008)
"We Draw the Line" launches a website to give citizens a once in a generation opportunity to plan for the future of Frederick County. View the website here. CPMV will be involved in this initiative. Rich Maranto is on the "Leadership Council". All who want to be involved with "We Draw the Line" should contact Rich.

News (5/9/2008)
DTI files their monthly status report with the FERC. View it here.

News (5/9/2008)
The Frederick News Post covered the Jefferson meeting. View it here. There will also be an article about the Jefferson meeting in next week's Citizen (Middletown/Brunswick) newspapers.

News (5/7/2008)
The CPMV and several supporters attended the Jefferson meeting. The Jefferson community did a fantastic job of organizing and had over 200 in attendance.

At the Jefferson meeting a Dominion representative stated that DTI had ruled out two alternate industrial sites for their compressor station; one because of "surface restrictions" and the other because of "noise" issues. These seem like odd concerns for industrial zoned land, especially when compared to ag or residential land. Maybe we will learn more about these in the coming weeks.

As the comprehensive plan and other land use issues for our area are considered, we look forward to the Jefferson and the Middletown communities becoming strong allies advocating for rational infrastructure planning and growth.

News (5/6/2008)
The FERC receives the first response about the newly proposed Jefferson site. The writer makes some excellent points. View it here.

News (5/2/2008)
Some may have missed the announced DTI "Open House" this Wednesday for the proposed Jefferson site. Here are the details:
When: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 from 6:00PM to 8:00PM
Where: Valley Elementary School (3519 Jefferson Pike)
We plan on attending to learn more about the Jefferson site.

News (4/30/2008)
Here is the Frederick News Post article about the Jefferson site and the "Open House".

News (4/18/2008)
DTI announces a May 7th, "Open House" in Jefferson, MD for the proposed alternate site to build their gas compressor station. According to the email, "DTI has selected a site located along US. Route 340 and MD Rt. 180 (Jefferson Pike), approximately 2 miles southwest of Jefferson". View it here.

News (4/8/2008)
DTI files their monthly status report with the FERC. View it here.

News (4/3/2008)
DTI files an "Alternate Sites Update" with the FERC. View it here. Please note: DTI's letter contains misleading and false information about CPMV's supposed endorsement of specific alternate sites. CPMV has never endorsed any alternate site. We do support DTI performing "due diligence" before a site is selected. That is what appears to have been lacking in their original selection. We filed a letter with the FERC correcting any misunderstandings and making our position clear. View it here.

News (4/3/2008)
April 7th is your last chance to see the Waste Study Group's free seminar on an alternative to the planned WTE incinerator. If you sit back and do nothing, Frederick will be burning 1,500 tons of trash a day, most of it imported from other counties. Please support the Friends of Frederick County and educate yourself about this!

News (3/27/2008)
Elizabeth found this recent press release: "Governor Martin O’Malley celebrated the 10 -year anniversary of the State’s nationally renowned Rural Legacy Program and announced nearly $22 million in grants to local governments and land trusts for preservation of forest and farmland across Maryland." One has to wonder if the Governor would still want his photo taken if there was a Dominion compressor station being built on the farm behind him.

News (3/21/2008)
Last chance to sign up for the Friends of Frederick County and the Waste Study Group's free seminar on an alternative to the planned WTE incinerator. Please support the Friends of Frederick County and educate yourself about this potential boondoggle!

News (3/18/2008)
CPMV members (Rich, Randy, and Elizabeth) met with Representative Roscoe Bartlett, his staff and FERC Congressional liaisons today for over an hour to discuss the Middletown compressor station. Representative Bartlett was particularly interested in Brad Considine's work on finding alternate sites for the compressor station. During the meeting CPMV distributed a letter outlining suggested improvements to the FERC “pre-application” process. The CPMV letter was also sent to all our elected officials. View it here.

News (3/11/2008)
Dominion's (DTI) status report for February... things seem to be progressing according to DTI's plan. No significant issues identified. DTI did acknowledge that they are "investigating reasonable and feasible technical and locational alternatives to the proposed natural gas compressor station on Marker Road." They failed to mention that this is because the FERC told DTI that they had to have some justification for their site selection.

Also, DTI finally provided a little information about their January meeting with MDE. It looks like the proposed compressor station may contain "arsenic and benzene" (page 12, section 5) from the pipeline condensate. Also, "There may be a 1,000 gallon condensate tank at the Compressor Station that may require an oil operations permit." Given Dominion's documented environmental record in PA, that information might be of concern to some people.

News (3/8/2008)
The Friends of Frederick County has two excellent "Growth Watch Alerts" out this week. The first deals with annexation issues that will affect all of us. The second covers the proposed WTE incinerator that could require Frederick County to import over 1,000 tons of trash a day to make it viable. During the next two weeks, the Friends of Frederick County and the Waste Study Group are sponsoring free local seminars on an alternative plan. Please support their efforts!

News (3/4/2008)
Letter from the FERC (David Hanobic) to Dominion. Additional requirements for Dominion... including data sets that support Dominion's statements and proposals. View it here.

News (3/4/2008)
Citizens for the Preservation of Middletown Valley launches new website at CPMV.org! Site re-design and identity (logo and website design) are in progress.

News (3/3/2008) (Some of our local politicians respond, read the FNP article here.)
Our Frederick County, Board of County Commissioners formal response to the Dominion project has been submitted to the FERC. View it here.

Read the Dominion Gas Press Release from the Burgess and Commissioners of Middletown, Maryland, AND their excellent FERC response letter, located on the Middletown site.

Representative Roscoe Bartlett submits comments to the FERC. View it here.

Senator David Brinkley submits comments to the FERC. View it here.

News (3/3/2008)
As of Monday (3/3/08) over 140 concerned citizens and stakeholders have submitted their comments to the FERC eLibrary. Additional information here.

News (2/6/2008)
The FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) scheduled a site tour and a meeting on February 6th about the Middletown project. Over 350 concerned citizens attended the meeting!!!
— Click here to see videos from the meeting.
— Click here for the transcript from the meeting.
— Click here for the Frederick News Post article about the meeting.

Stay Informed
Join the discussion in our forum. The forum was created to:
— Keep neighbors and interested parties informed about local issues.
— Allow for discussions and concerns to be voiced.

Join us
There's lots to do to maintain our rural quality of life. Volunteers are always needed.
— If you have specialized skills or knowledge (legal, land use, historical, engineering, environmental), please email Elizabeth.
— If you can volunteer time to help spread the word, please email Elizabeth.