Environmental issues are front and center in the Maryland General Assembly’s 2012 session, with Governor O’Malley introducing legislation that will encourage smarter growth and help to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Senate Bill 236, the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012, builds on the framework set by the Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal that was created by Governor O’Malley in April 2011. The task force’s report emphasized the need for sustainable growth making use of existing infrastructure in communities.

“Within Maryland, after 10 years of smart growth efforts, despite some significant successes, there is widespread recognition that much more needs to be done if we are to significantly stem the loss of our rural resources and reverse the decline of many of our cities and towns,” the task force report stated. “Implementing protective measures now will ensure that the land use and pollution impact of future Marylanders is minimized, giving us the greatest chance of success in restoring the Chesapeake Bay and protecting our rural landscape.”

The number of new households projected to use sewer systems is three times the number projected to use septic systems, but the total pollution from septic systems to rivers and streams is likely to be twice that of the pollution from households on sewer, according to the Maryland Department of Planning. An average household on septic systems produces 10 times more combined wastewater and stormwater pollution to the environment than an average household that uses Maryland’s upgraded sewer systems.

SB 236 works within the current framework of local jurisdictions’ comprehensive plans to guide growth. To encourage growth in existing communities, the bill establishes a tiered system that is driven by local planning, zoning and subdivision policies. Participation by counties in the tiered system is not mandatory.

“Septic sprawl is destroying the very character of Maryland’s rural and agricultural landscape,” said Robert Summers, Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment. “We must take action now if we are to preserve rural Maryland. The only alternative to not addressing the increasing nitrogen pollution from septic tanks is to require those who live in our cities, towns, our businesses and our farmers to do more. That simply is not fair, everyone must do their part if we are to be successful.”

Senate Bill 240 also addresses the protection and restoration of our rivers, streams and bays by proposing an increase in the Bay Restoration Fund (BRF) fee. Maryland’s Watershed Implementation Plan to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay “pollution diet” depends on upgrades to our wastewater treatment plants made possible by the BRF.

Fees collected from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) users provide grants to local governments for upgrades of Maryland’s WWTPs with enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) technology capable of dramatically reducing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in treated wastewater. Similarly, the fee collected from septic system users is used to upgrade septic systems with best available technology for nitrogen removal and to plant cover crops to reduce nutrient pollution to the groundwater that feeds our streams, rivers and the Bay. 

The current BRF fee is $2.50 per month, collected from each household served by a wastewater treatment plant. Business users are charged $2.50 per month per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU). Similarly, a $30 annual fee is collected from each user served by a septic system. 

Under the proposed new legislation, the BRF fee would be based on water usage for most households. The more water used, the higher the fee -- $0.90 per 1,000 gallons for the first 2,000 gallons of water used per month plus $1.25 per 1,000 gallons of water used thereafter.

The goal of the proposed fee increase is to double the annual fee revenue and adjust the fee to the amount of water used so that those who use less pay less. About 20 percent of households use less than 2,000 gallons per month and will see the $2.50 per month fee drop to less than $1.80. Most households use between 4,000 and 6,000 gallons of water per month and will see their fee increase between $2 and $4 a month. 

For the approximately 20 percent of households that do not have water meters or are on individual wells and septics (or holding tanks), the proposed BRF fee increase would be based on a flat rate of $60 per year.

Maryland has initially targeted the 67 major WWTPs for ENR upgrades. Twenty-three of these upgrades are complete, 20 are under construction and 24 are in the design or planning stage. More than 3,000 septic systems have been upgraded with nitrogen removal technologies using the BRF fee. With the proposed fee increase, more than 1,300 septic systems can be upgraded annually, primarily in the Chesapeake Bay critical area, which has more than 50,000 septic systems.

These projects not only reduce pollution, but they also create and support jobs. The investment in WWTP upgrades and other water and wastewater infrastructure projects for the current fiscal year supports an estimated 4,000 jobs. If the Bay Restoration Fund fee is increased, by 2014 an estimated 5,600 jobs would be supported annually by these types of projects. These jobs cannot be outsourced and will benefit Maryland families for years to come.

“The Chesapeake Bay is crucial to our economy, our quality of life,” said Secretary Summers. “A healthy Bay will benefit Maryland’s tourism, recreation, agriculture and fishery industries. The same things we need to do to restore the Bay also restore and protect the sources of our drinking water, Maryland’s groundwater, streams, rivers and reservoirs. Failure to take the necessary actions is not an option.”

MDE has also introduced legislation that would: remove the Department from enforcement of the state’s noise statute (HB190); eliminate the State requirement that a small water and wastewater facility be under the supervision of both an operator and a superintendent (SB115); waive the public notice requirements and the holding of a hearing when an application is filed for a permit for dewatering at a construction project (SB117); eliminate the statutory requirement to certify Maryland-domiciled drivers of vehicles transporting controlled hazardous substances (SB114); and clarify that a party has the right to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals from an adverse ruling in a circuit court case involving the judicial review of permit determinations (HB186).