Maryland Department of the Environment

MD Solar 1 - Shugart Valley Place

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Shugart Valley Place decision is available:

 

​Socio-Economic Justification Report for MD Solar 1 (Shugart Valley Place) is available below.New!​

 

Extension of Public Informational Hearing Record

 
    On October 15, 2018, MDE received an application for a nontidal wetlands and waterways permit to authorize impacts associated with the construction of the Shugart Valley Solar project (application # 18-NT-0323/201861760). MDE held a public informational hearing on February 27, which was continued on May 13, 2019. At the hearing, MDE took testimony from over 80 people, many of whom expressed concern about the potential adverse impacts of the project on the high quality waters (Tier II waters) on the site, Wards Run 1 and Wards Run 2. At the hearing, MDE also announced that the public informational hearing record would be held open, and interested parties would have the opportunity to submit written comments, until June 3, 2019.

    MDE conducted biological monitoring of these Tier II waters in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The data indicate that Wards Run 1 has experienced degradation in water quality such that any additional loss of assimilative capacity must be justified as necessary for important socioeconomic reasons. Accordingly, MDE has recently communicated to the applicant that additional information and a social and economic justification (SEJ) are needed in order to determine whether the loss of additional assimilative capacity in Wards Run 1 is justified. The SEJ will include an analysis of:

    1. Environmental costs and benefits: tradeoffs between the environmental benefits gained by completing this project compared to the environmental benefits of preserving the high-quality aquatic resources;
    2. Social contributions of the project compared to the associated cost of degradation of the high-quality aquatic resources; and
    3. Economic contributions of the project compared to the economic impact of preserving the high-quality aquatic resources.

     

    Because MDE needs this additional information in order to make its permitting decision, MDE is hereby extending the time period in which the public informational hearing record will remain open. The hearing record will remain open until two calendar weeks after MDE posts on this website the SEJ provided by the applicant which MDE will consider in its determination as to whether the loss of additional assimilative capacity in Wards Run 1 is justified. This will provide the public with an opportunity to review and comment on this additional information prior to MDE making its decision on the permit application. The SEJ was posted on August 9, 2019. The hearing record closed on August 23, 2019.​
 

Application

 
 

Associated Project Documents

 
 

Public Informational Hearing

 
 

Correspondence

 
 

Related Links

 
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Maryland Department of the Environment
1800 Washington Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21230