ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 28, 2007) – Governor Martin O’Malley announces Board of Public Works approval today of a more than $2.6 million State grant to implement nutrient removal technology at the Boonsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant in Washington County. The Board is comprised of Governor O’Malley, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot.

“Every grant and state loan dollar spent on wastewater treatment are an investment we must make,” said MDE Acting Secretary Shari T. Wilson. “They are an essential part of Maryland’s long-standing effort toward reducing 40 percent of the amount of nutrients being discharged to the Bay.”

The project at the Boonsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant will consist of planning, design and construction of both Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) and Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) facilities at the existing Boonsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant. The BNR and ENR improvements will include sequential batch reactors, tertiary filtration, chlorination/dechlorination facility, and sludge digestion. Upon completion of the upgrade, the facility will be capable of reducing total nitrogen to 3 milligrams per liter and phosphorus to 0.3 milligrams per liter significantly reducing nutrients being discharged to Antietam Creek, a tributary to the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

Excess nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, lead to degraded water quality, which negatively impact the ecology of the Bay and its tributaries. In concert with the nutrient removal upgrade, the project will also expand the treatment plant capacity from 0.46 million gallons per day (mgd) to 0.53 mgd to accommodate planned municipal growth.

“The Town of Boonsboro greatly appreciates the State’s contribution of grant funding towards this multi-million dollar project as we work towards the common goal of improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Town of Boonsboro Manager Debra A. Smith. “Engineering assistance from the Maryland Department of the Environment has allowed the town to incorporate Biological and Enhanced Nutrient Removal in the pending upgrade and expansion of the Boonsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant.”

Planning was completed in February 2006. Construction is expected to being in May 2007 with a completion date of October 2008.

###​