From Friends of Harford:
On June 21st, Harford County Council passed a state required financial assurance plan which described how the County will accomplish the stormwater runoff control required by Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) by the end of the County’s pollution permit, also called the EPA Clean Water Act Permit. This requirement is part of the larger program to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries (e.g. Winters Run, Broad Creek, Bush River) by 2025. The reduction of stormwater runoff pollution is important because it is the only source of water pollution that is increasing.
Harford’s financial assurance plan clearly stated that the County intended to remediate only half of the stormwater pollution it is required to stop. The reason for this shortfall was described as inadequate finances. Finances are inadequate because the County Executive and County Council eliminated the stormwater management fee, without identifying an adequate funding source to replace it. In addition, the County is appealing the terms of its current permit so that it does not have to comply with current and future pollution control requirements.
The County has submitted a financial assurance plan that may be unacceptable and misleading about what will be accomplished with available funding. EPA administrators have already stated that EPA will not accept unused sewage treatment capacity as credit for stormwater runoff control as proposed by the County. More important, such a claim for credit does not reduce pollution in any way and especially not pollution caused by stormwater runoff.
The County also proposes to obtain pollution control credit for connecting septic systems to sewers or by converting septic to the best available technology. This exchange of pollution control seems reasonable and will probably result in a reduction of nutrient pollution, but it does nothing to reduce the siltation of our waters or reduce the risks of flood damage from stormwater runoff. An example of a much better trade is to assist farmers in planting cover crops and/or stream side wooded buffers in exchange for urban stormwater management where urban management is not feasible. Cover crops and wooded stream side buffers reduce erosion, sedimentation, nutrient pollution and increase stormwater infiltration, thus reducing the risk of flooding. But of course, this kind of action requires funding.
Finally, the financial assurance plan claims that grants will provide some of the funding needed. If the granting agency is the federal government and it considers septic system – sewer connections and unused sewage treatment capacity claims for pollution reduction credit as a reallocation of funds, rather than funding of genuine pollution control, additional grants are very unlikely.
The financial assurance plan seems to be part of a pattern of avoiding stormwater runoff control. The plan clearly states that the County does not have the finances necessary to reduce sedimentation and nutrient pollution required by state and federal plans. The County also acknowledges this situation in the new Master Plan – Harford Next Water Resource Element Plan – Appendix 2. The County has budgeted a hundred thousand dollars to join some other counties to litigate the requirements of the state and federal water pollution control plans rather than develop a replacement for the funding program it completely canceled. In addition, a recent survey revealed that developers complied with the County’s Erosion and Sedimentation Act only 34% of the time, and the County has presented no plans to increase the compliance rate either through education or enforcement.
So it appears that Harford County is unwilling to develop adequate funding sources for needed programs that result in significant water quality improvement. For example, County administrators used and are still using the term “Rain Tax” to mislead the public about the problem and the need for solutions. Rain is an uncontrollable natural process – but hot, dirty, destructive runoff from heavy rain is created by people and their impervious roads, parking lots, and buildings. Government must participate in educating our citizens about the problem and take the lead in developing fair, equitable and effective stormwater control programs.
The stormwater runoff control fee had many problems and needed revision or replacement instead of total elimination. Corrective efforts, so far, have been grossly inadequate as evidenced by the financial assurance plan and the County Master Plan. Unless the current County Administration and Council believe that government, landowners and businesses have a right to pollute and to flood downstream properties, we must accept that we have an obligation to change our ways and fix these man-made problems.
Tax the shit water flowing down from PA.
Clean up the dairy industry. The other day when it was 100 degrees I drove past a local farm and there was 150 cows standing in the stream kicking up mud peeing and pooping. That stream feeds deer creek then into the bay. Multiply that by 100’s of farms in the bay watershed and it’s significant.
Also the unrestricted application of manure to fields and allowed to runoff is criminal. It’s no wonder the bay is a cesspool.
Yes let’s have another overbearing government program drive more farmers out of state. We can build another thousand or so houses on that once productive farmland.
Also here’s a newsflash, millions of wild animals pee and poop outside along the streams.
“another program” What program is in place now to stop this blatant polluting of the bay by a few, that the rest of us have to deal with.
There are all kinds of rules and regulations in regards to farming.
Perhaps instead of ignorant comments, stop in and ask a farmer some questions?
Everything from licenses to “cover crop” and back around again.
Please, tell me how your daily life of “pollution” in the bay effects you?
I fail to see how the bay pollution is contributed to farming when we have this big watershed that runs down though several states and shits in the Chesapeake bay?
How about every square inch of waterfront property being residential and commercial?
How about overflowing pumping stations all down the Jones fall when there is a huge rain? All that shit ends up in the inner harbor.
If you are implying that the “big watershed” running through several states is not farm intensive I would suggest a day trip to Amish country. You would be surprised at the lack of crappy townhouses and Golden corrals.
Dairy farming along with the chicken industry are the major poluters.
User “Reality” I notice you have something about farming you keep mentioning. Yes, that is a viable concern as it dumping hundreds of tons of salt during a snow storm down to Billy throwing his refuse out the window as he drives down Route 40.
What is it? Something deeper?
Are you from the “city” and moved up to “farm ” and hate the smell of cookie? Do big tractors driving 7miles an hour, like a tractor man, piss you off?
Mmmhmm, it seems you have some sort of complex as you literally have not commented on anything other than “farms.”
I don’t care who you are but That guys comments are really odd. You noticed I posted something about farming? Well golly yeee gomer yea you red dem right.
Sweet jesus did you mother pump breast milk into a used roundup bottle?
I eat dirt.
If you think that guys comments are odd, look at your own.
You obviously have some sort of complex with farms. Not sure, and without adding personal insults don’t you think animals and aquatic life has pee’d and shat in watersheds?
That’s a really odd outlook.
Maybe you can tell the EPA that cows are standing in water ya friggin’ goof.
Should we ban that?
Ohhh Ohhhh can I play?
“Please, tell me how your daily life of “pollution” in the bay effects you? ”
By taxing me to clean up a mess I did not create.
I knew some “taxes” comment would come shortly.
Youre going to be taxed for the rest of your life, can you imagine, people like you living in this state, if we had a “school tax” similar to PA?
Nothing but obese, shite American males with carryout food bags with cheesesteaks in them would be on their 2 minute tirade about tinfoil conspiracy and how they shouldn’t pay $2,000 more a year in taxes when they have no kids in public school.
Idiots.
The entire article is about taxes. Unless you can tell us all how the county is going to pay for something without it coming from the citizens.
AND WTF does the bay and pollution have to do with school taxes pensyltucky and cheese steaks. Hitting the juice early today?
JUICE IS FOR ME
Cheesesteak subs, the preferred meal of choice for conservative gun nuts.
About 4,000 calories augments their 20,000 calorie a day diet @ 360lbs.
I think fried chicken is just as bad . get some new material
Racial innuendo? You just picked “fried chicken” as a coincidence.
Here come the conservative nuts with the race baiter comments, yep. Get out of the closet with what you’re trying to say.
but it is alright for north Harford democrat to always spew his racial crap about whites and cheesesteaks . surprise I am a black man north Harford dem and soulcrusher are the most racial people on the dagger . you guys make all us blacks look bad .so don’t spew it if you cant take ie
Conservative gun nuts is racial?
So are cheese steaks?
County is also unwilling to develop adequate funding sources for public education. Whatta joke this county has become.
How does more taxes actually translate into a cleaner Bay? Just wondering. How does money fix this? Do we create giant scrubbers that clean the Bay? Do we get a bunch of those sucker fishes that clean aquariums? Please, pray tell, how do taxes and money fix this?
The big issue is PA and NY. MD is already regulating the bejesus out of people.
If we throw the money into the bay, it will absorb the pollution.
How are they regulating the bejesus out of people?
The Bush River is entirely within the boundary of Harford County and it is thick with polluted runoff. You can’t blame that on PA.
Please cite pollution you speak of, if not,. We can just say EVERY open body of water is polluted.
Consider the fact that most of the shoreline is undeveloped and no commercial or large industry occupy anywhere on the Bush River.
Yep, okay, we can say that every open body of water is polluted. You can help by supporting a new and improved Runoff Fee.
For you to say undeveloped shoreline along the Bush River is all that matters to water quality shows you don’t understand how a watershed works. Look at a map of Harford County: follow the tributaries of the Bush back to their sources, look at what areas they drain. You’ll see parking lots, roof tops, warehouses, industry, and lots of commercial space. Run off from these areas is the only source of pollution in HC that is increasing.
There’s “run off” in every body kf water.
What I was clearly trying to elaborate on is that there isn’t residential and commercial properties lined up everywhere along the entire river like virtually every other watershed.
LOL I never typed AT ALL in my reply that “For you to say undeveloped shoreline along the Bush River is all that matters to water quality”
I just said there isn’t a whole lot of industry there so it’s a tad cleaner.
Stop putting words into my mouth, schmuck.
Please, elaborate on the pollution. Let’s see some hard evidence other than your wannabe expert opinion.
Tad cleaner? Nope.
Read this, that is if you can.
http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Water/TMDL/Documents/BSID_Reports/Bush_River_BSID_19Dec13_Final.pdf
I definitely can’t read that. Congrats on supplying 1 MDE report from 2013 of 1 river. Lol
You win the internet man.
Thought so… the one river you are claiming to be cleaner.
LOL.
You Fail.
It sure is cleaner than a lot of other rivers. Where are other rivers? Everywhere.
A lot of other rivers in anywhere, USA.
And the fail just keeps coming.
You really are an idiot…. Did you eat something from the Bush river?
Bawahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can help by supporting a fee, as in paying more?
Okay, so the pollution is coming from parking lots, roofs, industry and commercial space.
What is paying more money as a fee going to do for said pollution problem?
The pollution is always going to run into the river, and people are always going to need more money to say they need to help support “clean up”
No commercial or large industry? Perhaps you missed Edgewood arsenal and Aberdeen Proving grounds.
Someone clearly is the idiot here.
What about them? There isn’t building after building built next to each other right on the shore line.
Either you don’t know the history of the area or you truly are n idiot.
By the way, sit in the back of the bus, like your ancestors.
So paying a fee/tax proclaimed to “help pollution” is the end all/problem solver?
What is going to be done with said money? Is all that cash going to thrown along the edge of the water to soak up the run off?
For the last several decades every project – residential or business – has had to incorporate storm water runoff management in the planning phase and construction. I have no doubt that the design parameters were dictated by millions of dollars worth of research by EPA, Army Corp of Engineers and anyone else who could finagle research dollars. Are we now being informed that all that money and effort was insufficient to the task at hand? No doubt the incompetent federal agencies that failed in the initial effort will assure us that giving them millions more will solve all the problems we’re seeing now. This is just another example of how the complete absence of accountability in the Federal government is killing us all. Oh, and since they hate the “misleading” “rain tax” label so much, how about if we refer to it as the “hot, dirty, destructive runoff from heavy rain tax”. Just to use their own words.