From the Office of the Governor of Maryland:
Hogan Administration Statement On Baltimore City Circuit Court Dismissal Of Exelon Challenge To Conowingo Environmental Plan
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan and Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles issued the following statements in response to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City’s dismissal of Exelon’s challenge to the Water Quality Certification issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) in the proposed relicensing of the Conowingo Dam.
“Maryland is making historic progress in reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay recently received its highest water quality rating ever reported, but all of our progress could be at risk if we do not pursue a comprehensive regional approach to reducing pollution in the Susquehanna River,” said Governor Hogan. “From the beginning of our administration, we have sounded the warning on the risk posed by pollution flowing down the river and through the Conowingo Dam. As the dam’s operator, Exelon has a critical role to play in a comprehensive strategy for Bay restoration, and we are committed to working with all partners to obtain this vital Water Quality Certification so we can preserve the Bay for future generations.”
Exelon’s request that MDE reconsider the issuance of the Water Quality Certification is pending with the department. MDE has filed a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by Exelon in U.S. District Court.
“The decision to dismiss Exelon’s challenge in Baltimore City Circuit Court is great news for clean water and a step forward in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, which continues to be among Governor Hogan’s top priorities,” said Secretary Grumbles. “The Maryland Department of the Environment’s Water Quality Certification for the proposed relicensing of the Conowingo Dam includes responsible and necessary conditions based on sound science and the law, and it demonstrates that the Hogan administration will fight tirelessly to restore the Chesapeake Bay.”
Information on the Water Quality Certification can be found at: https://news.maryland.gov/mde/2018/04/27/hogan-admin-issues-comprehensive-plan-for-conowingo-dam-susquehanna-river-chesapeake-bay/
The order dismissing Exelon’s complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City:
I call “Bullshit” to Ben Grumbles (MDE) and Larry Hogan. Divorce yourselves from the politics and use your own common sense! The Conowingo Dam didn’t create ANY of the sediment that has built up in its lake over the many years since it was built, so why are the owners (Exelon) being extorted by our state government to pay for its removal? I’ll tell you why,…they’re an easy target! Wake up folks! These are the same type of people that typically don’t want “big gubmint” interferring or over-regulating our businesses! Hey, if MDE gets away with this sham, YOUR electricity rates will be increased to pay for this unfair extortion!
Woah, woah, woah.
While Exelon obviously does not create the sediment, the dam blocks the natural flow of sediment. Exelon owns, operates, and profits from the dam. To say Exelon bears no responsibility for the sediment trapped by their dam is asinine.
Your statement is asinine.
You stated that “the dam blocks the natural flow of sediment” , meaning that without the dam, additional sediment would be going into the bay! WTF?
And when it’s not blocking sediment it is letting too much sediment in killing oysters and plants.
Seems the problem is sediment and pollutants and not Exelon and the dam.
Exactly!
This sediment is built up from the time the dam was constructed. If it were flowing into the bay over that long period of time, it would not be an issue as natural tidal cycles, storms, etc. would disperse it rendering it harmless. Dilution is the solution to pollution, dummies. Instead, the dam has produced an acute problem.
The only way we will fix the Conowingo problem is to get rid of Gov. Larry Hogan! Four years is enough of this Republican clown. Time for a change for the public interest not the corporate interest
Ben Jealous For Governor,. Don’t Be A Red Neck ! Vote For Ben Jealous !
Keep this up and Tom Myers will be stealing these jokes from you!
Sorry, I don’t live in VA.
JIMBO – Do you live in Maryland? Ben Jealous made a faux pas or a social blunder!
Larry Hogan made disastrous real mistakes with education in Maryland!
He is a political disgrace and a right wing political ideologue!
Yelling without substance and posting youtube links always wins voters over. Enjoy that 20 point loss coming the carpetbagger’s way.
Callahan, considering that you also think that Boardman is a good candidate for sheriff, I’d say your judgement is pretty terrible.
If Jealous can’t even get the name of the state he’s running for governor correct then why the hell should anyone vote for him? There wasn’t a very good chance Hogan would lose re-election, but the D’s made it easy for him by nominating jealous. Not as easy as Gahler has it over Boardman of course, but Boardman can barely string a coherent sentence together let alone be trusted to run anything.
Not to mention the democrat picks for the House of Delegates. Steve Johnson is a wife beater, but since he’s a loyal socialist let’s back him. Then Mary Ann touts Steve as a quality guy. Both of them belong on an ash heap. She reminds me of the Clinton broad defending her man.
JIMBO –
Any body that makes a BIG DEAL about a faux pas like the one Ben Jealous made is most likely an ignorant racist .. If a slip of the tongue is your excuse for not voting for Jealous your a fool.
Hogan is responsible for approving the political ad about the faux pas so I consider him a racist and a fool , too.
Neither can Gahler, but lets not confuse the issue with FACTS……
You see, that attitude is exactly why Trump beat Clinton and why if the D’s aren’t careful he’ll win again in 2020. When you start automatically assuming that anyone who doesn’t agree with you is an ignorant racist you are not going to have much luck convincing them to support you or your candidate. You’re the one calling me names and making sweeping generalizations about anyone who disagrees with you. I simply said I think your judgement is terrible because you think Boardman is qualified to be sheriff.
I’m not voting for Hogan over Jealous because of his “faux pas” as you call it. I just find it funny that Jealous can’t even get the name of the state he’s running for governor correct. I’m voting for Hogan because I believe he has done a great job as governor and has earned my vote. I don’t vote a party line ballot and never have. I vote for who I feel is the best person for the job. I find most politicians at the national level to be an embarrassment to this country.
And somehow electing this racist prick is the answer according to Mike! Read the racist screeds that this low life POS wrote as editorials while president of the NAACP. He will pander and lie and then stick it to us.
OLD GUY –
You are a white nationalist!
White racist have no logical arguments or facts . All they have .is racial hatred!
Everything that gets “trapped” by the dam would be downstream anyway if the dam did not exist. I agree with local yocal that the dam operators are an easy scapegoat. The problems lie in the 300 miles of upstream watershed in pa and ny. If the state of Maryland keeps trying to somehow try to hold the power company hostage monetarily, and make the dam unprofitable, I think they will walk away. They are a business that pay a lot of taxes in md. I think Hogan knows this, but he is playing games with some of his political base. The watershed of the Susquehanna river is enormous and Conowingo dam is actually one of the only places where they can remove any debris. Exelon spends a lot of money hauling away this debris.
Maybe I’m missing the point, but the dam does not create the stuff that is causing pollution issues with the bay. True, the dam stops sediment. That’s the unfortunate problem with dams, they stop the flow of a river and cause the sediment carried by the river to settle, usually at the base of the dam. Eventually, this sediment will clough the dam rendering it useless for purposes of flood control (for a different example I refer you to Aswan High Dam over the Nile River in Egypt. They are having problems with sediment buildup as well.)
But the precipitating (excuse the pun) problem was the unprecedented runoff from the rains this summer that caused an exceptionally high flood of the river causing the dam to overflow. Since an incredible amount of debris that would not have found it way into the river otherwise was floating on top of and carried by this high flood condition, over the dam it went right into the Chesapeake Bay and all points south (see Annapolis).
This was an exceptional condition. I can understand “points south” wanting help with the cleanup cost but how can you apportion this? The dam isn’t the fault. Even without sediment build up at dam, the high level of flooding on the Susquehanna would have carried the extra debris over the dam anyway.
I don’t understand this lawsuit. If Exelon is not addressing the problem of silt buildup, then they need to do something about it. But the problems caused by the incredible amount of rani we had this summer should not be used as an excuse to go after Exelon..
Your reply is all over the place and it makes no sense. Did you proof read it?
A vote for Jesse Colvin and getting rid of Andy Harris will do more for the health of the bay than anything Exelon could do.
#Local…, Yes I did proof read. I said what I wanted to say in the order I wanted to say it.
The problem is that due to excessive rains this year, there was a lot of debris that washed into the Susquehanna River. All that rain caused excessively high flood levels on the river. The debris floated on top of the water. The dam was not high enough to halt the high levels of water washing down the river This excess water went over the dam carrying the debris that was floating on top of the water right into the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately this debris wound up in places like Annapolis.
This runoff was not the fault of Exelon.
A dam stops the flow of a river. When this happens, any materials caught in the moving waters of the river (silt) will precipitate out and settle at the base of the dam. Eventually, this sediment buildup will clough the dam and render it useless. If Exelon wants to continue in business, they need to get rid of this sediment before that happens.
Since Exelon is making a profit on the electricity it generates with this dam, the cost of cleaning up this silt should be one of their line item expenses and included in the price of the electricity it sells. . It is their responsibility to clean up the silt; not the State of Maryland.
However, if the sediment levels at the base of the dam were such that it inhibited the dam’s ability to stop the flood levels of the river, then Exelon is at fault for the debris that went over the dam.
The situation seems pretty cut and dry to me. I just don’t understand why who is suing who about what.
I miss Roni Chenoweth.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aegis/ph-ag-womens-history-chenowith-20180312-story.html
We live near the Dam and cross it daily.
The build up of debris is constant. It is bigger now, with the record precipitation. It is always there, however.
This is a problem that needs to be addressed. The solution is not as easy as forcing Exelon to pay.
The only result from that is higher prices for consumers.
The money wouldn’t be spent by Harford County correctly anyway. The problem would be recurring yearly, and Exelon would soon tire of paying.
With all due respect, LeaMc, you should clean up your own mess and not expect taxpayers to pay for it.