[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6126542,"mediaKeyId","2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa","parentId",2667786,"title","Committee backs leachate treatment study and major MRF upgrade in recycling CIP","audioSeconds",586,"startMs",212000,"endMs",798000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa&start=212&end=798","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa/thumbnail_212000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6126542/Montgomery-County/Maryland/Committee-backs-leachate-treatment-study-and-major-MRF-upgrade-in-recycling-CIP","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6126542-4a2b16ff73c8d609c4354d5efd55affb/orig.mp4?Expires=1775220224&Signature=NuSbQwQa4fp~zQpX3haI23lleJC9cztHYphRTPHskh7nAYm7L-MQu3emVpo9yfThwDNx7FqKiHcur9IEQFdnGJEG6DcG1Iyx89uPD5zkq13PtN16h3DtUGXMhwtbVKXsTYFjJWbWB1B7s1Ld64tV-mRIYxskS16iZJeziNW8YQoIqmvYniFFRiW0crQqoQrQA1~WvtFtegXuwJ8ohCv5I~EmeoeQSzIO97Y-tkbW2fYQsipSoY3nEDusqDnyBwxzbZZOXaaKymGGHiYdOzdst~JATlgQ322OWoWwfprouchDXXbFF5CaNOsqnIu9G86JZFLA8~hLwxQbSgeBmEuE0g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montgomery County, MD","date","2025-03-17T18:06:14Z","article","The Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 supported the County Executive’s recommended capital improvements that add planning and design funding for PFAS treatment at the Oaks Landfill leachate plant and for a full upgrade of the county’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

The amendments matter because they fund regulatory compliance work and work to expand recycling processing capacity as county solid-waste tonnage rises. Committee members and staff said the changes are covered by the solid waste disposal fund, current revenues and revenue bonds and that rate decisions tied to the operating budget will be considered later in the spring.

Jamie Foster, section chief in the Resource and Recycling Management Division, said the Oaks Landfill Leachate Retreatment Plant will be retrofitted to address PFAS and similar “forever chemicals.” Foster said department staff have been testing treatment options and that an early granular activated carbon pilot did not achieve the county’s treatment goal. “We started with a granular activated carbon system, and we did benchmark sampling ... but based on the testing, we realized that we would not meet the 4 parts petroleum treatment goal, so we're moving on to other treatment technologies to try to address this situation,” Foster said. The amendment adds funding to continue evaluating and developing an appropriate treatment technology to avoid PFAS discharge to WSSC's sanitary sewer system.

Amy Stevens and DEP staff described the proposed MRF upgrades as both equipment/process and building modifications. Committee discussion clarified current throughput and the upgrade target: DEP staff said the facility’s existing processing equipment, installed in the early 1990s and upgraded in 2001, presently handles about 8 tons per hour, while the planned upgrade is being sized for roughly 22 to 25 tons per hour. “So the facility that we are looking for right now as an upgrade will be processing about 22 to 25 tons an hour, which is, yes, three times almost what the current one can process,” DEP staff said. The MRF design is at roughly 30 percent; staff expect more specific equipment specs at 60 percent design and said they recently completed a facility conditions assessment and a source study to inform equipment choices.

Committee members pressed staff on how the Executive’s proposed increase in the solid-waste management fee relates to the CIP changes. Committee staff said the Executive’s proposed rates incorporate the CIP and operating recommendations transmitted in the Executive’s budget, but the Council must still decide final rates later in the spring. Committee members asked DEP and OMB to provide a project-level breakdown showing how different CIP items and alternate scenarios would affect fees so the Council can evaluate prioritization before finalizing rates.

The committee voiced support, by consensus, for the Executive’s recommended amendments for the Oaks leachate project and the MRF upgrades while reserving additional rate and prioritization decisions for the operating-budget cycle.

Looking ahead, committee members said they will revisit the broader solid-waste management plan and operating budget discussions later in April and May, when fee decisions and the full set of CIP amendments will be considered.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Mar. 17, 2025 - TE Committee Worksession (Upload)","oneSentenceSummary","The Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 supported the County Executive’s recommended capital improvements that add planning and design funding for PFAS treatment at the Oaks Landfill leachate plant and for a full upgrade of the county’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).","taxTitle","Montgomery County, Maryland","taxId",3351,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6126532,"WSSC outlines FY26 capital priorities; council asks for jurisdictional revenue breakdown",1587,3475000,5062000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa&start=3475&end=5062","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa/thumbnail_3475000.jpg","/articles/6126532/Montgomery-County/Maryland/WSSC-outlines-FY26-capital-priorities-council-asks-for-jurisdictional-revenue-breakdown","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6126532-319ec05bf00cab01e4b27d2a304e52e5/orig.mp4?Expires=1775220224&Signature=R691YikjHFIfCDU7YJDhF2EqQqZnXKq-ld0e~wtVK~yzcCf2lj5kaeJcaHdzbJ4WYb9e41K9vshPR~v-ReUvtWw8-ZdX0IZzWtSM2fff7vDpRe-4n~gpqEBVVTumI82hSw3t0Y2PwPPjkn6W-ati6eEC1kNPWs3pGUEfq21w7KphuiD-uW4jwRO6vF5scNpVEBZ92aw0CUhbzC8AkizCmgFqOrhEkrMiTd-qflqMDg1-B10q7t9Koq-mKF1yJMPj~o9gsGz7Sv7-pXScxWq2HY9Wyyv55DV-ahofSUg58DfKDXLPtWlqkaI3kL2so3O3bpMV~~ObhcXAN7YOD-GG9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) briefed the Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 about FY26 capital priorities, and committee members asked for more detailed cross-jurisdiction financial information and federal-grant impact assessments.

WSSC staff described multiple CIP categories: water distribution (mains and hydrants), wastewater collection (small and large sewers), wastewater pump-station upgrades, water treatment and storage (including elevated storage-tank rehabilitation), upgrades at water-resource recovery facilities (Parkway, Piscataway, Western Branch), and interjurisdictional investments at Blue Plains. Staff also highlighted innovation/priority programs—lead abatement initiatives, PFAS/forever-chemical work, smart-meter planning, and a bioenergy program at Piscataway.

The presentation included project-scale budget references for FY26 cycles: small sewer replacements (about $51.5 million), large sewer mains (about $42 million), elevated storage/filtration plant upgrades (about $23 million for tank rehabilitation and related filtration work), and water-resource recovery facility projects (about $31 million). WSSC staff said those investments are aimed at replacing aging infrastructure where the system has seen high break and basement-backup densities and to support growth across the two-county service area.

A WSSC representative described community impacts: “the impact to the community is replacing that old infrastructure, and promoting growth,” and noted rehabilitation and energy-efficiency work in plants and tanks is intended to reduce operating costs, chemical use and energy consumption over time.

Councilmembers pressed WSSC about how revenue collected is allocated between Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. WSSC staff said the system is operated as a unified water and sewer district and that most fees are pooled into a common system; they committed to provide a county-level breakdown on revenue collection and disbursements to inform the Council’s ongoing rate discussions. Committee members also asked WSSC to flag whether recent federal budget uncertainty could affect capital planning; WSSC staff said current federal grants on the books remain intact but that the agency is monitoring developments and would report any change in available grant funding.

The committee expressed general support for WSSC’s CIP posture and asked for follow-up deliverables: a jurisdictional revenue/disbursement breakdown, an update on the smart-meter planning timeline and potential bill impacts, and notification if federal grant reductions would affect Blue Plains or other shared services.","WSSC staff reviewed FY26 capital priorities before the Montgomery County Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 and agreed to provide a jurisdictional revenue breakdown and updates on smart-meter planning and federal-grant stability.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6126537,"County advances flood-management planning; Sligo Creek pilot map to be published this summer",317,1629000,1946000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa&start=1629&end=1946","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2667786-f9cd88730504bb891eccb6bf900798fa/thumbnail_1629000.jpg","/articles/6126537/Montgomery-County/Maryland/County-advances-flood-management-planning-Sligo-Creek-pilot-map-to-be-published-this-summer","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6126537-5e003551cbed7f87a48079eb2b59b3ac/orig.mp4?Expires=1775220224&Signature=SIgJxgufEOe6bocusKzb5nfPYCregQHX~t2e004IXjpF~NmLVW9Kai3wOjz25w3D8~zd86WqLP8Q428R89qFrWOLHFOyCfRLEo~TdaqkbTyNrQAKfIr6j~QNB0NtTE3e-iTRRhw1FDGfdgXjqUIwx1~K1Q12ZUWJQWirLaKyWUmAbMoVyni6gtKEHs~jgaBn-HEy2ip0m814LUDgRPU9LW-tYgv5J05QanjeuO9Sz8jIwsV7wn7coutj9sNPn5HgGya0Rqkbw4sbZLrHSZIcekrdbIrVgWWOH2PMRDGW8Lheef9u0rQlrXMbY48fmARrrWFuB-YP8pIEKPm0V6HjEw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection officials told the Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 that phase 2 of a comprehensive flood-management plan is underway and that watershed modeling for 11 watersheds should be complete by the end of 2027, starting with a Sligo Creek pilot.

The planning work will use updated precipitation and development assumptions, generate publicly accessible maps, and inform a later round of policy and capital decisions. DEP staff emphasized that the planning work is intended to identify where future flooding risk will rise with climate change and to develop project and policy responses that consider racial equity and social vulnerability.

Stan Edwards, chief of the division of energy, climate compliance and DEP’s lead on the plan, said the county updated precipitation assumptions to reflect recent gauge data and climate projections. He summarized the projected change for a 24-hour, 100-year event: “Right now, it's 8.2 inches in 24 hours. ... going up to 9.7 in 02/1950 and 11.9 in February,” Edwards said while reviewing the work’s long-range scenarios. Edwards noted the plan will model events from 10-year up to 500-year storms and that the county is projecting out several future time horizons to reflect long-lived infrastructure lifecycles.

DEP staff also described the methodology for estimating future impervious area, including a “reasonable worst case” based on maximum development under current zoning and additional increases within transit-focused growth corridors such as Silver Spring, Wheaton and along the Purple Line and BRT corridors.

Staff previewed a pilot visualization for Sligo Creek that shows modeled inundation depths in different colors and said they plan to publish an interactive web tool that allows residents to zoom to neighborhoods. “We think it's important to share what the model shows, but we don't want to cause anybody to panic about what that model shows,” Edwards said; DEP staff said the Sligo Creek map should be publicly available this summer and that maps for additional watersheds will follow as models are completed.

The committee and DEP discussed policy options the county might consider once modeling is complete. DEP listed potential regulatory or code approaches—such as base-floor elevations, protections for below-grade mechanical systems, and limits or mitigation on new impervious surface—that could be tied to the plan’s findings. Edwards and staff cautioned several of those topics would be controversial and require sustained public outreach and interdepartmental work.

Committee members asked about federal technical inputs; DEP staff said the county uses NOAA precipitation analysis methods (the Atlas product series) and FEMA riverine floodplain data as reference sources but is projecting beyond currently published federal updates to create county-specific time- and climate-forward models.

The committee supported the planning-focused CIP amendments to increase watershed modeling work and directed DEP to continue preparing outreach materials, including multilingual information and careful messaging, ahead of public map releases.","Montgomery County DEP described progress on a countywide flood-management plan that models 11 watersheds, with Sligo Creek as a pilot. The plan updates rainfall and impervious-area assumptions, will produce public web maps, and raises potential changes to planning and building-code approaches to reduce future flood risk.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee backs leachate treatment study and major MRF upgrade in recycling CIP

WSSC outlines FY26 capital priorities; council asks for jurisdictional revenue breakdown

County advances flood-management planning; Sligo Creek pilot map to be published this summer