METCOM staff detail Marley Taylor capacity, seek EDU reallocations; commissioners approve FY2026 METCOM capital budget

METCOM staff on May 20 gave a detailed presentation on the Marley Taylor wastewater treatment plant's capacity and the discrepancy between reserved Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDUs) on paper and actual flow. Commissioners then approved the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission FY2026 capital-improvement budget and the FY2027–2031 plan by voice vote.

What staff reported: METCOM staff said Marley Taylor has a permitted capacity of 6,000,000 gallons per day (gpd) but is currently flowing about 4,000,000 gpd. Longstanding contracts reserve capacity that is not currently flowing: staff said agreements reserve roughly 1,500,000 gpd for the Navy (about 4,800 EDUs) and about 300,000 gpd for St. Mary's College (about 700 EDUs reserved in prior transactions). In 2022 Maryland Department of the Environment review staff reported roughly 1,853 EDUs of available capacity; in 2025 staff calculated about 1,722 EDUs remaining when adjusting for allocations. By contrast, staff noted more than 7,300 EDUs have been allocated or reserved but are not currently connected and flowing, creating a disparity between…