Hampstead planners certify water/sewer map changes as PFAS treatment project advances

The Hampstead Planning and Zoning Commission on April 23 held a public hearing on the town—s PFAS treatment centralization project final site plan and unanimously certified the spring 2025 amendment to the 2023 Carroll County Water and Sewer Master Plan to reflect new water and sewer service-area coding for properties tied to the project.

The certification is a necessary local consistency finding before the county and state review steps that the town—s zoning administrator said would allow pipeline contracts and construction funding to proceed. Commission members also closed the public hearing on the final site plan during the meeting.

At the hearing Jason Lytle, a design engineer with George, Miles & Buhr, said the design team has been responding to county and state review comments. "I haven't really seen any, you know, major comments in terms of those, that that we haven't been able to address," Lytle told the commission. The zoning administrator, Jim (last name not specified), described the state review process as extensive but moving forward and said the town expects to go to bid for treatment-plant construction in May.

Jim reported the Maryland Department of the Environment had approved pipeline construction inspection services and, as of the day of the meeting, had issued notice of approval for the pipeline construction contract. He said those approvals put the contracts in position to go to the state Board of Public Works for funding approval. "If that goes through, I honestly I don't see why we can't be in the ground starting construction in June," Jim said, describing the timeline as optimistic after a prolonged review period.

Jim also described one remaining administrative piece: an EPA grant agreement the town must finalize. He told the commission the town's attorney-general's office and state officials had worked on the nonstandard grant document and that Hampstead planned a special town-council meeting on April 29 to approve the grant agreement. If the council approves the agreement and the supporting documents are submitted to MDE, Jim said the contracts would be scheduled for the Board of Public Works meeting on May 21 for funding approval.

County planner Andrew Gray, of the Carroll County Bureau of Comprehensive Planning, reviewed the staff report for the spring 2025 amendment. Gray said the amendment adjusts water-service and sewer-service area coding for properties associated with the PFAS project: the North Carol Farms site, Hampstead Valley, and the dairy water treatment plant and related sewer map updates. "These are all the properties associated with the PFAS treatment project and new water treatment plants," Gray said. He noted there were no major demand changes proposed to municipal water or sewer tables in the master-plan update.

The commission considered the adequate facilities report included with the final site-plan documents. The report, prepared under Section 120-7(a) and (b) of the Hampstead Town Code, concluded the proposed use would not create inadequacy in police protection, recreation, roads, fire protection, emergency services, water service or sewer service and stated local schools would not be impacted by the treatment facilities. Commissioners asked for clarification on the wording about school impacts and were told the project is a treatment facility, not a residential development, and therefore would not affect school attendance figures.

During the meeting staff also noted a separate land-use item: a new restaurant, Little G's Diner, will seek a conditional-use approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals on May 8 and then return to the commission for a sign application on May 28. Town staff also reminded attendees that Hampstead Day is scheduled for May 17, when part of Main Street will be closed for the event.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to close the public hearing on the PFAS treatment centralization project final site plan: approved (unanimous). Commission members recorded present at roll call voted in favor.

- Motion to approve minutes of the March 26, 2025 regular commission meeting: approved (unanimous).

- Motion to certify the 2025 spring amendment to the 2023 Carroll County Water and Sewer Master Plan as consistent with the Hampstead comprehensive plan: approved (unanimous). The item will next proceed to the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission, then the County Board of Commissioners, then Maryland Department of the Environment for final review.

What happens next

Staff said the town will seek town-council approval of the EPA grant agreement at a special meeting on April 29, submit the executed grant and supporting documents to MDE immediately afterward, and pursue Board of Public Works approval of pipeline funding on May 21. If those steps proceed as described, staff said pipeline and plant construction contracts could move forward and on-the-ground work could begin as soon as June. The timeline remains contingent on county and state approvals and the finalized grant agreement.

Commissioners closed the regular meeting with no further public comment and adjourned.