A licensee told the Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County on Dec. 13 that she will surrender her establishment's alcohol license because the propertyon-site sewage disposal system has been declared a failure by the health department.

The matter began when the boardcited Section 6-204 of the Alcoholic Beverage Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, and said it had been notified by the health department that the propertyseptic system had been determined to be a failure. The board asked to be updated on the status and whether the health department would suspend or revoke the property's permit if the violation is not corrected.

Dimple Oberoi, who gave an address on the record, told the board: "we're just going planning to shut it down...we're turning in the license." She said the group would surrender the license because they could not secure funds to repair the septic system and the lease owner had not resolved the issue.

Board Administrator Tammy Hildebrand and board members walked through the next steps for surrendering a license. Hildebrand said surrendering the license now would require any future reopening to follow the full new-application process, including a transfer and change-of-occupancy approvals if the business sought to reopen at a different location.

The board and staff also discussed the immediate logistics of surrender: staff must post notice that alcohol may not be served at the premises once the surrender is processed, and the board's enforcement staff would visit the site to assess how much alcohol remained on the premises and to advise on lawful disposal or return-to-vendor options.

"I will call you this afternoon and we will make arrangements to come by, post the notice, and then explain to you how that alcohol has to be" handled, a board member told the licensee.

The licensee said she would try to deliver the license to the board office the same day or the following morning so that staff could post the notice. The board confirmed there was no one residing in the apartment on the property and that they would assess the remaining stock and whether containers needed to be discarded or could be returned to vendors.

No formal board vote was required to accept the implied surrender; the transcript records the licensee's stated intent to turn in the license and staff guidance on next steps.

The board recorded the inquiry and staff follow-up actions so the enforcement coordinator and inspector could complete site work and the public-record steps required by the county.