St. Mary's officials lay out watershed implementation options, plan preliminary submission to state by Nov. 18

St. Mary's County Department of Land Use and Growth Management staff on Tuesday briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL) and the county's Phase 2 Watershed Implementation Plan and asked the board to allow a preliminary submission to the state by Nov. 18 that would include items already in the county's capital plan.

The briefing explained why the county must reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment and set out options for achieving reductions — including septic-system upgrades to best available technology (BAT), targeted sewer connections, stormwater retrofits, forest planting and pilot projects — and summarized early cost estimates and trade-offs.

The WIP matters because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay TMDL (established Dec. 2010) assigns nutrient and sediment limits to jurisdictions in the Bay watershed and requires jurisdictions to show how they will meet reductions over time. County staff said Phase 2 will cover milestones through 2017 and feed a subsequent plan to 2025.

County staff said the TMDL calls for roughly 25 percent reduction in nitrogen and 24 percent reduction in phosphorus for the bay basin and that Maryland and its counties must identify milestones and funding to meet those targets. Sue Veith of the Department of Land Use and Growth Management told the board the county's local WIP steering committee used modeling and local inventories to identify candidate actions, and that the Nov. 18 submission to Maryland should include items already budgeted in the county CIP and a statement that all other actions remain under review. "We'd like to have them have the benefit of as much of our local information as we feel comfortable giving them," Veith said.

Staff presented sector-by-sector analysis. Because St. Mary's relies heavily on septic and on-site sewage disposal (OSD) systems, the septic sector shows one of the largest local load contributions and the largest potential price tag. Staff estimated retrofitting critical-area systems and OSDs within 1,000 feet of streams would reduce roughly 82,000 pounds of nitrogen but carry an estimated capital price on the order of $176 million, most of which would fall to homeowners absent new funding streams. Commissioners raised repeated questions about the scientific assumptions behind the model distances and about who would pay for large-scale septic upgrades.

Staff outlined alternatives to full-scale septic retrofits, including targeted sewer connections in dense clusters (maps were shown for Scotch Neck, Country Lakes/Golden Beach and other communities), upgrades to wastewater treatment plant nutrient removal, and forestation/offset programs. Veith noted that converting an acre of lawn to forest can yield nutrient reductions comparable to a septic upgrade in the model, and staff pointed to existing state and county programs that could fund strategic tree planting. County staff said roughly $195,000 currently sits in various tree-planting mitigation accounts, with about $35,000 available per year for new plantings.

For urban stormwater, staff identified about 137 retrofit candidate sites in growth areas with a modeled, long-term cost around $13 million and an estimated nitrogen reduction of roughly 1,400 pounds. Staff recommended pilot projects on public land and coordination with state highway and other public owners to test lower-cost retrofit methods ahead of the county's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES/MPSD) permit requirements.

John Savage, the county administrator, recommended a scheduled monthly briefing starting in January so commissioners could weigh trade-offs and funding options in the months ahead as the county prepares a more detailed local WIP due next summer. "There's a lot that needs to be done here over a short period of time," Savage said, urging that the board treat the Nov. 18 submittal as preliminary and preserve flexibility as staff refines costs and feasibility.

Commissioners and staff also discussed potential funding mechanisms, including increased state Bay Restoration Fund support, expanded cost-share programs, and the option of a local stormwater utility. Staff said the Maryland legislature may consider changes that would affect county options, and that coordination through the Maryland Association of Counties could be useful for negotiating flexibility on deadlines and program design.

Next steps include (1) submitting the county's preliminary, CIP-backed items and a short narrative to the state by Nov. 18; (2) continuing detailed planning and feasibility work through the steering committee; and (3) initiating monthly commission briefings beginning in January 2012 to evaluate pilot-project results, funding options and ordinance or program changes.

If approved as a board direction, staff will send the state the county's CIP items and a clear statement that all other WIP strategies are under review and subject to further feasibility and funding analysis.