St. Mary's County staff outline WIP Phase 2 and CWSP updates; county to incorporate METCOM budget and study consultant help

St. Mary's County Department of Land Use and Growth Management staff told the Board of County Commissioners on April 24, 2012 that updating the county's Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan to reflect the 2010 comprehensive plan and meet Watershed Implementation Plan Phase 2 requirements will be technically complex and time‑sensitive.

In a joint presentation, Phil Shire, staff, Department of Land Use and Growth Management, and Sue Heath, staff, Department of Land Use and Growth Management, outlined proposed CWSP map amendments to match changes in the 2010 comprehensive plan, the need to incorporate METCOM's capital improvement budget into the CWSP per recent state legislative action, and the county's options for handling septic upgrades, sewer connection policy and tier mapping under the so‑called “septic bill” and Plan Maryland.

Why this matters: the CWSP and WIP work determines where public sewer can be provided and which properties may be required to connect. The WIP phase 2 submission to the state is due at the end of June; other statutory and program deadlines push additional work items toward an overall December 31 milestone, and some recommendations would require capital investment or program changes affecting thousands of properties.

Staff described specific map and service‑category changes already proposed to align CWSP service areas with the 2010 plan. Examples include areas added to the Charlotte Hall town center (changing service from “no planned service” to a 6–10 year service category for portions near the transfer station, Letty Dent School and the Fifth District Park), adjustments around Hollywood to reflect the addition of Hollywood Elementary School, and changes in Leonardtown to bring the fairgrounds and school complex into the Leonardtown Development District and reclassify service from rural sewer to an S1 category where appropriate.

Sue Heath said the county must also add METCOM's capital improvement budget to the CWSP annually, a change she described as “drastically amending” the plan to catch up with past actions. “There are a number of actions that loom at us,” Phil Shire said, warning that Plan Maryland, the septic bill and WIP requirements “are just complicating the task.” Shire told commissioners the county would first handle the straightforward amendments needed to update the plan and then proceed more deliberately on the larger policy questions.

Staff told the board they had prepared a long spreadsheet of potential WIP milestones and recommended a two‑track approach: (1) affirm and carry forward items already in existing county plans and the capital improvements program (CIP) as firm commitments; and (2) identify additional possible projects or actions as items requiring further analysis and funding decisions. Commissioners expressed concern about committing to large new capital expenditures without identified funding.

On scale and cost, staff presented state estimates the county would face if it pursued all modeled actions: about 65,100 existing septic systems would need connection and roughly 7,000 would require denitrification/BAT measures; the rough order of magnitude figure discussed in the meeting was about $170 million. Sue Heath described septic connections as “twice as effective as BAT,” and noted the cost and financing implications would likely require consultant support and grant opportunities.

Staff outlined several implementation and support options they were exploring: working with the Maryland Department of Planning on a Plan Maryland pilot to test mapping guidance; seeking consultant services (the county team planned to meet with a firm working with Charles County to scope needs); and pursuing grants and capacity‑building assistance through organizations such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Center for Environmental Finance to help design model projects and study financing strategies.

Commissioners directed staff to continue regular briefings on WIP and related work and to return with recommended next steps. The board indicated support for carrying forward projects already in the county CIP and METCOM's 5‑year CIP into the WIP milestones; commissioners agreed that other, unfunded items should be identified as subjects for further analysis and that the county should seek consultants or grant assistance to develop financing and implementation options.

On public involvement and approval, staff said the phase 2 WIP is primarily a state document and that local approval can take a range of forms: a public hearing, a formal resolution, commission meeting records indicating approval for submittal, or a submittal noting lack of local approval. Staff recommended a flexible approach, using public hearings or project‑level public processes where plan or capital amendments are required.

Next steps identified by staff included: completing CWSP map amendments to align with the 2010 comprehensive plan and METCOM budget; defining a scope of work for consultant services to analyze financing and connection policies; continuing WIP team work toward the June submission; and briefing the board every few weeks through the summer if necessary. Staff also offered to pursue a Plan Maryland pilot with the Maryland Department of Planning to influence mapping guidance and implementation details.

No formal WIP resolution or vote was recorded at the April 24 meeting; commissioners provided general direction and informal agreement on the approach to carry forward CIP items and to seek further analysis on larger, unfunded milestones.