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Worcester County commissioners defer decision on Fruitland sludge hauling, request Pocomoke capacity report

2489248 · March 4, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Commissioners debated a request for Fruitland to haul wastewater sludge to Pocomoke's treatment plant and stopped short of issuing a county "letter of no objection," directing staff to seek a comprehensive capacity report from Pocomoke and to consider the county response by email.

Worcester County commissioners on March 4 debated a request from the Maryland Department of the Environment (via the city of Fruitland) that would let Fruitland temporarily haul wastewater sludge to the Pocomoke wastewater treatment plant during periods when Fruitland's drying beds cannot operate.

The commissioners did not issue a final county "letter of no objection" at the meeting. Instead, after extensive questions about Pocomoke's plant capacity and how additional sludge would affect local development plans, the board directed staff to request a comprehensive infrastructure and capacity report from the Town of Pocomoke and agreed to consider the county's response by email once that information is provided.

Why it matters: Commissioners and several speakers said Pocomoke's reported capacity figures have been inconsistent with what developers and economic development staff have encountered when seeking sewer allocations for new housing and commercial projects. Multiple commissioners said the county is actively marketing the southern part of the county for new investment and…

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