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

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 needs a clearer, verifiable accounting of available wastewater capacity before agreeing to accept recurring loads from another jurisdiction.

At the meeting, commissioners raised three recurring concerns: the volume of sludge Fruitland proposed to haul on wet-weather days; whether Pocomoke had sufficient spare capacity for both mutual-aid hauls and planned local development; and the lack of up-to-date, publicly available capacity-management documentation for Pocomoke's plant. The county attorney told commissioners the board typically receives local input on these requests because the state permit review process asks the county for comments or objections; the attorney also said the specific Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) citation the towns referenced was not included in the meeting packet.

Discussion highlights: - Commissioner Abbott pressed for a clear, itemized capacity figure for Pocomoke and asked whether the requested hauling would conflict with planned housing and other projects coming to the area. Pocomoke officials said on paper the plant shows capacity (reportedly more than 600,000 gallons of storage on paper), but acknowledged draft capacity-management material remains under development and that winter wet-weather conditions have constrained Fruitland's ability to dry sludge locally. - County staff characterized the Fruitland request as a mutual-aid measure limited to times when Fruitland cannot dry sludge (for example cold, wet weather). Staff said Fruitland ordinarily hauls dried sludge to Salisbury (Wicomico County) and would use Pocomoke only intermittently. - Several commissioners, including Fiore and Bertino, said they would support neighborly mutual aid if the county can verify Pocomoke's near-term ability to accept extra load without jeopardizing planned local development. - Pocomoke town leadership told the board it is prepared to provide an updated capacity report and to explain near-term growth plans and capital improvements intended to increase plant capacity.

Action taken: The board amended a pending motion to condition any county letter on receipt of a comprehensive Pocomoke infrastructure and capacity report. Commissioners asked staff to obtain that report from Pocomoke and to circulate it to the commissioners for an email vote on whether to send a county "letter of no objection" to the state. No county letter was sent from the dais at the March 4 meeting.

What remains: County officials said they will request the Pocomoke report and return to the commissioners (by email or at a future meeting) with the data needed to make a final determination. The county attorney noted that the formal regulatory review by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is separate from the county's advisory role on these requests.

Context: The item arose as part of a Department of Environmental Programs request that the county submit a letter of no objection to Fruitland's short-term plan to haul sludge to Pocomoke when Fruitland's drying beds are not functioning. Similar mutual-aid arrangements have been used in the region during winter or wet-weather events; commissioners said they wanted clearer documentation of capacity before endorsing an action that could affect local infrastructure and future development.