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Maryland Environmental Service seeks funding for state water and wastewater upgrades, notes high encumbrance backlog
Summary
Maryland Environmental Service presented FY26 capital requests for state water and wastewater improvements, including projects at Charlotte Hall Veterans Home and correctional facilities, and noted $39.5 million in previously authorized but unencumbered grant funds.
Samuel Quist of DLS presented the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) capital analysis and said the FY26 allowance includes $2.6 million in GO bond funding for state water and sewer infrastructure improvement fund projects and $5.6 million in non‑budgeted funding for four DNR state park facility projects.
Quist said MES has two state‑owned projects funded with GO bonds in FY26: a Charlotte Hall Veterans Home wastewater treatment upgrade (design previously funded) and initial design funding for improvements to the Maryland Correctional Institution’s wastewater treatment headworks. MES also included several DNR park water and power distribution projects in its non‑budget request.
DLS flagged $39.5 million in previously authorized program funding that remains unencumbered and noted higher contingency ranges (15–20 percent) for some MES projects given complexity. MES Executive Director Dr. Charles C. Glass said the agency is building staff capacity, highlighted low vacancy rates and recruitment efforts, and urged adoption of the requested capital budget. He noted a federal grant application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs could replace preauthorizations for the Charlotte Hall project if successful.
