Allegany County to draft letter backing emergency declaration for Bel Air water system

At a county meeting, participants agreed to draft a letter supporting a senator’s emergency-declaration request for the Bel Air water system and to copy the Maryland Public Service Commission and the state attorney general.

Speaker 3, an unidentified meeting participant, opened the topic by saying Senator McKay (transcript spelling varies) had applied for an emergency declaration and that the county should send a letter of support and a separate copy to the attorney general and PSC. Speaker 3 asked staff to compile a rate comparison between public systems in the county and to include names from a petition asking for action.

The discussion emphasized the limits of local authority over private utilities. Speaker 3 said, "This can be fixed within a month or months if the state so chooses to get involved," arguing that state regulators or the governor could act faster than a local takeover or lengthy litigation. Other participants agreed that taking legislative or legal steps locally to seize a private utility would be lengthy and costly.

County staff agreed to draft the letter before the next meeting (two weeks out), include a comparison of rates for public systems (examples cited in the meeting included Cumberland and Frostburg and several sanitary commissions), attach petition signers, and circulate the draft for commissioners to sign if they choose. The item will be placed on the next meeting agenda for formal approval.

No formal vote or ordinance was recorded in the transcript on the letter; the action recorded is staff direction to draft materials and place the draft on the next agenda.

What happens next: staff will prepare the letter and rate comparison for review at the next public meeting; commissioners indicated intent to copy the PSC and the attorney general and to provide petition names with the submission.