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Rising Sun adopts emergency stormwater ordinance to align local code with state requirements
Summary
The mayor and board approved emergency ordinance 2024-04 to update the town's stormwater management code after state agency comments, clarifying grading permits, variances and reporting and enabling immediate implementation for three pending land-development projects.
The mayor and board of commissioners voted unanimously to adopt ordinance 2024-04 as an emergency measure to update Rising Sun’s stormwater management code.
Town administrator explained the changes came after review by MDE and Cecil Soils and include revised definitions around grading, additional detail about grading permits, and clarified variance procedures. "We're recommending that this be submitted as an emergency ordinance," the town administrator said, arguing it would streamline review for three land-development projects currently before the town.
The administrator said the changes are intended to reinforce, not relax, existing state standards. He told the board the edits add reporting and procedural detail requested by the reviewing agencies and address ambiguity about what the elected body may and may not do on variances. "It doesn't change the law requirement on what you have to do for stormwater, to what extent you have to do it," the town administrator said.
A commissioner moved to approve the ordinance as an emergency and a second was recorded; after a brief exchange about local control of stormwater oversight, the mayor called the vote and announced the ordinance passed as an emergency.
The emergency designation allows the ordinance to take effect immediately under the board's rules (the town administrator noted three pending development projects that would benefit from the faster implementation). Next steps include posting documentation on the town website and continuing permit reviews under the revised code.
The meeting record shows the discussion emphasized compliance with NPDES/MS4 obligations and local enforcement continuity; no public comments were recorded during the vote.
