Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Sewer and water capacity emerge as limits to growth in St. Mary’s 2050 discussions
Loading...
Summary
Planning staff, METCOM and the health department told commissioners that sewer and water capacity — EDUs, treatment-plant thresholds and MDE groundwater permits — will constrain where and how much development can proceed under the draft plan.
Sewer and water capacity figured prominently in the Jan. 17 Planning Commission work session as a practical check on where the county can accommodate growth.
METCOM and health department staff explained that sewer capacity is tracked through EDU allocations (equivalent dwelling units) and that EDUs are removed from available balances at final site-plan approval. A METCOM representative said the Marley Taylor treatment plant and other facilities determine how many EDUs remain; in the meeting staff discussed remaining capacity at Marley Taylor (transcript discussion referenced "around 5,000 EDUs" remaining, with programmatic caveats). The health department noted it will not approve final plans without proof of allocated EDUs.
Commissioners also raised the 249 corridor and Piney Point/Tall Timbers area as examples where "no planned service" status and EPA/county/Metcom resolutions restrict extensions of sewer lines outside town centers. A Metcom representative explained that properties outside town centers can only connect when an on-site septic system has failed and conventional repair is not possible; the restricted line was installed in part to address environmental problems in Piney Point.
On water, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) oversight was described: MDE reviews groundwater appropriation permits for community water supplies, evaluates reasonableness of requested withdrawals, assesses impacts on other users, requires annual reporting, and can investigate complaints when nearby wells lose yield.
Staff said MDE thresholds (for example, plant flow approaching 80% capacity) trigger planning and capacity-management conversations and, if necessary, upgrades. Commissioners were told that EDU accounting, MDE permits, and constrained service areas will be central when translating plan growth areas into actual permitting and site approvals.
Next steps: staff will continue coordinating with METCOM, the health department and MDE to refine capacity figures for the draft and will document constraints in the plan’s implementation actions.
