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Kent County to include $10,000 in FY2027 budget to help Chestertown monitor wells near 1987 hospital oil spill
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Summary
Commissioners voted to include up to $10,000 in the FY2027 budget to help Chestertown continue quarterly monitoring of seven sentinel wells near a 1987 hospital oil spill; a vendor quote for the work is about $20,000 and the town hopes to monitor for 48 months.
The Kent County commissioners agreed to include $10,000 in the FY2027 budget to help the town of Chestertown continue quarterly monitoring of seven sentinel groundwater wells near a 1987 hospital oil spill.
County staff explained that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) had previously required sentinel monitoring but that requirement has ended; the town asked the county to share monitoring costs and provided a vendor quote of roughly $20,000 to continue testing seven wells. A sentinel monitoring well, the staff member explained, is positioned between a known contaminated source and the town's drinking-water supply to detect possible pollutant migration.
——"A sentinel monitoring well is a specialized groundwater well positioned between the known contaminated source, which is the oil spill, and the drinking water supply, the town wells, in order to detect pollutant migration," the staff member (speaker 4) said.
The mayor said the town hopes to continue monitoring for 48 months and that the town's continued participation depends in part on the hospital's cooperation.
Commissioner (speaker 2) moved that the county include $10,000 in the FY2027 budget to help Chestertown pay for the quarterly monitoring; the motion was seconded, and the board voted aye.
The board noted the FY2027 budget is not final; staff said additional details about cost-sharing and monitoring duration will be finalized in budget discussions and possible coordination with the hospital and vendors.
The vote authorizes staff to plan for a county contribution up to $10,000 for the coming fiscal year and to refine monitoring arrangements during the budget-workshop process.
