Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewer Allocation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Task force proposes quarterly allocation reviews and tight caps to stretch limited sewer capacity
Summary
After a year-long moratorium, county staff recommended batching sewer-allocation requests quarterly and rationing residential capacity to extend remaining treatment capacity; the recommendations aim to balance new development, failing septic replacements and commercial needs while the county pursues an MDE permit rerating.
The Queen Anne’s County moratorium task force presented an interim report April 14 recommending that the county adopt a more restrictive, rules-based approach to distributing sewer allocation when the moratorium ends.
Public facilities manager Steve Kahun and public-works director Alan Quimby told commissioners that the county’s 3.0 million-gallon-per-day wastewater plant currently shows about 150,000 gallons per day (gpd) of spare capacity and that a pending Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) rerating could add roughly 300,000 gpd if the permit is issued. Because state pollutant limits (the Chesapeake Bay TMDL) restrict how much nitrogen the plant may discharge, staff said the county cannot freely expand capacity beyond those pollutant caps.
To avoid a glut of first-come, first-served approvals, the task force proposed batching sewer-allocation requests quarterly (January, April, July and October) so commissioners can see competing projects together and weigh priorities. The group also recommended setting aside portions of any additional capacity for specific uses: a large block for replacing identified failing septic systems (staff cited Marlin Farms/Dominion as an example), a commercial/institutional set-aside, and a residential pot that would be allocated over time rather than consumed at once.
“As a practical example,” Kahun said, “if we gain the rerating, the task force recommended reserving about 100,000 gpd for residential uses but then limiting annual residential awards to a modest amount (the draft discussion used 10,000 gpd per year) so the county can stretch available capacity across multiple years.”
The task force emphasized that the proposal is a draft for public input. Staff also told commissioners they will present a draft comprehensive water and sewer plan to the planning commission in June and to the county commissioners in July, with policy refinements (including revised APFO student-generation rates) to follow.
Why it matters: Kent Island High School is at full state-rated capacity, staff said, and the county lacks APFO jurisdiction inside incorporated towns. That mismatch prompted commissioners and staff to stress the need for a defensible allocation policy that considers school impacts, failing septic remediation, and the county’s limited ability under federal and state TMDL limits to increase nitrogen discharge into the Chesapeake Bay.
Next steps: Staff will refine draft allocation criteria, begin quarterly application procedures if the moratorium is lifted, and return to commissioners with formal policy language and a proposed schedule over the coming weeks.
