DELEGATE HOLMES IN THE NEWS

Learn how theTask Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal is helping Maryland

Marvin Holmes, Jr. on December 21, 2011
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The phenomenal natural wealth and abundance provided by the Chesapeake Bay has been vastly diminished. Once teeming with oysters, shad, soft shelled clams, grass shrimp, and Atlantic sturgeon, the Bay now experiences annual dead zones and its formerly lush and widespread meadows of seagrass are fewer and far between. Meanwhile, on the land, within the Bay watershed in Maryland, our forests are declining again after a half century of steady regrowth, and our agricultural heritage continues to disappear.

The decline of our natural and rural resources is caused by a variety of reasons, including common development practices that consume large amounts of land for each new home, lack of sufficient control of some sources of pollution, barriers to growth within our historic towns and cities, and disparate levels of sound land use planning. Lastly, new threats from climate change—including sea-level rise, precipitation changes and worsening storms—are beginning to impact our quality of life and natural resources and are expected to worsen over time.

Despite these losses, Marylanders still have much natural heritage to enjoy, both on the land and within our waters. Wise fishery management methods over the last decade have brought back striped bass, increased blue crab harvests, and are giving renewed hope to oyster restoration. New stormwater management requirements and wastewater treatment plant technologies are reducing the impact from development to our streams and rivers. Many thousands of acres of farms, new parks, and natural areas have been conserved. Smart growth and historic preservation efforts have reinvigorated many of our towns and cities and have slowed the loss of our rural landscape.

We're at a crossroads in many respects. The federal government, recognizing the failure of voluntary efforts to fully restore the Chesapeake Bay, initiated a new accountability framework in 2010: now, each Bay State must develop and implement a watershed implementation plan, and must meet 2-year short-term milestones and complete implementation of restoration measures no later than 2025. Within Maryland, after 10 years of smart growth efforts, despite some significant successes, there is widespread recognition that much more needs to be done if we are to significantly stem the loss of our rural resources and reverse the decline of many of our cities and towns. Recent innovative responses, such as Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan, BayStat, the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission, PlanMaryland, and the Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal raise hope that we can find and implement measures to sustain our existing wealth and achieve a more plentiful future for our families and children.

The Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal was born out of recognition that outdated wastewater technologies—septic systems—are one of the few nitrogen pollutant sources in Maryland that continues to increase and which often supports wasteful land development practices outside of our sewered areas. If left unchecked, such practices could undermine Maryland's Bay restoration, smart growth, and sustainability efforts. Maryland's population continues to grow and is expected to increase by 1 million people by 2035. Implementing protective measures now will ensure that the land use and pollution impact of future Marylanders is minimized, giving us the greatest chance of success in restoring the Chesapeake Bay and protecting our rural landscape.

Governor Martin O'Malley created the Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal in April 2011 through Executive Order 01.01.2011.05. The charge of the Task Force was to "recommend regulatory, statutory, or other actions to address the impacts of major developments on septic systems and their effects on nutrient pollution, land preservation, agri-business, and smart growth" to the Governor and the General Assembly.

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