Last week this column described a sudden threat to the goals of our Comprehensive Plan (protecting the rural character of Talbot County): out of the blue, four Council Members introduced Resolution 299 to extend a new force main sewer line along St. Michaels Road from the pincushion to Easton. Apparently triggered by readers’ reaction, the public hearing slated for the following evening was abruptly postponed indefinitely by the Council to await hearing from the Public Works Advisory Board and Planning Commission, bodies that indeed should have been consulted prior to holding a public hearing. (See “Sewer Bombshell?”, )
Most Talbot citizens are equally unaware of two other important sewer matters introduced simultaneously with Resolution 299, each of which is also troubling in its own way. They directly affect the north and south ends of the County respectively.
Up in Wye Mills is a small privately-owned wastewater treatment plant that, literally for years, has been operating in violation of its permit, often discharging nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorus) and perhaps harmful bacteria into the surface and groundwater at the head of the Wye River. Resolution 301 is a complex ordinance intended to deal with the problem—which is indeed necessary and urgent to solve. So that is good.
But the public—who it seems is going to bear the costs—should know about the problem, how it arose, why it wasn’t caught much earlier, and who is being bailed out and why. There are important lessons for both the public and the County Council to learn from this fiasco, small in scale as it is, and these lessons are immediately applicable to other sewer and waste water discharge issues that are current events.
Here’s the background: In 2004 the County permitted an Annapolis developer to build this 67-lot community in the middle of a rural farm field off of Old Wye Mills Road to be served by its own privately owned wastewater plant. The County authorized the treatment plant under a formal agreement (the “Facility Agreement”) among the developer, a new Homeowners’ Association (“HOA”), the Talbot County Department of Public Works, and the County Health Department that is recorded in the land records and encumbers every lot in the subdivision. The project was also predicated on the Maryland Department of Environment (“MDE”) having also issued a discharge permit to spread the effluent from the treatment plant onto the adjoining field—which is about 150 yards from Mill Creek, a headwater of the Wye River.
Among other things, the Facility Agreement provides that the HOA operate the WWTP in accordance with all regulations, including environmental regs of course, and submit operational and financial reports to County authorities. Unequivocally, all costs related to this treatment plant, including repairs and replacement, are to be born pro-rata by the 67 lot-owners, and charges become a lien on each property, just like taxes. Separate from MDE’s oversight, the purpose of the Facility Agreement was to give Talbot County broad rights and responsibilities for monitoring and inspecting the plant and its operations, including financial reports from the HOA concerning its expenditures and reserves.
Bottom line, Talbot County consistently ignored its responsibilities under the Facility Agreement, apparently assuming that MDE would assure everything was in order. But that was not so, and it seems that for a very long period—years—the plant has been operating far below standard, with serious violations regarding discharge of nutrient pollutants into the groundwater. (The information the County has gotten from MDE seems clear on this, but it is not an exhaustive picture covering the plant’s 15-year history.)
Purportedly, the homeowners have already spent all they can to remedy the problem, to no avail, and the plant—which may have basic design flaws—apparently needs to be demolished and replaced.
This legislation, Resolution 301, is a bit complex, but the idea is that once a preliminary engineering report is completed (to actually define the extent of the problems), the County will agree to take ownership if it can arrange for a grant (or loan?) from the State to replace the treatment plant. (The essential first step—that engineering report—will be funded by the County with costs to be recovered from lot owners as if it were a loan.)
If this all works out, a new, better plant will solve everything, hopefully paid for not by Talbot Countians alone, but by taxpayers of the State. Viola!
(A worrisome and easily overlooked provision of Resolution 301 is to use this new plant as a means to extend sewer lines elsewhere, outside the subject community. That cart would seem to be far out in front of the horse; the idea could be a good way to deal with septic problems if present, and it could be very dangerous, upsetting development and land use considerations set out in the Comprehensive Plan. That important issue needs separate and careful consideration, and ought not be just a toss-off idea formally adopted up front as part of Resolution 301.)
Is this situation not one more example of “private gain at public cost?” Who in this story reaped benefits? First, the original landowner, who sold his farm field for development. Then, the Annapolis developer, who predictably was long gone before the problems became visible. Obviously, the HOA and the community’s homeowners, who are being relieved of a terrific liability. But many would be pretty empathetic to these folks; few homebuyers do deep research on utilities, and no doubt were told (accurately) that the lot “was sewered”—having no idea of the implications. Real estate agents, who should all have known about this, are unlikely to have talked up the problem and risked killing a sale.
Who in the story pays the cost? If replacing this plant is funded by an MDE grant, then state taxpayers take the direct financial hit and it’s not all on Talbot Countians. Still, one direct cost we locals cannot escape is the adverse impact of fifteen years of nutrient pollution into our Wye River, which will continue every day even long after a new plant is built, given what’s already in the groundwater.
Finally, note that this Resolution, and the problem it is intended to solve, were both explained publicly in front of the Council on March 23 in fewer than sixty seconds and not a single question was asked—it was enacted without discussion. The legislation itself recites as its rationale merely that “the HOA has experienced issues with the wastewater treatment plant…,” and a reader would have no idea of the extent of the problem or how the County let it come to this point. (The public hearing was to have happened on April 13, but it was caught up with Resolution 299 in being postponed indefinitely.) The Star Democrat has never covered this matter, and very few citizens know anything about the problem, why it occurred, and how our Council intends to fix it.
Dan Watson is the former chair of Bipartisan Coalition For New Council Leadership and has lived in Talbot County for the last twenty-five years.
Missy Warfield says
Thanks for bringing the details pop this important and concerning issue to readers’ attention. Is our County Council “rubber stamping” things that might raise alarms with Talbot residents? If so, the Council needs to be called to task. Concerns within the county, especially environmental ones, should not be “swept under the rug” by Council. They need to be raised, studied and publicly addressed.
Jay Corvan says
Thanks to Mr Watson for doing great investigative journalism On behalf of Talbot countians. It is appreciated.
Yes this septic debacle is exactly what should not happen. Much like a drunk at a bar bolting before the tab is due, deceptive developers looking for a quick buck allow Maryland MDE to give them cover to pass on problems to the county and state taxpayers, which then forces us to pick up the tab. It happens all the time. It’s exactly what Rauch and his Lakeside development in Trappe is attempting to do which will leave the county holding the bag again. And MDE is playing right along, Talbot County is doing it too. And what they allowed at Wye mills is only a blip on the screen compared to the earthquake in Trappe. It’s 67 houses versus 2551 houses. A very Big difference.
For as much as we Trappists ( and our local group of Downstream Alliance ) have screamed and yelled and pointed out this to the county, ( the failure rate in the state of these wastewater systems is 58 per cent ) the county ignores it at our collective expense, And all this means it’s more likely that all of these systems will fail. And there is no money allocated to redesign it or rebuild it. Shame On Talbot for allowing this fraud to reoccur. Only the most naive counties know this kind of development grift is a fraud.
The county and state refuse to require the developer to be performance bonded for 25 years ( a standard in other areas) if the plant fails, which it likely will, it’s the bond holders responsibility to fix it. No bond agency in business would ever being such a troubled wastewater system known for failure.
If this wastewater system in Wye mills had been bonded we would not be looking at replacement and cleanup The county made huge mistakes and now they are looking to the state , not the developer who caused it, to bail them out. And it isn’t the public works that doesn’t do a fine job, they do. it’s the county council that refuses to listen to their own experts advice ! It happened in resolution 281 where the county council ignored their own experts. Incredible !
Maryland MDE abd the county council keep moving ahead like a drunks at a bar refusing to change their hypothetical position pretending they don’t know the consequences . They know. They claim That’ these systems should work ( but they don’t ) Every developer knows the nuances of septic and wastewater in the state, It’s their holy grail to profit. They install these cheap wastewater systems knowing it’s a grift , alloying the developer a speedy exit ( laughing to the bank) We have been duped time and time again and we have not understood that septic is just a horrible way to control growth. Spray wastewater systems are abject failures.
Anne Arundel County has had so many of these private wastewater failures ( No surprise the developer was from AA county ) and this problem was so pervasive that the county will not allow private plants to be constructed, period . All plants must be connected to county or city run utilities. It’s an obvious ploy for passing the buck and we all know it. Can’t we learn from others mistakes? This is a smart growth pricinple we should be requiring at all times.
But if people would stop for a moment and gather together and come up with a better plan for accommodating growth and septic together , we would not have to be completely buried by development after development pulling the wool over our collective eyes. Don’t we get tired of being duped ?
I was interviewed in the Talbot spy recently ( jay Corvan talks about his pattern book project). We need to have a plan for the county or developers will have a plan for us and it won’t look unlike the western shore. See that interview for how we need to get on top of growth.
We all have to know by now , that controlling growth with septic allocation is a thoroughly failed policy. We have to do better and the council has to step up and protect taxpayers from this obvious ongoing fraud. We know they know. The question is why they continue to do it.
Dan Watson says
Hello Mr. Corvan– Whew! I feel like I need to respond to comment, as there are many point you make. First, while I have followed the Trappe East matter closely and agree that the Council should never have approved resolution 281, the article above was not intended as an appetizer leading to that entree. I understand why you and so many others are HOT about Trappe East–if/as/when it really happens, it’s Middletown DE come to Talbot. At 2500+ homes (plus retail, etc), it tends to suck the oxygen out of these types of discussions.
While there are indeed some similarities in the two situations, there are probably many more differences. No need to think they’re clones. Another local point of reference folks should recall is Martingham in St. Michaels. Very similar tale to above–not that long ago, that private system had to be abandoned and the community tied into County WWTP.
But it’s also its good to reference Anne Arundel County–in the long run, isn’t the applicable yardstick?
DW
DW
Steve hamblin says
Bravo Dan for exposing this.A coalition of Wye Mills citizens testified at the original hearings on this development and predicted precisely the snafu that has developed. MDE ignored our warnings.
Dirck Bartlett says
Dan is so right on this well reasoned article. What is worse, the Talbot County Council (except one lone NO vote from Pete Lesher) granted approval for the Lakelands Project and refused to stop the developer from moving forward with the same exact scenario for 3,000 houses in Trappe! History will repeat itself with Lakelands, times 100!
It is time we reign in these “pocket sewer plants” and stop developers from cashing in and hitting the road. Make the developers and the future homeowners responsible for the costs of operating these plants if you insist on approving these failing sewer plants. The County Council has a real legal role as a Board of Health. They need to take these responsibilities seriously and act on behalf of those who they represent.
The county taxpayer should never be left with the bill as will invariably happen in Trappe. The Town can’t even afford a single policeman let alone a bill to mitigate 540,000 gallons of sewage per day.
Elizabeth Hott says
Thank you for alerting us to both of these Bills – neither of which has been given much publicity despite the impact of both. Now what? How do we prevent Talbot County ‘footing the bill’ for the Wye Mills waste water plant re-do and, more importantly, stopping the extension of sewer lines down St. Michaels Road? All too often these crucial issues are introduced without notice or fanfare which is unfair and makes I question why such important matters are handled in this manner.
Mary Carol Shannahan says
Doesn’t the Talbot County Health Department have a role in this issue as well? They have the technical responsibility to approve new septic systems and the necessary remediation of septic systems failing to perform as required. If a new system for Wye area might include services for residents now on septic, shouldn’t the Health Department participate in the planning?