Like many viewers of this week’s Talbot County Council work session on the future of the Lakeside development, the Spy remains unclear on how the regulatory process will be moving forward. Over the next few days, the Spy hopes to provide a much more accurate outline for our readers how the State of Maryland, Talbot County and Trappe ultimately plan to resolve water treatment issues at Lakeside.
In the meantime, it was our editorial decision to reduce the two hour meeting to the 35 minute segment used by, Ryan Showalter, attorney for Lakeview developer, to describe his client’s understanding of the existing permit, which allows the project to move forward in attaching the first 120 homes to the existing Trappe water treatment plant until a new, “state of the art” facility is built.
This video is approximately 35 minutes in length.
Calvin Yowell says
Presentation seemed like a history lesson. What was approved 20 years ago is practically irrelevant.
Using the revised resolution 281 I think the council should be focusing on how the Lakeside project can be (or should be) implemented independently from the existing Town of Trappe water and sewer systems.
The new 281 should also be amended to have checkpoints on the successful use of spray irrigation on the allocated area and continue to meet the discharge levels prescribed for the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the protection of the Miles Creek. Further, the upgrading of the current Trappe system to ENR standards may not concurrently occur with the needs for the first 120 units and if not, lead to further degradation of La Trappe creek.
E.W. Clucas says
Observation : along side every news brief with regards to “Lakeside “ one see advertisements for Chesapeake Bay Foundation , Eastern Shore Land Conservancy , Shore Rivers , Horn Point and Adkins Arboretum. Has any one seen any published statements , pro or con , from these organizations with regards to The Lakeside Development ? Interesting ………..
Editor says
Thank you for bring this question up. The Spy attempts to pair the subjects of our articles with the interests of our sponsors. In this case, Lakeside falls into our ecosystem coverage and therefore we place our conservation organization sponsors to these articles. We do the same for education, health, the arts and home and garden articles.
Alan Girard says
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation submitted a memo to the Talbot County Council on Friday, February 5th. Here are most of its contents with references in footnotes removed for readability:
Talbot County in its 2016 Comprehensive Plan classifies all of the County’s major waterways as “impaired for nutrients” and “not suitable receiving waters” for treated waste. As such, the County as shown below rightly prescribes measures within its authority to enable immediate upgrades to the Trappe facility with Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) treatment technology. This technology which is used at the County’s Region II facility in St. Michaels, the Town of Easton’s treatment plant, and numerous systems throughout Maryland results in significantly lower levels of nitrogen pollution discharged to waterways and helps communities achieve local and regional goals for clean water.
TRAPPE’S SOVEREIGNTY AND WATER AND SEWER PLANNING AUTHORITY IN TALBOT COUNTY.
1. Water and sewer planning approval authority lies with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), not Talbot County or the Town of Trappe.
2. Talbot County is required to have a plan that deals with sewerage and other systems and facilities. The plan is required to provide for the orderly expansion and extension of sewerage and other systems, the sizing and staging of facilities construction, and the treatment facilities that are adequate to prevent the discharge of any inadequately treated sewage or other liquid waste into any waters.
3. MDE has the sole authority to approve or disapprove a plan or plan revision or amendment that is proposed by Talbot County.
TALBOT COUNTY’S COMMITMENT TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE TREATMENT AT THE TRAPPE WTTP.
1. The County in its 2016 Comprehensive Plan expects the Trappe WWTP to be upgraded to Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) treatment technology, indicating that, “such upgrades will be necessary to support projected growth in Trappe.”
2. Talbot County’s current Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan as amended reports that the Trappe WWTP, “is approaching 20-years of service and is in need of upgrades to continue to serve the community.”
3. The County Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan as amended programs the Trappe WWTP to be upgraded to ENR levels of treatment, indicating that, “the design of the upgrade is scheduled to proceed in 2020 with bidding and construction for 2021.” While delayed in implementation, this measure in the Plan makes clear the County’s intent to see that the plant is upgraded as quickly as possible.
4. ENR treatment as a condition for new connections to the Trappe WWTP is consistent with the Talbot County Comprehensive Plan, as reported by the Talbot County Planning Commission, which finds that, “the initial hookup of up to 120 homes from the Lakeside Development into the existing Trappe WWTP is inconsistent with the TCCP until the Trappe WWTP meets ENR standards.”
5. Trappe East Holdings Business Trust in written correspondence from its counsel dated January 14, 2022 affirms earlier statements that an ENR upgrade to the Trappe WWTP, “is the ultimate goal for all involved.”
LEGISLATION TO IMPLEMENT ENR TREATMENT AT THE TRAPPE WWTP.
1. As discussed by Council at its January 25, 2022 meeting, an amendment to Resolution 313 –or a new measure – can condition new connections to the Trappe WWTP on operation of the facility at ENR levels of treatment.
2. A requirement in the County Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan to condition any new connection to the Trappe WWTP on ENR treatment can lay to rest any concern over the amount of time that will pass between the connections and the planned upgrade, including those raised by the email in which MDE Deputy Program Manager Ching-Tzone Tien says, “the developer would like to build 150 houses (or EDUs) in IA and see how the housing market responds before proceeding (with) the rest of Phase I.”
3. While MDE may not require an upgrade based on current permitted flows and applicable TMDLs, Talbot County may adopt such a measure to the extent that it provides greater protection to public health, safety, or welfare than a State requirement would.
Based on stated intentions, county policy, and authority under local and State law – in addition to overwhelming community support for water quality protection – the Talbot County Council is on very firm ground with moving to amend the County Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan to require fully operational ENR treatment at the Trappe WWTP as a prior condition for the connection of any new homes.
Alan Girard says
Correction, the memo to Council was submitted on Friday, February 4th (not 5th).