On Friday afternoon, The Talbot Integrity Project, ten other citizens, and I filed suit against the Maryland Department of Environment (“MDE”) over its failure to do what’s right at the Lakeside project down in Trappe. We are seeking a court order compelling MDE to honor a decision of the County Planning Commission, and to protect La Trappe Creek from even more pollution flowing from Lakeside’s sewerage.
This is really a simple petition. Citizens need and expect our government agencies just to do the right thing—and at the minimum, to abide by and enforce the law. MDE is refusing to live up to its responsibilities in two ways. It has ignored the important Planning Commission decision six months ago that connecting Lakeside to the antiquated and troubled sewerage plant at Trappe is not consistent with our Comprehensive Plan. Maryland law is clear that the Commission’s word is final when it comes to the Comp Plan.
Even more stupefying is that MDE—the department of the ENVIRONMENT– is willing to let a developer put substantially more sewerage into a treatment system known to be inadequate, one that every day discharges outrageous concentrations of polluting nutrient into that already impaired little waterway that feeds into the Choptank. One might think the agency is the Department of Development!
It defies common sense that citizens have to raise serious money and launch a lawsuit just to get our state government to do what it’s supposed to do. But here we are. In the past 8 weeks over 150 Talbot countians made contributions of between $25 and $25,000 to our Litigation Fund that enabled us to file this lawsuit. (Contributions to the Fund may be sent by check payable to Talbot Integrity Project at 8404 Aveley Manor Lane, Easton, MD 21601, or electronically at this GoFundMe page here.)
The complaint we filed [accessible here, and worth the read] arises out of MDE’s continuing approval of an amendment to Talbot’s Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan that permits construction of the massive 2500 home Lakeside subdivision (and commercial space a third the size of the Annapolis Mall!). And we all know the impact is not only environmental. Today Trappe has about 400 homes. But when sextupled in size, Lakeside will have Trappe straddling Route 50, the Shore’s primary thoroughfare. And in over twenty years there has been little or no discussion of other serious impacts on our County: schools; taxes; public safety; EMT services; congestion; the fundamental character of Talbot County. Oh, and taxes.
Our suit was filed in Talbot County Circuit Court. The other individual plaintiffs are Doug Firth, Bruce Wellington, John and Kim Kaestner, Annie and Didier Leconte, Ed Delaney, Elizabeth Anderson, and Steve and Lynn Harris, all represented by counsel Jesse Hammock of Parker Counts in Easton. Lead counsel representing The Talbot Integrity Project and myself is the law firm of McGuireWoods.
There will be more to follow on the Lakeside litigation, that’s for sure.
Talbot Integrity Project
Dan Watson
Rebecca Ellison says
FOLLOW THE MONEY.