It’s hardly any wonder that our Talbot County Council is anxious to resolve lingering issues related to the permit approval process for the now under construction Lakeside development in Trappe. This development was first conceived 20 years ago.
Confusion began when a wastewater treatment permit was issued without the County’s approval in 2005; and perhaps not all that surprisingly after that took place, Lakeside’s plans for wastewater treatment remain a concern.
The County Council’s February 7, 2022 work session began with County Engineer Ray Clarke covering mapping issues, followed by Planning Officer Miguel Salinas and Planning Commissioner Chip Councell offering brief statements that included concerns for public health and welfare.
Trappe Attorney Lindsey Ryan then assured the Council that improvements were underway and Trappe’s wastewater treatment plant should be up and running to enhanced nitrogen removal (ENR) standards within 3 years – 1 year for planning and permitting, 2 years for construction. Capacity is not a problem, and only 2 citations have been issued since 2017.
News of that upgrade was well-received. Ryan D. Showalter, attorney for the developer, described Lakeside’s plan in more detail and assured the Council that the Trappe East spray wastewater irrigation plant would be completed and ready to take over within 18 months, once the permit is granted.
That timeline remained a concern, though. Work is going on at Lakeside now, and Talbot’s Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan finds Trappe’s plant “approaching 20 years of service and in need of upgrades to continue to serve the community.” Could up to 120 homes (of the 2,501 to be built) initially be connected to a wastewater treatment plant that is still underperforming?
The County’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan as amended also finds our major waterways ”impaired for nutrients” and “not suitable” for receiving treated waste. There are concerns regarding Lakeside’s planned spray wastewater irrigation system, too.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) conducted a public hearing at the Talbot County Community Center in October. It was attended by over 100 concerned citizens. They voiced their concerns, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation introduced an evaluation of the spray irrigation plan prepared by the Antea Group. The engineering and environmental consulting firm found that MDE’s dated methodology would result in “deficiencies and uncertainties.”
Wye Mills’ spray wastewater system has failed, and the Chesapeake Legal Alliance found only about 25% of Maryland’s groundwater discharge facilities to be in full compliance when inspected. Neighboring states Virginia and Delaware could be of assistance. The Antea study found that their methods yield more reliable results.
Governor Hogan is funding the Bay Restoration Fund and made Maryland the first state to adopt the U.S. Department of Energy Better Climate Challenge, but the League of Conservation Voters finds that he has chronically underfunded MDE enforcement.
With wastewater treatment system lapses occurring more frequently, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh recently appeared before the state Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. Citing findings of chronic underfunding and staff shortages, he warned that MDE may be “putting the state at risk of a disaster like the one that struck Flint, MI.”
Let’s hope he was just making a point; but add to these concerns a development of unprecedented size, and it’s no wonder this is taking so long. Back in 2009 Trappe Council President Robert Croswell predicted Lakeside “will most likely go forward,” but will “take years, maybe decades,” to complete.
Talbot County Engineer Ray Clarke also suggested back in 2009 that this might become a process “where people can have input both for and against.” Good idea.
Rescinding Resolution 281 would have provided the County with an opportunity to amend Lakeside’s entire wastewater treatment plan, but evidently that route isn’t available. The County has the responsibility of oversight for virtually all development, but the MDE has the final authority for granting permits concerning environmental matters.
As Talbot County Acting Attorney Patrick Thomas has counselled, rescinding would “usurp MDE’s authority,” but MDE’s permits must conform to the County’s Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan. With the consensus of the Planning Commission, the Council can adopt amendments and revisions to our Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan; and if that can be accomplished before an MDE permit is issued, Trappe’s plant will be upgraded to ENR before additional connections are made.
We have ENR in Easton and St. Michaels, and it’s a step in a positive direction for Trappe and all of us. And as reported Sunday in the Washington Post, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles has offered, “With respect to Trappe, we appreciate the range of views and concerns and are focused more on gathering public input, including the county’s perspective, before announcing any time frame for decisions.”
Our voices have been heard, and thanks to the perseverance of our County Council, their authority to rescind Resolution 281 will not be tested in Maryland’s Court of Appeals, as suggested as a possibility by attorneys in Baltimore. That would have taken more time.
Carol Voyles is a graphic designer/illustrator who retired to the Eastern Shore and became interested in politics. She serves as communications chair for the Talbot County Democratic Forum and lives in Easton.
Lena Gill says
A great overview of this complicated project. Most people who approved it 20 years ago are probably no longer involved. From the beginning, I believed that this project was too large for Talbot county. When I now hear about the complicated sewage questions raised by the County Council and others, I am definitely against the project. Spraying sewage on neighboring fields can only mean increased green algae in the Choptank river after a rain storm, which will create a dead zone. And what about the stink in the summer?
Brian J. Corden, M.D. says
I apologize, but I’m new to this subject, so what I say may be off.
But looking in the Washington Post from 12/09/2021 on the plans for the 2,501 new residences (some apartments but many single family dwellings) I was struck by the lack of inclusion of space for schools, a library or medical offices. With that many families there may be as many as 4,000 children to educate (there are about 4,500 current children in Talbot Co. schools. I think somebody just got carried away with SimCity.