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News

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act - Oh, it's the law

4/8/2016

 
by Caroline Taylor
On April 4, 2016 Governor Hogan signed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, which requires Maryland to reduce statewide gas emissions by 40 percent from 2006 levels by 2030. This bipartisan legislation, which was supported by the Maryland Departments of the Environment, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, is based on a recommendation of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and enhances the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Act. This law is expected to help create and maintain tens of thousands of jobs and represents a balanced, science-based approach to reduce carbon pollution.

Baltimore Sun Coverage

Producers Meeting Held: Zoning Code Changes for Ag- Opportunities and Guidance

2/20/2015

 
by Kristina Bostick
That Happened: Friday, February 27 at 10am - St. Paul Community Church, 14730 Sugarland Road, Poolesville

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Don't Flush Ten Mile Creek Protections!

1/15/2015

 
by Kristina Bostick

​Sewer Plan Threatens Ten Mile Creek

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Important Sewer Meeting: Show your support for keeping sewers out of Ten Mile Creek by attending the first meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the WSSC Clarksburg-Ten Mile Creek Sewer Study on Thursday, Feb 12th from 7-9pm.  The meeting will take place at the Montgomery County Government Upcounty Regional Services Center, Room A (12900 Middlebrook Road, Suite 1000, Germantown, Maryland 20874).  The public is invited to attend and there will be time at the end of the meeting for public comment.  Three board members of the Friends of Ten Mile Creek are on the Citizens Advisory Committee and we welcome you to attend and show your support.  And if you can't make this meeting, don't worry -- there will be others so please stay tuned.

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What's Happening with... Global Mission Mega Church?

11/24/2014

 
by Caroline Taylor
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2015 GMC Update: Our Attorney, Michele Rosenfeld, delivered oral argument before the Court of Special Appeals in early December 2014 in both of the ongoing legal challenges. The site plan approval challenge that MCA filed in partnership with Sugarloaf Citizens Association is strong and was favorably heard by the Appeals Court. The oral argument in the suit filed by community members involving the Church's required secondary access road bisecting residential property bound by long standing neighborhood covenants, also quite strong, was also heard.  We are waiting for opinions in both cases.  Awaiting decisions in both cases. Read on below..

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Round Two:  MC's New Farmer Program

11/24/2014

 
by Caroline Taylor
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The Ag Reserve's promise grows with the success of new farm ventures.  Montgomery County's New Farm Program, now past the pilot point with a number of successful ventures launched, is ready for Round Two! The New Farmer Project provides mentoring and specialized business training like marketing, accounting, business planning and advanced sustainable farm practices. By matching new farmers with private land owners (with assistance from MCA's Land Link program) throughout the Agricultural Reserve, the program's participating farmers are singularly focused on growing their businesses instead of finding new real estate.


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Large Shooting Range Proposed for Sugarloaf

7/18/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
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Shooting Range proposed for "Resource Conservation" Zone at base of Sugarloaf Mountain

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MC Planning Board Chair: 5 Applicants - 5 Resumes

5/27/2014

 
by Caroline Taylor

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The Potomac Bridge Crossing- Studying a Bad Idea, Again

3/25/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
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MCA's Education Program

3/14/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
A smile flashes over MCA Education Committee Chair Gene Kingbury's face as their hands go up.  The students at Poolesville High School have been listening as Gene explained how his family's fifth generation orchard grows (over 6000 trees!) and innovates.  "How did you develop your new peach variety and do you patent it?" "Can you grow your fruit without chemicals?" Greg Glenn of Rocklands Farm offers a lesson in best practices in livestock raising by bunching students between desks with little room to move about.  Huddled together and getting hot and uncomfortable, they get the picture... quickly

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On Peterson and Clean Water "Controversy"

2/28/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
An article on Peterson Co.'s project "drying up in response to clean water controversy" came out from the Post and has been picked up elsewhere

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Ten Mile Creek- Council Takes Path of Increased Protection

2/12/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
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Ten Mile Creek IS a Backup Drinking Water Source

1/14/2014

 
by Kristina Bostick
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UPDATE- A new study has shown that in the 2002 drought, around 25% of the Potomac's flow came from Little Seneca Reservoir and Ten Mile Creek. The idea that this is not a current and future water source for 4.3 Million doesn't...hold water.

In an email to supporters, Pulte Homes (one of a few developers looking to start projects in the sensitive Ten Mile Creek watershed)  said the following:

"The lake is not an emergency drinking water supply. It's a backup source of water for the Potomac River during times of severe drought. The Potomac is a drinking water source."

What? That is one serious linguistic shell game. Pulte is just one of a number of people that seem either legitimately or intentionally confused about the importance of the Little Seneca Reservoir and Ten Mile Creek.Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words- like this sign at the edge of the reservoir (again, the fact that its called a "reservoir" should give you a clue that the water is being held for later use):

Not only are the reservoir and Ten Mile Creek part of our back-up drinking water supply serving 4.3 million metro area residents, but the reservoir is checked every year to be sure it can still be called upon to supplement our water supply, as this alert from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin to the County Exec and Council made clear this summer.  In fact, water from the Reservoir had to be  used for drought abatement in 1999, 2002 and 2010. The Commission also reports that droughts will be getting a lot more common.

So that's the Reservoir - what about Ten Mile Creek. When we say that Ten Mile Creek is the "Last, Best Stream" in the county, its not hyperbole. The creek is what is called a "reference" stream- a stream that is still pristine enough that we can compare degraded streams to it to see how bad off they are. As the first Council work session held yesterday showed, the draft planning board plan for development in the watershed would degrade Ten Mile Creek to the point that it will no longer be clean enough to serve as a reference- dirty just like the others. As one supporter asked, "can't we just have one clean creek?"So, how do we know that the proposed development will degrade the creek? Because the green parts on the right of the map below are not golf courses, that is the color of the water in our backup drinking water supply, as impacted by poorly planned development (click to see it bigger). Ten Mile Creek on the left, is still pristine and currently serves to dilute some of the degraded water. The point is- we have done this all before- the removal of forest cover, laying down impervious surface, and we can see the results.

We still have a pristine stream that serves 4.3 Million people and will only be more important in the future. The current proposals will impact our drinking water and that is why we are making so much noise.

​The Council will decide on this in February- make sure they hear from you now.

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ABOUT US
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A Brief History
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ABOUT Ag RESERVE
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Montgomery Countryside Alliance
P.O Box 24, Poolesville, MD  20837
301-461-9831  •  ​info@mocoalliance.org
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MCA is proud to announce that we have been recognized for a third time as one of the best small charities in the D.C. region by Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, and peer non-profit organizations evaluated 270 applications.

​MCA is known as an effective and innovative non-profit whose efforts to preserve and promote Montgomery County’s nationally recognized 93,000 acre Ag Reserve have brought increased public and governmental support of local food production and farmland and open space preservation. Most importantly, MCA’s efforts are putting more farmers on the ground and keeping them there.
COPYRIGHT © MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE 2008