by Kristina Bostick
Sewer Plan Threatens Ten Mile Creek
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.
Update: The County Council's Transportation & Environment Committee meeting on sewers in the Ten Mile Creek watershed originally scheduled for this coming Monday, Feb 2nd at 9:30am has been rescheduled to Thursday, Feb 5th at 9am in the 7th floor Council hearing room. Thank you to anyone who was planning to attend on Monday. We hope that you may be able to join us and show your support for the creek next Thursday. Thank You!Update: At the beginning of Tuesday's public hearing on the sewer issue, Council President George Leventhal remarked that he and his colleagues had been "deluged" by emails about keeping sewers out of Ten Mile Creek. See FoTMC Board member (and former Councilmember) Scott Fosler's powerful testimony here. Afterwards, Councilmembers Elrich and Berliner both reaffirmed their commitment to protect the creek, with Councilmember Berliner stating that "we're not going to allow a sewer to destroy what we have sought so hard to protect." Haven't sent in your email yet to support the Creek- there is still time- read on below...On December 17th, Friends of Ten Mile Creek Board Members, Cathy Wiss and Anne James attended a public meeting on a WSSC/Montgomery County sewer study for the Clarksburg-Ten Mile Creek area.They were shocked to find out that all of the proposed sewer options involve laying sewer pipes in Ten Mile Creek and its stream valley, which would destroy creek habitat during the pipeline construction and leave Ten Mile Creek vulnerable to raw sewage leaks as the pipes age. This plan clearly violates the County and Leggett Administration's commitment to protect Ten Mile CreekThe Montgomery County Council is holding a public hearing on the WSSC/County sewer plan on Tuesday, January 20, 2015. If we don’t want our hard-won protections for Ten Mile Creek flushed, we must act now!
All the alternatives in the WSSC/County sewer plan are unacceptable. See our Fact Sheet on the Sewer Plan They must be replaced with a plan that provides sewer service without putting sewer pipes in Ten Mile Creek. Such alternatives do exist and have been used before in Montgomery County. Here is our letter County Council.
Email or call the County Council and County Executive Leggett today (see sample email below) and tell them don’t flush Ten Mile Creek protections-scrap this plan and hit the restart button on this process. We need a plan that keeps sewers and sewerage out of Ten Mile Creek!Thank you in advance for taking action to protect the creek from this new threat! Friends of Ten Mile Creek & Little Seneca ReservoirSend it to: [email protected], [email protected] and please cc: us - [email protected]Sample email: Dear County Executive Leggett and Councilmembers:The WSSC/Montgomery County Ten Mile Creek/Clarksburg Sewer Service Alternatives plan threatens the Ten Mile Creek watershed. All of the options presented in the WSSC/County study would do significant harm to Ten Mile Creek, its floodplain and its subwatersheds. The plan is clearly not based on the commitment to protect Ten Mile Creek as established in the Limited Master Plan Amendment. The seemingly secretive, rushed and closed process that WSSC and the County have run to arrive at this sewer plan is equally troubling. As you know, Ten Mile Creek, our last, best creek and only clean, high-quality tributary to Little Seneca Reservoir is of regional significance. We deserve a voice in its protection-that’s good government. Please scrap the WSSC/County Ten Mile Creek/Clarksburg Sewer Service Alternatives plan and hit the restart button. Let’s work together to craft a sewer plan that keeps pipes and sewage out of Ten Mile Creek! Thank you, [Your signature]
All the alternatives in the WSSC/County sewer plan are unacceptable. See our Fact Sheet on the Sewer Plan They must be replaced with a plan that provides sewer service without putting sewer pipes in Ten Mile Creek. Such alternatives do exist and have been used before in Montgomery County. Here is our letter County Council.
Email or call the County Council and County Executive Leggett today (see sample email below) and tell them don’t flush Ten Mile Creek protections-scrap this plan and hit the restart button on this process. We need a plan that keeps sewers and sewerage out of Ten Mile Creek!Thank you in advance for taking action to protect the creek from this new threat! Friends of Ten Mile Creek & Little Seneca ReservoirSend it to: [email protected], [email protected] and please cc: us - [email protected]Sample email: Dear County Executive Leggett and Councilmembers:The WSSC/Montgomery County Ten Mile Creek/Clarksburg Sewer Service Alternatives plan threatens the Ten Mile Creek watershed. All of the options presented in the WSSC/County study would do significant harm to Ten Mile Creek, its floodplain and its subwatersheds. The plan is clearly not based on the commitment to protect Ten Mile Creek as established in the Limited Master Plan Amendment. The seemingly secretive, rushed and closed process that WSSC and the County have run to arrive at this sewer plan is equally troubling. As you know, Ten Mile Creek, our last, best creek and only clean, high-quality tributary to Little Seneca Reservoir is of regional significance. We deserve a voice in its protection-that’s good government. Please scrap the WSSC/County Ten Mile Creek/Clarksburg Sewer Service Alternatives plan and hit the restart button. Let’s work together to craft a sewer plan that keeps pipes and sewage out of Ten Mile Creek! Thank you, [Your signature]
