Protecting the Ag Reserve and rural transition zones from sprawl helps maintain water quality
Update - May 1
The Council is still working on the details of the County's Ten Year Water and Sewer Plan. They are making sure that home owners with septic systems in rural residential areas have all the tools needed should they experience or clearly be at risk of septic failure. Important stuff.
Council will take this up again in June. Stay tuned...
The Council is still working on the details of the County's Ten Year Water and Sewer Plan. They are making sure that home owners with septic systems in rural residential areas have all the tools needed should they experience or clearly be at risk of septic failure. Important stuff.
Council will take this up again in June. Stay tuned...
The Montgomery County Council today voted 5-4 in favor of the Elrich Amendment to the Water and Sewer Plan.
This is good news for our rural communities and Ag Reserve. The Elrich Amendment is aimed at preventing unnecessary sewer sprawl, which threatens our clean stream areas with higher-density urban development, sewage spills, leaky sewer pipes, and stormwater pollution. Cheers to those who took action and our partners including West Montgomery Civic Asso., Conservation Montgomery, MC Sierra Club, Potomac Conservancy, Audubon Naturalist Society. 🌟Our core team: Diane Cameron, Ken Bawer and Susanne Lee. The best!
The amendment requires the county staff to use their "Septic System Surveys" to address public health concerns, to help homeowners to remedy actual failed septic systems and "anticipated failures," and to exhaust on-site waste disposal technologies, before recommending a sewer conversion. The County had drifted into a practice of granting extensions to public sewer to properties that had opportunities to repair/replace their on-site systems. To be clear, the amendment does not negate the process available to a homeowner that has an failing system to be reviewed and determine whether they have no recourse but to connect to public sewer.
Many thanks to all who called and wrote to the Council, giving voice to protection from unnecessary sewer sprawl into our rural communities.
Your own thank-you messages to councilmembers are helpful & welcomed. Thanks go to Councilmembers Hans Reimer Marc Elrich Roger Berliner Nancy Navarro and Tom Hucker.
Your own thank-you messages to councilmembers are helpful & welcomed. Thanks go to Councilmembers Hans Reimer Marc Elrich Roger Berliner Nancy Navarro and Tom Hucker.
What's Next:
Before the council voted on the Elrich Amendment regarding Septic System Surveys, they also arrived at a consensus on a new program for outreach and education to homeowners on septic, aimed at preventing failures through education on improved maintenance and technical assistance. The consensus was for the staff's recommended approach, which is to start now with simple web-based education on County websites, while compiling a database on the estimated 22,000 to 24,000 properties countywide that are on septic. Once that database is completed, the County staff & council will consider more-robust outreach and technical assistance. MCA has recommended that Councilmembers start now to advance homeowner education via their own councilmember newsletters (web and/or print). For our part, we are gathering outreach information that we will share and help homeowners and civic groups to get the word out about keeping wells and septics running safely.
Today's decisions are called "straw votes," with the final approval set for 2 weeks from now (Tuesday April 3), with that date being a pro-forma "Consent Calendar approval." Still, it will be very helpful for us to now publicly and loudly thank each of the 5 who voted for clean streams & to stop sewer sprawl.
Read on for our previous action alert
Before the council voted on the Elrich Amendment regarding Septic System Surveys, they also arrived at a consensus on a new program for outreach and education to homeowners on septic, aimed at preventing failures through education on improved maintenance and technical assistance. The consensus was for the staff's recommended approach, which is to start now with simple web-based education on County websites, while compiling a database on the estimated 22,000 to 24,000 properties countywide that are on septic. Once that database is completed, the County staff & council will consider more-robust outreach and technical assistance. MCA has recommended that Councilmembers start now to advance homeowner education via their own councilmember newsletters (web and/or print). For our part, we are gathering outreach information that we will share and help homeowners and civic groups to get the word out about keeping wells and septics running safely.
Today's decisions are called "straw votes," with the final approval set for 2 weeks from now (Tuesday April 3), with that date being a pro-forma "Consent Calendar approval." Still, it will be very helpful for us to now publicly and loudly thank each of the 5 who voted for clean streams & to stop sewer sprawl.
Read on for our previous action alert
An action alert from our partners at Montgomery Coalition to Stop Sewer Sprawl*
(*affiliated with the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners Network)
(*affiliated with the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners Network)
Dear Friends of Clean Water:
IMPORTANT: If you are an organization, please forward this Action Alert and attachments to your members. If you are an individual, please forward to friends, family, etc.
We request that you show your support for clean water in Montgomery County through our Stop Sewer Sprawl effort.
WHAT: attend a County Council meeting for the new Ten-Year Water & Sewer Plan.
WHY: Sewer Sprawl Threatens the Ag Reserve and Our Clean Streams
WHEN: 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, but best to be there by 9:00 or earlier since they could rearrange the schedule
WHERE: Council Hearing Room, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850 – this is the County Council building in downtown Rockville; there is a parking garage in the rear
Suggested hand-held signs to bring (8 1/2 x 11 inches max):
"Sewer Sprawl = Less Clean Water for All"
"Stop Sewer Sprawl"
"Friends Don't Let Friends Hook up to Sewers"
"Don't Sewer Us"
IMPORTANT: If you are an organization, please forward this Action Alert and attachments to your members. If you are an individual, please forward to friends, family, etc.
We request that you show your support for clean water in Montgomery County through our Stop Sewer Sprawl effort.
WHAT: attend a County Council meeting for the new Ten-Year Water & Sewer Plan.
WHY: Sewer Sprawl Threatens the Ag Reserve and Our Clean Streams
WHEN: 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, but best to be there by 9:00 or earlier since they could rearrange the schedule
WHERE: Council Hearing Room, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850 – this is the County Council building in downtown Rockville; there is a parking garage in the rear
Suggested hand-held signs to bring (8 1/2 x 11 inches max):
"Sewer Sprawl = Less Clean Water for All"
"Stop Sewer Sprawl"
"Friends Don't Let Friends Hook up to Sewers"
"Don't Sewer Us"
WHETHER YOU ATTEND OR NOT: please send an email to the County Council. We are up against a well-funded, developer-led vocal minority.
*** Sample email ***
To: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
Bcc: info@mocoalliance.org
Subject: Stop Sewer Sprawl
Dear Councilmembers:
I am outraged that the County wants to push sewer pipes into low density areas which will threaten our clean streams. WSSC spilled more than 9 million gallons of raw sewage into streams in the last 3 calendar years including local streams in Montgomery County.
Do not allow sewer lines to sprawl into our long protected low density and rural areas. You must accept the Water & Sewer Plan language proposed by the Montgomery Coalition to Stop Sewer Sprawl.
At this Tuesday's worksession (2/27), Councilmembers must make these crucial edits to the Water and Sewer Plan:
(1) Base the septic area surveys and decisions on preventing, documenting, and addressing actual and imminent public health hazards.
(2) County (DPS and DEP) must begin immediately to educate property owners on septic systems to support effective long-term maintenance of on-site systems.
Unlike some special interest groups who have provided comments, my only special interest is to protect our water for ALL residents of Montgomery County – I don’t seek special concessions for the financial benefit of just a few individuals.
Our clean water matters!
Sincerely,
*** END Sample email ***
For additional background information, please see below.
*** Sample email ***
To: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
Bcc: info@mocoalliance.org
Subject: Stop Sewer Sprawl
Dear Councilmembers:
I am outraged that the County wants to push sewer pipes into low density areas which will threaten our clean streams. WSSC spilled more than 9 million gallons of raw sewage into streams in the last 3 calendar years including local streams in Montgomery County.
Do not allow sewer lines to sprawl into our long protected low density and rural areas. You must accept the Water & Sewer Plan language proposed by the Montgomery Coalition to Stop Sewer Sprawl.
At this Tuesday's worksession (2/27), Councilmembers must make these crucial edits to the Water and Sewer Plan:
(1) Base the septic area surveys and decisions on preventing, documenting, and addressing actual and imminent public health hazards.
(2) County (DPS and DEP) must begin immediately to educate property owners on septic systems to support effective long-term maintenance of on-site systems.
Unlike some special interest groups who have provided comments, my only special interest is to protect our water for ALL residents of Montgomery County – I don’t seek special concessions for the financial benefit of just a few individuals.
Our clean water matters!
Sincerely,
*** END Sample email ***
For additional background information, please see below.
