On Thursday, 7/27, we submitted a sign on letter to the Howard County Executive and Council advocating for strong stormwater management and smart development principles. We asked the County officials to consider and adopt these recommendations as they go about developing their Ellicott City Watershed Master Plan following the flood of 7/30/16.
For questions and more information please contact Zack Gerdes (Conservation Organizer) Zack.Gerdes@mdsierra.org
Date: July 27, 2017
To: Howard County Executive Alan Kittleman & Members of the Howard County Council
Subject: Howard County Stormwater & The Ellicott City Watershed Master Plan
As we come up on the one year anniversary of the Ellicott City flood, and the County begins the process for formulating an Ellicott City Watershed Masterplan, we would like to take this chance to look at what can be done to prevent a similar disaster in the future. Our groups believe an essential method for protecting the valuable resources of our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay is through both strong stormwater remediation techniques and smart development principles. This letter outlines a number of recommendations and areas of concern that we believe the council and planning board need to address on stormwater remediation.
The Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams are woven into Maryland's DNA. The water is part of our culture, our economy, our food and our recreation, and, of course, our environment and health.
Unfortunately, for decades Maryland's waters have been polluted by toxic runoff from over-development, poor stormwater controls, and unsustainable agricultural practices. This pollution can lead to fish kills, declining populations of important animal and plant species, and destruction of the riverbed. As the pollution grows worse, rivers can become unsafe for swimming, fishing and boating. This is all particularly concerning as the majority of waterways in the state empty into the Chesapeake Bay, and the Bay alone is responsible for $3.39 billion in sales, $890 million in income, and almost 34,000 jobs to the local economies of Maryland and Virginia.
Locally, we know that even smaller waterway natural disasters can cause significant economic disruption. In Howard County, the 2016 flood caused County economic activity to be reduced by $67.2 million, with a resulting loss of 151 jobs and labor income reductions of $27.2 million with County government revenue losses of as much as $1.3 million. With this level of impact, serious thought must go into preventing a similar disaster.
Over time, development in Maryland has seen the replacement of forest area with impervious surfaces at a concerning rate. Our current stormwater management and development plans are insufficient for accommodating severe weather events and it is important to take strong action sooner rather than later. As we grapple with impacts of a changing climate, it is important to plan for more frequent and more severe weather events. In order to minimize the risk of similar floods in the future, we have developed a list of recommended steps to take on stormwater management and smart development in Howard County. We hope that you will consider the list of recommendations and incorporate them into the Watershed Master Plan.
Commit to zero budget decreases for the Watershed Protection and Restoration Fund and maintain the budget at the FY14 level of $10.5 million at a minimum. Funding has been steadily decreasing every year with less resources available for stormwater remediation projects in the County. With new proposed stormwater practices and projects, we believe a dedicated funding source must not be decreased any further.
Designate the undeveloped areas within the Tiber-Hudson watershed as Tier IV to prevent further forest area loss. Limiting development in this area will preserve the authenticity of historic Ellicott City. The Rural Conservation and Tier IV designations have no impact on existing development, but will prevent future major development or forest loss in this area. Proposed development of the rural and sensitive western county continues to be introduced despite significant public opposition and against the recommendations of a number of key stakeholders in the state. Require developers to prove their project will have no adverse impact on the watershed or the quantity or quality of runoff flowing downstream. The responsibility to prove a development will not exacerbate the existing flooding threat and increase in stormwater runoff quantity must fall directly on the developer. The developer's documentation must be prepared by a qualified and objective professional and subject to public review and comment. The costs for any necessary mitigation measures must be borne by the developer. No project should be permitted without this commitment being met.
Any development must replace cleared forest area at a 1-1 rate. Despite Maryland having passed the Forest Conservation Act in the General Assembly, the state is still experiencing a net forest canopy loss every year. Developers are currently only required to replant ¼ acre per every acre cleared. This requirement will ensure sufficient pervious forest area is still available to filter runoff in the County.
Mandate that the County take a green-first approach to stormwater retrofits and capital improvement planning (CIP budget).Within the County's green-first stormwater retrofit plan, focus on the lowest-cost, highest-benefit retrofit practices, including tree plantings; creation of native plant landscapes; Compost Amendment to Turf (CATT); and Regenerative Stormwater Conveyances used on erosion-prone uplands and hillslopes.
Incentivize private property owners to employ local green stormwater-related businesses, through tax breaks or through a credit system. The county currently provides credits on the stormwater remediation fee for property owners that install practices such as rain barrels, rain gardens, or permeable pavement. The county should also consider incentivizing the hiring of local county based businesses to install such projects.
Ensure the public input process is as open and accessible as possible. To make this process transparent, all public comments submitted should be posted online along with the audio/video of each public workshop. Each public meeting should be scheduled outside of business hours to encourage turnout. We also ask that materials be made available in spanish as well as english.
We appreciate your time and consideration on this matter and look forward to working with you to make stormwater management and smart development a priority in Howard County. Please respond to let us know if you are available to meet in person to discuss these matters further.
Sincerely,
The Maryland Sierra Club
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
1000 Friends of Maryland
Community Ecology Institute
Together We Will Howard County
The Audubon Society of Central Maryland
Clean Water Action
Indivisible HoCo MD