Government officials are seeking public comment for a draft plan that would bar dumping any sewage in 13 new no-discharge zones throughout Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, a request that would expand those zones by eight times.
The plan would mark 13 different bodies of water as no-discharge zones excluding the Patapsco and the Patuxent Rivers along with Curtis Creek. These zones would include Stoney Creek, Magothy and Little Magothy and Whitehall Bay. Both governments will hold meetings throughout the county from Aug. 14 through 22.
If approved, it would mean no boater could dump treated sewage into the water; raw sewage is already illegal. Environmental advocates support expanding the zones, arguing it would reduce nutrient pollution in county waters. Opponents say the changes would hurt smaller boats and residents living aboard, and the number of affected boats wouldn’t lead to greater water quality.
Anne Arundel County and Annapolis lawmakers passed resolutions in 2018 supporting the expansion of no-discharge zones. The new zones won’t be established until the Department of Natural Resources then the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approve the plan. Herring Bay was established as a no-discharge zone in 2002, and it is listed as a success in the plan.
“This is just common sense,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a statement. “We will only be successful in protecting the Chesapeake Bay if we implement strategies to reduce pollution on land and in the water.”
Here is a list of the proposed meetings for public comment. Each of these meetings is scheduled for 7 to 8 p.m.
Aug.14 at Pip Moyer Recreation Center, meeting room 273, Hilltop Lane, Annapolis.
Aug. 19 at Anne Arundel County Police Department Southern District, 35 Stepneys Lane, Edgewater.
Aug. 22 at Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Department, 161 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park.
This is not the first time public comment on this issue has been accepted. Previous public comment was allowed in February 2018. Those comments resulted in another draft dated June 28, 2018, prompting the resolutions from Anne Arundel County and Annapolis City Councils. The draft plan is supported by the Severn River Association, which consolidated with the Back Creek Conservancy in 2018.
Supporters of the plan are hopeful expanding the county’s no-discharge zone from 3,500 acres to 27,379, about eight times larger, would reduce overall pollution in county waters. The report cites Herring Bay as a success case for no-discharge zones.
“In the 16 years since the no discharge zone has been in place, Herrington Harbour has consistently reported it to be a great success from the viewpoint of boaters’ satisfaction with cleaner water and of habitat restoration exemplified by the return of Maryland’s iconic species, terrapins and horseshoe crabs, resulting from the no discharge zone and the restoration of shoreline habitats,” according to the report.
David Kennedy, government affairs manager for BoatUS, said he thinks water quality advocates should be focused on other pollution contributors such as stormwater runoff. BoatUS offers boaters insurance, towing services, maintenance tips along with lobbying efforts.
Most boaters use services on their vessel and then pump it out at taxpayer funded stations while others use expensive treatment systems to stay within the law, Kennedy said. Annapolis’ harbormaster has a pump-out boat that visits anchored vessels for sewage cleaning on the water. Pump-out stations can also be found throughout the county.
“This is only going to apply to the boats that treat and discharge,” Kennedy said. “These are folks that made an extra effort to do this, and they are going to be penalized.”
//assets.documentcloud.org/viewer/loader.js
DV.load(“https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6224945-NoDischargeZone.js”, {
responsive: true,
container: “#DV-viewer-6224945-NoDischargeZone”
});
