(4/14) As a result of wastewater management plant violations of Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) requirements, the city was notified in at Fall by the MDE that fines would be imposed.
The City responded to the notification by advising the MDE of the various projects in place to work towards compliance, mostly the cities I&I reduction projects that are now being constructed. (I&I, or Inflow and infiltration, is when groundwater and stormwater enter a sewer system, which can lead to damage of the system.)
City Manager Jim Weiprecht said the staff was "hoping by demonstrating the City’s progress and giving the MDE an updated version of their compliance plan, they would see the City’s progress and the MDE would not levy any penalties." However, Weiprecht told the Council, that the MDE responded with a "thank you for the information, but they still felt it was a situation they could apply a bunch of fines to, but they are still willing to settle for $75,000."
Attorney for the City Jay Gullo said, "When the City Manager talks about a settlement, he is referring to a settlement of a lawsuit. Because if we wouldn’t settle the MDE would file suit against the City and seek penalties and injunctions and things like that. That is what we are trying to avoid."
Mayor Wantz and Councilman Haines, both agreed that the MDE response was disappointing, as Wantz said, "when the Department of the Environment’s goal is to improve environmental quality and environmental protections, that an arbitrary fine instead of allowing the city to reinvest that money (into waste management improvements) seemed counterintuitive."
The Mayor said the City would keep working with the MDE to find a way to wave the fines, and said he was reaching out to Senator Reedy to get his assistance with working with MDE on this.
Gullo said he couldn’t stress enough how important what the Mayor was trying to do with the Senator. "Other client towns have similar issues, and they are hardly ever resolved in court, but remediated by an elected official that has a good relationship with the Mayor and Council of the town," Gullo explained. "The Senator isn’t going to wave a wand to make things happen, but he is the guy who is going to open the doors to make this happen."
At the March 13th meeting the Mayor announced that Senator Reedy had sent a letter to the MDE requesting that they postpone any decision on the fines. The Council supported Weiprecht drafting a letter requesting a similar postponement.
