“The less you use, the less you pay.”
This fair and conservation-minded approach to doubling Maryland’s funding for sewage treatment plant improvements was touted by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley in his annual “State of the State” address today before the General Assembly.
O’Malley also renewed his call for legislation to curb suburban sprawl and reduce what he called “the growing problem of septic pollution from large scale housing developments …that threaten the Bay, and also threaten the very future of Maryland agriculture.”
The governor deserves great praise for having the courage to tackle both of these tough issues –- upgrading the state’s sewage treatment systems, and cracking down on high-pollution residential septic systems –- during economically hard times, when fees and regulations of all kinds are under political attack.
Legislators would do well to follow the governor’s strong leadership in these areas, because the steps he outlines will help Maryland meet new Chesapeake Bay pollution limits, and provide cleaner water and an improved economy for future generations. Improvements to the state’s sewage treatment plants alone are expected to create about 30,000 construction jobs, according to a new report by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Truth be told, to meet the requirements of new Chesapeake Bay pollution limits, Maryland should not only be doubling the Bay Restoration Fund (the so-called “flush fee”) as O’Malley proposes, but quadrupling the amount of money available for sewage plant upgrades and stormwater pollution control systems. A state advisory panel last year recommended a tripling of the fund. The lesser amount that O’Malley is pushing for is, nonetheless, an important move in the right direction -– and a sign of bravery, especially when politicians around the country are being pummeled for any government investments in infrastructure and jobs.
“My Republican predecessor called the ‘flush tax’ one of his most important accomplishments while in office,” O’Malley said during his speech today. The flush tax today is $2.50 per month for most households, with the money targeted to upgrade the state's 67 largest sewage treatment plants.
“The fee, however, was never sufficient to cover the work that has to be done," O'Malley said. "While others have suggested tripling the flush tax, I believe that the fairest way forward is to double the yield by switching most households to a fee structure based on consumption. In other words, the less you use, the less you pay. This will double the amount of work that we will be able to do for the Bay.”
Last year, an O’Malley proposal to reduce the number of large subdivisions built on high-pollution septic systems failed to win approval from the Maryland General Assembly. This year, his administration and its allies are advancing a modified, multi-tiered approach suggested by an advisory task force. This new strategy seeks to encourage growth in communities that that already have sewer, water, and road infrastructure in place; and increasingly discourage subdivisions on septic systems the farther out into farmland they are proposed.
“A house on septic causes six to 10 times the amount of pollution to the Bay as a house on public sewer,” O’Malley said during his address. “In fact, of the four largest causes of nitrogen pollution into the Bay, none is growing faster than septic pollution. The moderate, reasonable, and tiered approach that the task force crafted is patterned on what several rural counties are already doing to protect farmland and to protect the waters of the Bay.”
These are goals we can all agree on: Preserve farmland. Discourage ugly sprawl development that eats up rural lands. Reduce sewage into the Bay. And in the process, build a brighter and cleaner future for everyone in the Chesapeake region.
To watch a video of Governor O’Malley’s speech, click here.
By Tom Pelton
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
A brave, bold political leader who can see well beyond the lobbyist pale. His proposal to also collect sales tax on the purchases of gasoline is another forward looking move that produces needed revenue from a major global polluter - the automobile. It is time to compensate our dear planet for all its resources we have, until now, boldly taken without recompense.
Posted by: Waddell Robey | 02/02/2012 at 03:08 AM