Based on a Star-Democrat article on December 15th, Resolution 313 is not the right answer to the myriad of problems associated with the Lakeside development project. 

One paragraph in the article reads: Price’s amendment would require that any new connections from Lakeside to the existing Trappe waste-water system are subject to the town’s system not having any existing enforcement actions, consent orders or violations from the Maryland Department of the Environment. 

The above is the essence of option #2 in the resolution. Option #1 is seemly overlooked in the article. The identified options are: 

1) a modular ENR MBR WWTP, capable of operating the initial development flow rates; or 

2) by a direct connection to the existing Town of Trappe wastewater system. Any new connections to the existing WWTP are subject to the existing WWTP not having any outstanding MDE enforcement actions, consent orders, or violations.  …  

Note the wording in the first sentence of Option #2: the existing WWTP not having any outstanding MDE enforcement actions, consent orders, or violations.  So, if MDE is not effectively monitoring the operations of the Trappe WWTP and enforcing the terms of the existing MDE plan, Trappe is free to add the initial Lakeside homes to a failing system!  —   If the Trappe WWTP reporting is accurate and timely and if MDE is doing its job, it will be highly unlikely that any Lakeside connections to the Trappe waste-water system will ever be made.  

 Any connections to the Trappe system will only further degrade the outflow from the system.  It is readily known and accepted fact that the existing Trappe system is technically “back-level”, having operational problems, experiencing significant intrusion/infiltration issues, age compromised, and severely in debt to the tune of roughly $3 million dollars.  Even with the high user rates charged, the income received from the Town residents, meeting operation and maintenance expenses, and servicing the debt is reportedly challenging. 

It is time for a DO-OVER! – A DO-OVER addressing the issues with the existing Trappe system as well as facilitating the continued development of Lakeside should be considered. See Option #1 above.  A new level of constructive cooperation between those concerned with environmental issues, adjacent landowners, County government, and the developers is essential to reaching a solution that may satisfy (or mollify) the interests of all parties. — All parties need to step back and accept the facts that the current path is fraught with problems for which there are no satisfactory solutions if continuing down the current path for Option #2. – Resolution on top of resolution further clouds the issues and the direction of meaningful, specific solutions.  The MDE draft permit should be rewritten to incorporate recent evaluation of monitoring and reporting details, eliminate sewage flows between the Trappe WWTP and Lakeside, and facilitate the extension of the allocated spray area as may be necessary.

Here are some thoughts about addressing and resolving the shortcomings of Resolutions 281, 308, and 313 and the MDE permit.  Further analysis and consideration of Option #1 is recommended.

• Lakeside terminates its plan to send sewage to the Trappe system and Trappe should rescind its agreement to accept any wastewater load from Lakeside. 
• Lakeside is required to concurrently construct the Phase 1 sewage system (to the latest ENR/MBR technologies) and it shall achieve operational status before any Lakeside homes are occupied. 
• Lakeside contracts with the Town of Trappe to accept and process all sewage on the east side of route 50.  This will provide sufficient flow for plant operations when new homes are occupied. And, it will provide an upgrade of effluent for a significant portion of the current load on the Trappe system.  (Trappe Heights will provide a load equivalent to about 100 homes and businesses located along route 50, roughly another 20.)  The Lakeside Phase One WWTP must accommodate the first 400 Lakeside homes plus Trappe Heights and the other establishments on the east side of route 50 at a users’ expense not to exceed the current rates. – This negates the need for construction of sewage lines across route 50 to the existing Trappe WWTP. 
• The MDE permit is to be re-written to reflect the approach outlined herein and the new/revised permit shall provide more detailed sampling, record keeping, and reporting requirements.  Also, the permit must identify and describe requirements for assessing the effectiveness and viability of the effluent spraying on adjacent, dedicated acreage.  The latter shall track absorption rates, lateral flows that may reach Miles Creek, and intrusion into both public and private wells on adjacent properties. – Allocation of acreage for Phase One spraying of effluent shall be expanded as necessary to meet (yet to be defined) absorption rates. 
• Lakeside system(s) operation will be the direct responsibility of Talbot County, not the Town of Trappe. The Lakeside WWTP modules are to be staffed 24/7 by system qualified personnel. 
• Talbot County manager shall take immediate action to implement solutions to correct problems with the Trappe infrastructure for water and sewer systems and sewage plant operations.  Funding should be obtained from Federal and State sources.  Trappe’s current financial obligations need to be settled. (Trappe cannot independently dig out of its current problems, nor can the existing fee structure be escalated and passed onto the current residents). 
• Lakeside project overall size is to be re-assessed by the county planning commission, etc. and evaluated relative to County’s the long-term growth goals.  Concurrently, the commission must recognize the recent introduction of 2 new applications for residential housing developments with the greater Easton area.  One is slated for 200 units and the other for 400 units.  How much growth is the county prepared to support?

The Lakeside project is within Maryland Planning Department (MPD) guidelines for growth being within existing population centers and/or adjacent to existing towns. Additionally, Lakeside is approved as a Planned Unit Development (PUD – definitions and descriptions on the web). As PUD the developer is exempted from some future zoning requirements and has latitude in the overall usage allocations of acreage. The annexing of approximately 850 on the other side of the highway by the Town of Trappe (and without agreement of those landowners being annexed or potentially impacted by the rezoning seems a bit heavy-handed. The size of the Lakeside project is seemingly beyond the stated intentions of the guidelines from MPD. — Lakeside is potentially the next “Columbia”. Practically, it will be a new “town” unto itself. It is separated from the Town of Trappe by route 50.  It will potentially require a significant increase in municipal services such as police, fire, and EMS, schools and libraries, road construction and traffic controls, etc.  

We all have to accept the fact that there will be population increases over time and that people will need places to live and work.  It is not evident to the majority of those having concerns about the project as to whether or not adequate job has been done to address the above questions and to access the potential impacts of a development project as large as Lakeside may ultimately become.  It is not simply the development itself: it includes the impacts upon the environment, municipal services and infrastructure, resources for common services including electricity, natural gas, internet, and water, as well as aesthetics for housing designs and density, parking, open and common spaces, street-scapes, and climate changes.  It is not well known or clear as to what extent many of these items have been addressed by the Talbot County Council or the Town of Trappe.

We must recognize that developers have every right to pursue their goals. Hopefully their accomplishments will contribute to the betterment of our communities and society. If a developer wishes to build a new housing subdivision, he/she should be able to do so, so long as it conforms to standards, norms, policies, and laws established by Federal, State, and Local government agencies.

Calvin Yowell
Talbot County 

La Trappe Creek, and the unnamed tributary of same (UTLTC) into which Trappe’s WWTP discharges, is a disgrace. I would not let a stray dog go anywhere near that body of water. It is polluted, eutrophic, infected (what else does one call something full of harmful E. coli, and likely other, bacteria ?) and “impaired” per the Clean Water Act of 1972. It is a public health hazard.

What are the state and county doing about it? Nothing. In fact, they intend to permit more pollution to enter this impaired body of water by increasing the discharge of Trappe’s faulty wastewater plant.

This shameful situation is the result of decades of failure by both the county and state to follow the laws regarding the protection of our rivers.

At present, a majority of the county council voted to allow an increase in pollutants to this impaired body of water. This contravenes the policies set forth in the county’s water and sewer plan, just one of which states that the county is to, “continue to provide qualified management of water resources in order to control and diminish water pollution and to preserve the necessary quality standard of streams, estuaries, wetlands, and groundwater for residential, industrial, commercial, recreational, and conservational use”(emphasis added). Adding an additional load of polluting nutrients to an impaired water body is not consistent with the policies of the water and sewer plan. Of course, one would actually have to read the water and sewer plan to know this.

Some in county government choose to pass the buck to the MDE assuming that they are doing the job of protecting our rivers, and if the MDE says it’s OK then they’re off the hook. This is a demonstrably false assumption.

The MDE has known since at least 1998 that La Trappe Creek is grossly eutrophic. In Dec. 2002 they stated that the primary cause of the impairment of UTLTC is “likely the Trappe WWTP”. In 2003 a TMDL was adopted to clean up the creek. A TMDL is a prescription to fix an impaired water body by diminishing the amount of nutrients (nitrogen & phosphorus) entering the water. The terms of that EPA approved TMDL state that the MDE was to monitor progress of TMDL’s around the state on a rolling five year schedule. The TMDL states, “This continuing cycle ensures that within five years of establishing a TMDL, intensive follow up monitoring will be performed. Thus, the watershed cycling strategy establishes a TMDL evaluation process that assures accountability (emphases added)”

After nine weeks of bureaucratic ping pong with the recalcitrant MDE, I have now confirmed that the MDE has no data for UTLTC over at least the past five years. They have no idea what the present condition of UTLTC is regarding chlorophyll-a (a measure of algae) and dissolved oxygen, which are the two parameters they are supposed to be monitoring to see if the TMDL is working. By 2017, 60% of the TMDL’s goal was to have been achieved. The MDE didn’t even bother to check. Total success of the TMDL is supposed to be achieved in 2025. “Success” would mean that dissolved oxygen levels would always be above 5 mg./L. (per C.O.M.A.R.), and
chlorophyll-a less than 25 ug/L.

On the present course, this won’t happen. Of course, in order to know any of this someone would actually have to read the TMDL. Under Maryland law, the county council is the board of health for our county. They have
responsibility for the health of Talbot’s citizens. They are failing in this duty.

Under Maryland law, the MDE is tasked with the administration of environmental laws- including the Clean Water Act. The MDE was created in 1987 to, “protect and preserve the state’s air, water, and land resources and safeguard the environmental health of Maryland citizens.” It’s annual budget is about $170 million.

At present, both the county and the MDE intend to allow an increase in nutrients entering an impaired water body with a TMDL in place. This is counter to the Clean Water Act. If a developer wants to build 2,500 homes, make them build a state of the art wastewater plant up front. There is no such thing as a right to pollute.

Resolution 281 must be rescinded.

Thomas Hughes
Easton

Yes, we must.

When Talbot County’s authority to oversee the town of Trappe’s plans for wastewater management was questioned recently, Councilwoman Laura Price responded, “Yes, we can.”

Maryland Department of the Environment’s role is becoming clearer, too. MDE enforces state and federal environmental laws and has both regulatory authority and the option of offering guidance, but county governments are responsible for the oversight of all basic services.

Concerning environmental matters, Section 9-505 of the Environmental Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland states, “Each county shall designate an appropriate agency of the county to be responsible for creating a working plan.” Counties are responsible for “overseeing the planning, financing, construction, and operation of sewerage systems,” and “shall involve the public in these matters.”

And Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services has confirmed the County’s role: “Counties are the primary unit of local government, responsible for most basic services such as police, fire, local corrections, sanitation, local highways, parks, and recreation.”

We may not have been aware of all of this during our “preserve the rural character of Talbot County” years, but a development of unprecedented size for Talbot County and our Eastern Shore has focused more attention on these matters. And Resolution 281 put the town of Trappe and Lakeside’s developer in charge of a development that would more than triple the population of the town.

Councilwoman Laura Price has responded to concerns by proposing a requirement for Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) for our Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan and introducing Resolution 310.

Resolution 310 would limit the number of homes initially connected to Trappe’s underperforming wastewater treatment plant to an unspecified number of fewer than 120 for a period of no more than 18 months. It also requires Trappe’s wastewater treatment plant to be in compliance with its permit and any other requirements that might apply.

The ENR upgrade to our Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan is welcomed, but impacts only future permits. Trappe’s 20-year-old WWTP is polluting La Trappe Creek at its current level of service, but we have been reassured that Lakeside will take over, once its plant is completed.

This plan would avoid further delay, but avoiding 18 months of additional pollution might also be a priority We have also been advised that, due in large part to weather and seasonal concerns, wastewater treatment is likely to remain a joint effort; and the town of Trappe becomes responsible for all wastewater treatment costs and facilities once Lakeside’s plant is completed.

Our Planning Commission and Department of Public Works have indicated a preference for additional oversight. Our County Council is waiting for a decision on Lakeside’s wastewater treatment permit. MDE is focused upon issuing and enforcing permits, but has reminded us that the site for Lakeside’s spray wastewater field alongside Miles Creek was chosen by local officials.

Resolution 308 also awaits consideration. It rescinds Resolution 281 in order to provide our County with the opportunity to provide additional oversight for the planning, construction, and operation of Lakeside in a sequence and manner that would not only spare La Trappe Creek further degradation, it would provide a welcomed opportunity for compliance with our Comprehensive Plan’s directive to “protect the health, safety and well-being of its citizens in a resilient community.”

Lakeside has been in the works for a while. In 2019 a plan to build 2,501 residences in one phase was divided into 4 phases; and in 2020 the Talbot County Council found Lakeside’s plan consistent with both its Comprehensive Plan and Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan. Resolution 281 passed 4-1. The Planning Commission had voted 3-2 in favor, but the Board of Public Works voted 5-0 against, possibly due to concerns for the development’s size and Trappe’s wastewater treatment capabilities.

The approval of Maryland Department of the Environment’s Permit 19-DP-3460 implies a reasonable expectation that the pollution of Miles Creek and downstream waters will not occur, but concerns remain. Lakeside plans to build 2,501 homes, initially connecting 89 to Trappe’s wastewater treatment plant when La Trappe Creek is already seriously polluted, and then spraying over 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day, an amount twice that of average rainfall, onto to a field alongside Miles Creek.

Section 9-505 of the Environmental Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland defines the County’s role in the planning and operation of wastewater treatment systems: “Each county shall designate an appropriate agency of the county to be responsible for creating a working plan.” Counties are responsible for overseeing the planning, financing, construction, and operation of sewerage systems, and “shall involve the public in these matters.”

Talbot County is responsible for overseeing this plan; but Resolution 281 put Lakeside’s developer and the town of Trappe in charge, and the public waited months for a hearing to address concerns.

MDE conducted a public hearing on October 28. We were reminded that “local government approves the land” for wastewater treatment facilities, but in this case soil is a particularly relevant issue, and soil type, permeability and depth have not been determined. Seasonal issues must also be considered. A spray field shuts down in freezing weather, and the grass selected to soak up nutrients becomes dormant in winter. Will Trappe’s plant be ready and able?

An independent study has also suggested that in some cases outdated data has been used in permit calculations. This permit is several pages long and this is a complex issue, but we might simply wonder why, in a development of over 800 hundred acres, a wastewater spray field would be located alongside a waterway when pollution is a concern.

Lakeside is a development of unprecedented size for our County and the Eastern Shore. Concerned citizens filled the Community Center’s curling rink auditorium to attend and participate in MDE’s public hearing. A Talbot County Council hearing will be scheduled, possibly following MDE’s decision regarding Permit 19-DE-3460.

Carol Voyles
Easton

Comments concerning the approval of this permit may be submitted to MDE until November 5 via email to: [email protected]

Written submissions may be mailed to: 

Maryland  Department of the Environment

Attn: Mary Dela Onyemaechi, Chief, Groundwater Discharge Permits

1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 455

Baltimore, MD 21230-1708

The spray irrigation sewage system proposed for the Lakeside development has a terrible track record nationally. Such systems are notorious for spills, breakdowns and expensive repairs that bankrupt homeowner associations.  Many times local governments are forced to take over, fix and run these systems at great and unbudgeted taxpayer expense.

Just look at “The Preserve at Wye Mills.”  I testified at that MDE hearing about this subject in great detail and it fell on deaf ears.  Well look what happened:  the sewage system failed exactly as we predicted it would.  The County Engineer calls the situation “A continuing nightmare.”  Now Talbot County is left holding the bag while the developer is long gone.  Who could have foreseen this?  We, who did a little research could, that’s who.

Spray irrigation is a lousy excuse for a sewage system. You’re just asking for trouble to rely on it for this mega-development with 350 times the sewage of the Preserve at Wye Mills. Lakeside must not go forward with this doomed sewage system.