Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun Comments on the Opinion Works Poll Results

“Nobody asked me but . . .

This news, via MarylandReporter.com, might come as a shock to members of the General Assembly who believe the O’Malley administration is waging a “war on rural Maryland”: A poll by OpinionWorks finds that 62 percent of registered voters in rural areas favor tighter regulations on septic systems while 57 percent favor “limiting the number of septic systems in rural areas.” Statewide support for tighter septic restrictions was 72 percent, with support for limiting new systems at 69 percent. OpinionWorks conducted the survey in December, questioning voters in southern and western Maryland counties and the Eastern Shore. So if there’s a “war on rural Maryland,” a majority of rural Marylanders apparently think the enemy has a point.

••• ”

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-0124-rodricks-bitsnpieces-20120123,0,4394288.story

The Real War on Rural Maryland: SPRAWL

The tough rhetoric used by opponents of Smart Growth initiatives is a strategy centering around the politics of fear. It seems that this fear rhetoric has blinded Marylanders to the real reasons behind policies such as Plan Maryland. A shared love for rural Maryland, with its picturesque landscapes and tradition of farming communities is why generations of Marylanders choose to raise families and live their lives on the Eastern Shore by the Chesapeake Bay. What both rural voters and policy makers on both sides of the aisle agree on is the need to keep our beloved rural Maryland just that: rural.

As MDP Secretary Hall explained today at the Plan Maryland briefing in front of the House Environmental Matters Committee, (after the Committee wished him a happy birthday in song) Plan Maryland is neither  regulation nor legislation. Instead, it is simply a way to knit together different state agency policies already in existence, without trumping local governments’ zoning ordinances, to make sure the state grows in an efficient way without sprawl. Secretary Hall stressed that the broad Plan is not something to be feared, but that empty political rhetoric has gotten in the way of the truth. In fact, the real “war on rural Maryland” is the unplanned growth that strips communities of their farmland and a healthy Bay that are the real reasons why they love the Eastern Shore in the first place.

Below is a page from the Plan Maryland executive summary explaining what the Plan is NOT.

View MDP Secretary Hall’s Presentation to the House Environmental Matters Committee on the Bay TMDL and WIP

Bay TMDL & WIP

Presented on January 19, 2012

Former Republican Representative Gilchrest Disagrees With ” War on Rural Maryland” Rhetoric

Wayne Gilchrest, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives who represented Maryland’s rural First District for 18 years wrote an oped in support of Bay restoration efforts. Read the full oped article below:

Jobs and Clean Water for Rural Maryland

New Poll Results Show Strong Support For Legislation To Save The Bay Among MD Voters

The poll by OpinionWorks, an Annapolis-based firm, was conducted December 11-15, 2011, and surveyed 801 registered voters statewide. It was commissioned by the Clean Water, Healthy Families Coalition.

Poll Press Release

Poll Memo

Detailed Poll Results

Calculate Your Nitrogen Footprint!

http://n-print.org/sites/n-print.org/files/footprint_sql/index.html#/home

Video of Governor O’Malley Wading Into Polluted Lake

Governor O’Malley Wades Into Septic Tank Battle

March 10, 2011 – In Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley is stepping further into the debate over one of his top legislative priorities for this year: banning septic tanks in new developments.

Gov. O’Malley in Lake Bonnie, receiving reports on its water quality from members of the State’s Department of the Environment.

The town of Goldsboro is near Maryland’s border with Delaware, and many of its homes and buildings have septic tanks. Just outside of town, tucked behind the trees, is Lake Bonnie. Fifteen years ago, it was closed to swimmers because of pollution, much of which comes from septic tanks in Goldsboro.

Swimming is still banned today, but that did not stop O’Malley (D) from wading into the lake with members of the state’s Department of the Environment as they tested its water quality.

O’Malley is pushing a bill that would ban septic tanks at all new large developments in the state, saying that will slow pollution even as population in Maryland continues to grow.

“We can’t assume that Mother Nature is always capable of healing herself, if we load onto her so much more nitrogen load than any natural system can absorb itself,” he says.

Opponents feel the plan will lead to a building moratorium, particularly on the Eastern Shore, where septic tanks are common and new housing developments pop up regularly.

O’Malley counters by saying the state’s total nitrogen load will increase 36 percent over the next 25 years, at a time when federal regulators have said the state must reduce nitrogen in its environment by 21 percent by 2020.

http://wamu.org/news/11/03/10/maryland_governor_wades_into_septic_tank_battle.php

Septic Bill Hearings on Friday, March 11!

Come out to Annapolis on Fri. to show support for the septic legislation! The Governor will be testifying and the hearings are open to the public, just make sure to be there early to get a seat!

Governor O’Malley To Wade In Polluted Waters To Illustrate Need For Septic Leg.

March 7, 2011

Governor to wade in pollution as part of septic pushAs prospects dim for an overhaul this year of the state’s septic system laws, Gov. Martin O’Malley is trying a new approach: He’s going in.

Aides to the Democratic governor announced today that O’Malley will wade into a polluted lake Wednesday on the Eastern Shore to highlight the ills of septic systems.

O’Malley has been pushing to curb septic pollution by banning such systems in new large-scale developments. But the leader of the House of Delegates committee considering his proposal suggested a study instead. Del. Maggie McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat, said she was concerned that a ban would disproportionately affect counties where most housing is built with on-site sewage treatment.

The water works will take place Wednesday afternoon on Lake Bonnie in Goldsboro, where “high bacteria levels have been linked to failing septic systems,” according to the adminsitration’s release.

O’Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec says this is no toe-dip. He’ll be donning fisherman-like waders and going “far enough to make the point.”

In the release, the administration says 411,00 of the 426,000 septic systems in the state are on residential parcels. Goldsboro, it says, “has suffered from more than a decade with the problems of septic systems, and the town has endured water pollution and financial and legal difficulties as a result.”

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2011/03/governor_to_wade_in_pollution.html