Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Prince George’s County could cost roughly $800 million over the next decade — possibly triggering new fees for already cash-strapped residents and businesses. Local and state environmental officials are drafting proposals to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans for reducing pollution into the Bay, a “pollution diet” designed to restore the once vibrant Bay over the next 15 years.
The county’s Department of Environmental Resources has been meeting for months to develop strategies to meet those goals on an even tighter deadline. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has put in motion an ambitious plan to meet the EPA’s diet efforts by 2020.
Cost estimates vary wildly for other nearby jurisdictions. Anne Arundel County officials also estimate the plan could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and a recent report by the Virginia Senate Finance Committee estimates cleanup efforts will cost the state $15 billion through 2025.
Officials have been reluctant to place an official price tag on the cost of Bay cleanup efforts in Prince George’s since plans aren’t finalized, according to Councilwoman Mary Lehman, D-Laurel.
But according to a presentation before the Prince George’s County Council earlier this month, it would cost the county and municipal governments $777.2 million through 2020 to meet the pollution-reduction goals.
Whether the county can come up with the funds over next decade is still an uncertainty.
“We’re not clear where we’re going to get the money from. We’re going to have to start looking into that,” Lehman said. “I’m sure when it starts sinking in for businesses and some residents, they’re going to have sticker shock.”
Bond sales could help fund a majority of the anticipated expense, and the county will pursue all the federal and state grants available to help fund project costs, according to Prince George’s environmental officials.
The county may also have to implement a new storm water utility fee, in addition to the storm water taxes it already levies.
Prince George’s strategies could affect farms, septic systems, and wastewater treatment facilities in an effort to reduce harmful pollutants — such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sediments ?– from seeping into the Bay.
The EPA will be responsible for holding state and local governments accountable for meeting the goals using a series of two-year milestones, according to a letter sent to state officials by EPA Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin.
“We’re currently conducting an estimate of the cost and an analysis of the benefits associated with the Chesapeake Bay implementation plan,” said EPA spokesman David Sternberg,
