Hearing on wetlands destruction
Mattawoman Creek
People now have a chance to speak up about a highway project in Southern Maryland that could destroy one of the Chesapeake Bay's most important fish breeding grounds.
A public hearing has been scheduled to discuss whether federal and state officials should grant a permit to Charles County to allow it to destroy seven acres of wetlands around Mattawoman Creek to allow a highway.
The Charles County Cross County Connector would cross the stream -- one of the most fertile fish breeding grounds in the Chesapeake region -- and serve more than 8,000 homes planned in what is now a largely forested area.
The Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Department of the Environment have scheduled the hearing for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, in the Auditorium of the Charles County Government Building, 200 Baltimore Street in LaPlata.
I wrote a story in April about the road project's potentially devastating impact on the Mattawoman Creek's yellow perch and bass. Debate over the project has highlighted weaknesses in the state's sprawl control laws.
The Maryland "Smart Growth" laws, passed in 1997, allow local governments to have complete authority over where they want to designate growth areas -- even if the land targeted for development (as in this case) is largely rural and covered in trees and wetlands and fish breeding grounds and not next to an established city or town. In Charles County, the state has been buying up land all around the Mattawoman Creek in an effort to preserve its beauty and fertility as a fish-breeding grounds. But the county wants to accommodate suburban growth spreading southward from Washington. And this northern section of the county, nearest Washington, is where the developers want to build.
The Maryland Department of the Environment and Army Corps of Engineers will be considering whether to allow Charles County to destroy seven acres of wetlands to build the $60 million connector road. It's a major east-west highway that would replace 74 acres of forest with a strip of blacktop as it links proposed subdivisions in the Bryans Road area to the malls in Waldorf.
Before the state can approve the permit, the county must prove that runoff from the road won’t violate water quality standards in the Mattawoman Creek, which it would cross. The creek in the spring is filled with golden ribbons of yellow perch eggs and has been identified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as "the best, most productive tributary in the bay."
A preliminary report by the Army Corps in 2003 found that the road and the subdivisions that would spring up around it are likely to increase water pollution in the creek by 50 percent, creating a "severe" impact on fish habitat.
But Charles County officials have argued that the roadway won’t encourage the construction of more subdivisions, instead only serving new homes that would be built anyway. The county has targeted the whole northern section of the county around the creek as a development zone.
Written Comments can be sent to Ms. Judy Cole at the Maryland Department of the Environment jcole@mde.state.md.us. Or to Steven Harman at the Army Corps of Engineers at cross.county.connector@usace.army.mil.
If you're interested in more information, here is a release from the Mattawoman Watershed Society:
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Mattawoman Watershed Society
Protecting and preserving Mattawoman Creek for the enjoyment of all.
CRITICAL PUBLIC HEARING ON JULY 31
On Thursday, July 31, there will be a public hearing held on the proposed Cross County Connector extension (CCC-Ex), which if built, would severely damage the Mattawoman Creek and open large tracts of forest and wetlands to development.
The hearing is being held to give the public the opportunity to comment on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed CCC-Ex. In a time of rising gas prices, increasing commutes, and deep concern over the Chesapeake Bay’s health, our communities can’t afford this bad highway proposal.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Be there for the public hearing
We are looking for people and groups willing to speak at the public hearing. The hearing is scheduled for July 31 in Charles County, MD at 7:00 PM, in the Auditorium of the Charles County Government Building in La Plata. Displays and sign-in to testify open at 6:00 PM. Contact Bonnie or Jim for ideas about what to say.
2. Submit written comments (in addition to testifying)
Written comments can be sent to:
Mr. Steven S. Harman
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Attention: CENAB-OP-RMS
P.O. Box 1715
Baltimore, Maryland 21203-1715
cross.county.connector@usace.army.mil
Ms. Judy Cole
Nontidal Wetlands and Waterways Division
Water Management Administration
1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 430
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
MORE INFORMATION
The CCC-ex has been vigorously opposed by the citizens of the region since about 1990. Over time, the stated purpose and need has changed, which supports our position that the highway is primarily aimed at promoting growth. The resulting growth would represent sprawl development, because the highway runs through sensitive, sloped, forested and lightly populated areas and would enable Bryans Road, a one-stoplight town, to burgeon. It would open large tracts of forest and wetlands to subdivisions.
A major effort of the Mattawoman Watershed Society, Sierra Club and the Maryland Bass Federation Nation has been aimed at convincing the Army Corps and MDE to require a fully scoped Environmental Impact Statement prior to permitting decisions for this highway proposal. At stake is Mattawoman Creek, deemed by Maryland fisheries biologists as "the best, most productive tributary to the Chesapeake Bay."
The road is claimed to be consistent with comprehensive plans that were drawn up over 20 years ago (again, generally opposed by the citizenry). These plans designate most of the sensitive and valuable Mattawoman watershed as a development district that is over 30% larger than Washington D.C. The same plans strongly state that the county is dedicated to protecting the health of the Mattawoman and preserving the county's rural character.
To actually achieve the goals of protecting Mattawoman while allowing for sustainable economic development, we favor an alternative to the sprawl model, one based on transit oriented development in Waldorf and a light rail connection to the Branch Avenue Metro. Charles County is working toward TOD (and we have supported this) but is also insisting on clinging to outmoded development plans that are projected TO doom Mattawoman with a watershed well over 20% impervious.
The CCC-ex is part of a growth plan that is increasingly inconsistent with today's knowledge and trends. With gas prices making exurbs obsolete, with new understanding of the positive role of forests and wetlands regarding climate change, and with studies finding that urbanization is outstripping Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, we believe this threat could serve as an opportunity for a re-evaluation of our priorities. On the other hand, this highway can be viewed as a trigger: if the highway were permitted, the opportunities for re-evaluation of a new smart growth direction for Charles County would be seriously curtailed.
We believe that smart growth principals are the key ingredient for a more sustainable future and must question the necessity of a growth district that is so large. We feel that Charles County can greatly benefit ecologically and economically by a major reevaluation at this time.
As a first step, an EIS should be automatic for a new 6.5 mile, four-lane highway that would cut across the watershed of such a vulnerable and valuable tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. However, in part because there are no federal or state funds involved in the highway, the Corps and MDE are developing an Environmental Assessment that could conclude with a Finding of No Significant Impact, after which permits would be issued. We believe that the stakes are so high, and the likely impacts so great, including the growth-inducing impacts, that the Environmental Assessment should instead require an EIS, with public participation in the scoping process. Only with the knowledge of full study can intelligent permit decisions be made.
The Army Corps of Engineers has issued a Public Announcement for the hearing on the proposed highway: http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/public_notices.htm. PDF version: http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/PublicNotice/Charles/05-60531.pdf.Other documentation is available on the home page of the county web site at www.charlescounty.org.
We would be pleased to answer questions and look forward to any assistance you can offer.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Bick Jim Long
bonniebick@gmail.com jp.long@earthlink.net
I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
Comments
" Charles County officials have argued that the roadway won’t encourage the construction of more subdivisions, instead only serving new homes that would be built anyway."
This is BS! It will ONLY serve as a "development corridor" to open up the western part of the county in order to "justify" a new bridge from Charles County to Woodbridge VA.
This idea was originally floated way back in the mid-60's but there wasn't enough development at the time to justify it.
This new "development corridor" will enable the Bryans Road/Indian Head area to develop much like Waldorf.
PLUS, it will be the CHARLES COUNTY TAXPAYERS who will fund it all as the State has indicated it will not fund any of it - because the highway IS NOT NECESSARY!
So what's that tell you? It tells me that the ONLY "reason" the Çommissioners want it is to accommodate more development and to satisfy their primary campaign contributors - THE DEVELOPERS!!
Posted by: Cheryl Thomas | July 23, 2008 10:23 AM