Maryland Department of the Environment Announces Agreement with County to Tackle Municipal Storm Water Permit Violations
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) announced an agreement with Prince George’s County to resolve violations of the county’s municipal storm water permit.
The agreement details a $475,000 penalty for failure to complete all of the storm water runoff reduction work required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit issued by MDE to the county in 2014.
“This enforcement action reflects the state’s priority on preventing stormwater pollution and growing green infrastructure for clean water and climate resilience throughout the Chesapeake Bay,” said MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles, reported MDE. “We appreciate Prince George’s County for stepping up to improve environmental performance under its permit and agreeing to an enforcement decree, including penalties, schedules, and supplemental environmental projects.”
Under the MS4 permit, Prince George’s County was required to implement storm water treatment practices on 20% of its untreated impervious surface area, or 6,105 acres, by the end of the five-year permit term. MDE’s approved restoration total for the county is 2,387 acres, so there was a deficit of 3,718 impervious acres that were not restored, reported MDE. Prince George’s County cannot count the impervious acres treated through supplemental projects toward its permit requirements.
The penalty can be satisfied through the construction of one or more MDE-approved supplemental environmental projects by Dec. 31, 2024, reported MDE. The consent decree also requires timely completion of storm water work still remaining under the 2014 MS4 permit.
The supplemental environmental projects that would satisfy the financial penalty must be projects that will clearly treat storm water runoff and are located in the county, with a minimum cost of $475,000. MDE is working with the county to identify a supplemental project in a community disproportionately impacted by pollution or historically under-resourced.
The consent decree was docketed May 27 by the Prince George’s County Circuit Court and is subject to court approval.
