Gov. Martin O'Malley gave up Tuesday — for this year at least — on his bid to restrict rural and suburban development on septic systems, agreeing to a key House leader's call for more study of a proposal that has drawn fire from rural and suburban lawmakers and developers.Umm, I guess this is about what I expected, and probably a reasonable outcome. The proposal really does need more thought before they go out and ban new housing as we know it all over the state. While I would love to see sewage in my own neighborhood (safely underground I would hope), I think the economics dictate against it. Given that septic contributes only 8% of nitrogen to the Bay, and this fix would do little to alter that, it's not something that needs to be implemented in a rush.
The governor's office released a brief letter to Del. Maggie McIntosh, head of the House Environmental Matters Committee, defending his proposal but acceding to her request that a task force be formed to hash out how septic systems fit into larger efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay and preserve farmland from sprawling development.
In her own letter to the governor, McIntosh, a Baltimore city Democrat, had said while she agreed that the state needs to do a better job of curbing sprawl and "the proliferation of septic systems" that pollute the bay, she believed that "an outright ban could and would have a disproportionate impact on several counties in Maryland."
Previous posts on the proposal are here, and here.
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