In a letter released Tuesday, the state attorney general's office notified Carroll officials that the county is in violation of a 2012 state law that required Baltimore City and Maryland's nine largest counties to adopt stormwater fees by July 1. The charges are to help pay for projects in each community to reduce polluted runoff from streets, parking lots and buildings.
Environment Secretary Robert M. Summers also wrote Frederick officials last week that the 1-cent fee they adopted in June wasn't enough and could subject the county in coming months to fines of $32,500 a day if it fails to put up enough money to reduce polluted runoff there.
Summers advised Harford officials in a letter that that their county faces enforcement action if it drops a $125 per-home fee adopted there in April. The council held a hearing Tuesday night on the repeal measure, which is being pushed by County Executive David R. Craig.
The state is mandating the six metropolitan counties of Maryland to collect a tax on impermeable surfaces, and spend the money on stormwater management. Why not pass the tax directly from the state and dole the money out to the counties?
Pure blame shifting.
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