Judge Rejects MDE, Monkey County Bay Diet Plan

Montgomery County, MD, Judge sends stormwater permit back to the drawing board

A Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge ruled last week that a permit the Maryland Department of Environment issued to the county violated the Clean Water Act by failing to adequately limit and monitor stormwater pollution.

Judge Ronald B. Rubin’s ruling could require significant changes to four other stormwater permits pending in the state, which environmental groups that brought the lawsuit say contain some of the same issues found in the Montgomery County permit.

“This is a clear precedent by a court that MDE’s approach is not complying with the laws it’s supposed to comply with,” said Jennifer Chavez, staff attorney with Earthjustice, which filed the suit in 2009 on behalf of the Anacostia Riverkeeper, Potomac Riverkeeper, Friends of the Earth, Waterkeeper Alliance and individuals.

MDE first published the county’s draft permit in 2008 to the acclaim of some environmental groups. The permit called for “measurable” limits on pollution discharges that complied with the state’s cleanup goals, known as the Total Maximum Daily Loads, representing a shift among permits from promoting best management practices to establishing actual limits on pollutants.

Montgomery County is the wealthiest county in Maryland.  If it can't afford to deal with its stormwater runoff properly, no one can.