MACo, the Maryland Municipal League (MML) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) jointly co-sponsored a HB 1141 Summit on Maryland Water Resources Planning on December 4.  The event was attended by State and local government planners as well as private land use practitioners.  Discussions included a review of the HB 1141 water resources element, the local experience on HB 1141 implementation, and pending federal total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements.

Speakers included Maryland Secretary of Planning Rich Hall, several speakers from the Maryland Department of the Environment, Katherine Antos of the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, county planning officials from Calvert and Harford Counties, municipal planners from the Town of Port Deposit and the City of Hagerstown, and a representative from ERM, Inc.

The purpose of the summit was to assess the current implementation status of the water resources element, highlight future water pollution challenges, and discuss solutions for getting real results from Maryland’s water resources planning framework.  Key findings included:  (1) communication between the counties, municipalities, State, and interested stakeholders is critical; (2) Maryland is better positioned than many other Bay states in addressing water issues; and (3) additional resources are necessary to fund the water resources element work that still needs to be done and to meet the looming federal TMDL goals.