A November 15 Cumberland Times-News article discusses Allegany County’s submission of its initial Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP).  Each county was required to submit a WIP, which details how a county will meet its nutrient and sediment reduction targets under the federally mandated Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  

In order to “control our own destiny,” Allegany County’s plan to help put the Chesapeake Bay on a pollution diet will be submitted to the state on [November18], said Angie Patterson, a land use and planning engineer in the Department of Community Services.  …

The plan is phase two of a watershed implementation plan. “We have a pretty good handle on things … we’ve come up with a good plan,” Patterson said.

That’s important because if the county doesn’t produce an acceptable plan, the state could tell the county how to reduce pollutants flowing into the bay. Most of the plan is based on what the county has been doing over the past few years.  …

If phase two efforts go as planned, at the current pace they would hit 75 percent of the goal the state has set for Allegany County.

The article also discusses several concerns raised by the County.  In recognition of the current economic situation, the Allegany Phase II WIP contains a caveat that the WIP will be implemented as funding becomes available.  The County is also concerned with whether it will receive credit for stopping sewer overflows.