The BRF – A Lifeboat for the Chesapeake?

Maryland’s water pollution goals under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) will undergo a major review in 2017, about the same time that monies in the Bay Restoration Fund (BRF) that had been going to upgrade major wastewater treatment plants will be freed up for other purposes.  Learn about the confluence of these two important environmental events and what it could mean in terms of a more flexible funding source for county water pollution reduction efforts at the 2015 MACo Summer Conference.

Description

County governments have had to bear the implementation and fiscal brunt of significant water quality mandates for nearly a decade, including the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, new requirements for stormwater management, and the use of best available technology nitrogen removal (BAT) septic systems. Throughout this, the BRF has been one of the few sources of State financial assistance for upgrading both major wastewater treatment plants and BAT septics. As our water quality targets undergo a major review in 2017 and the BRF completes funding of the major plants, the time is right to also revisit the purpose of the BRF. Panelists will provide an overview and history of the BRF and discuss how the BRF can be revised to better meet county water quality needs for wastewater treatment plants, BAT septic systems, and stormwater management.

Speakers

  • Jag Khuman, Director, Maryland Water Quality Financing Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment
  • John Beskid, Kent County Director of Environmental Health
  • Erik Fisher, Maryland Land Use Planner, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Moderator: The Honorable Pamela Beidle, Maryland Delegate (invited)

Date & Time: Thursday, August 13, 2015: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference:

For a schedule of educational sessions at MACo’s Summer Conference, please view the Registration Brochure.

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.