$8.1M Approved for County Projects by the Board of Public Works

Solar panels, park improvements, and transportation safety are just a few of the county projects receiving funding from the Maryland Board of Public Works this week. 

On Wednesday, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved a little over $8M for projects in five counties and Baltimore City. The majority of those funds – $6.7M – came from grants by the Maryland Department of the Environment, with $6.5M of that going to Baltimore County for potable water infrastructure improvements.

Another notable distribution went to Prince George’s in the amount of $1.1M from Program Open Space funds for the acquisition of eight acres of waterfront property to expand the Patuxent River Park. The remaining funds came from prior year capital budget allocations and the Recreation Communication Boards (RCB) Pilot Program.

See all county projects below.

Baltimore City

  • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for grant funding up to $227,578 to the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City for the Montebello Solar Project. This project entails the installation of a solar panel array at one of Baltimore City’s decommissioned landfills, which will net-meter power usage for the Montebello Water Filtration Plant. The system will be ground-mounted without the use of penetrating footings, to preserve the landfill structure. Solar energy generated from this system will provide energy credit to the water filtration plant, offsetting operating costs. Projected production will supply approximately 40% of Montebello’s current annual electrical use.

Baltimore County

  • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new funding up to $6,509,000 ($3,259,000 loan + $3,250,000 grant) to Baltimore County to develop the Lead Service Line (LSL) inventory for Baltimore County to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and follow-up work to replace lead service lines per the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). Completion of this inventory and replacements will have enormous public health and safety benefits for Baltimore County drinking water users.

Howard

  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $175,000 grant to Howard County for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of four vehicle drop arm barriers in Ellicott City. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant. The General Assembly previously approved this funding as part of the 2022 Capital Budget.

Prince George’s

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $1,153,300 in Program Open Space funding allocated to Prince George’s County to acquire 8 waterfront acres (O’Connell property) to increase the size of Patuxent River Park.

St. Mary’s

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $2,880 from the Recreation Communication Boards (RCB) Pilot Program funding to St. Mary’s County to install a new recreation community board at the St. Clement’s Shores Playground.
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $3,000 from the RCB Pilot Program to St. Mary’s County for a new recreation communication board at the new Leonard Hall Childcare Center playground.
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $2,880 from the RCB funding to St. Mary’s County to install a new recreation communication board at the Cecil Park playground.

Somerset

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $54,000 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Somerset County to install directional and informational signage, benches, and bike racks along trails, three (3) kayak launches, a screened pavilion, and associated amenities around Smith Island.