[CGC] Fw: Notice to the CGC Members

[Administrator]

Dear CGC members,

Part of the this Thursday's Town Council meeting will be to discuss the CRC letter below.  So please come to this very important meeting that will address the future of the Corsica River and the Wharf condos.  The meeting will be held on Thursday, 7 September at 7:00 PM at the Goodwill Fire Company building, 1st floor meeting room.

Thanks,

Bob Thompson
--------------------------------------------
            P.O. Box 235

            Centreville, MD  21617

            August 2, 2006
           
        


 

 

Centreville Town Council

 Mary McCarthy, President

 Norman Pinder, Vice President

 Mary Roby, Member

 

Dear Council Members,

 

In 2002, the Town of Centreville showed remarkable leadership and a strong sense of  stewardship in making a proposal for funds to initiate a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) for the Corsica River Watershed.  In making that proposal, the Town's goal was to ensure that growth does not occur at the expense of the Corsica.   The initial grant leveraged a much larger state and volunteer effort that thoroughly analyzed and documented the watershed and the seriously impaired Corsica.  The Environmental Protection Agency recently determined that the Corsica WRAS was the finest of those surveyed in a national review.   I am proud to have been a participant in the WRAS, to have shared in writing the strategy with Mike Whitehill and to have coordinated its early implementation phase.

 

These efforts have led to the Corsica being selected as the first Targeted Watershed  for Restoration state-wide.  The Restoration programs 19.4 million dollars is to be spent over 5 years and will soon complete it's first year.  I think you will agree that this is a remarkable achievement for the Town of Centreville and a handful of volunteers that started it all off.   That handful of volunteers has now grown into the incorporated not-for-profit Corsica River Conservancy (CRC) that is the key citizen outreach partner in the Restoration.  

 

But although we have achieved much in terms of focusing resources on the watershed and getting a program underway, the overwhelming bulk of the real work remains to be done.  There are key stormwater facilities to be built at either end of town, new ordinances to be written, residential stormwater improvements, wetlands to be restored, better sedimentation controls, further reduction of agricultural nutrient runoff and a host of other measures to be implemented.

 

Perhaps none of these efforts is as important for the restoration and future health of the watershed as proper planning.  This applies to the county properties that lie within the watershed of course.  But it especially applies to the Town of Centreville that lies at its heart.

 

 

 

This is why CRC is disappointed to learn that the current work to update the Town's Comprehensive Plan is not adequately considering the impairments and limitations of the Corsica.  Members of CRC reached this conclusion after hearing a presentation by Chris Rogers at the July 11, 2006 Corsica Restoration "Implementers" meeting.  It was clear that the course being taken in the development of the plan does not treat the current watershed impairments and limitations as parameters for future development and growth, but rather simply as "considerations".



It is one thing to say that the Town's Comprehensive Plan will abide by the WRAS.  It is another to truly incorporate the precepts of the WRAS in the planning process and resulting product.   To put it plainly, the Corsica WRAS cannot be followed nor the goal of restoring the Corsica be met without dealing with the watershed limitations as constraints within which planning must occur.

 

One question put to Chris Rogers at the Implementers Meeting was whether the Town's comprehensive plan would abide by the intent of the newly passed state legislation requiring that all such plans include a water resources plan element as well as a sensitive areas element (House Bill 1141).  His response was that the Bill did not apply to this plan since it was already underway when the legislation passed. In fact, the bill clearly states that some of the elements must be included in any new or amended plan adopted after July 1, 1986, and at the least they must be included in the Comprehensive Plan no later then October 1, 2009.

 

The intent to ignore HB 1141 is hardly in keeping with the "statement of purpose and commitment" included in the Corsica WRAS and adopted by the Town which concludes as follows:  

 

"Therefore it is hereby resolved that the undersigned stakeholders agree to work in concert to implement the recommendations of the Corsica River Watershed Restoration Action Strategy, to take bold strides to change the direction of environmental planning and practice, thinking forward to a balanced watershed and working towards achieving it.."

 

Specifically, the CRC respectfully requests the Town Council to do the following:

 

1.      Direct that the Comprehensive Planning Process be modified to treat the current watershed impairments as "a priori" constraints in developing the plan.  These impairments include Total Maximum Daily Loads for nutrients, sediment, bacteria and toxins as well as impaired habitat.  

 

2.      Immediately adopt the spirit and intent of HB1141 as a guide to its comprehensive planning process so that the resulting plan can truly be seen as a model for watershed planning throughout the state.  This would be consistent with the designation of the Corsica as the state's first Targeted Watershed for restoration.  The Bay Cabinet should be very sympathetic to assisting the Town to develop such a model plan.

 

 

 

As a closely related issue, CRC requests that the Town reconsider its current direction in allowing for the proposed plan for development of the Centreville Wharf area.  It is our understanding that the Town is interested in improving this overall area to give citizens improved access to the wonderful recreational resources of the Corsica.  The proposed development is not consistent with this nor is it consistent with the goals of the WRAS, the protection of sensitive areas or the Town's current Comprehensive Plan  which specifically addresses redevelopment of the wharf area.

 

The Corsica River Conservancy directors are happy to meet with the Council and its staff to further discuss and lend assistance to meeting these three requests and to work cooperatively towards our shared goals.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Frank DiGialleonardo

President, Corsica River Conservancy

 

cc:   Bob McGrory, Centreville Town Manager

        Bob Summers, Director, Maryland Department of the Environment

        Audrey Scott, Secretary of Planning, Maryland Department of Planning

        John McCoy, Chief, Department of Natural Resources

        Mike Whitehill, Centreville Liaison to WRAS

 

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