[CGC] Fw: Notice to the CGC Members

[Administrator]

Dear CGC members:

Please attend the Town Council meeting this Thursday.  One of the topics of 
discussion will be the CRC letter below.  This is a 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
-------------------------------------

Corsica River Conservancy
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