Talking about Sediment and Erosion Control

Last Monday, November 24, I attended an informative and well-conceived workshop on sediment and erosion control put together by Anne Pearson, Director of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities, and members of the Anne Arundel Watershed Network. The event brought together County representatives, such as Ron Bowen, Director of Public Works, Spurge Eismeier, Director of Inspections and Permits, and Jeff Opel, Manager for the Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District , with community activists and other county bureaucrats. Also speaking at the event was Brant Keller, Director of Public Works and Stormwater Utilities for the City of Griffin, GA. Keller was dynamic and informative in describing how Griffin, a city of 24,000 (Annapolis is a city of about 35,000), has managed to implement a stormwater utility, and raise millions of dollars to address the problems caused by stormwater runoff, and disincentivize the promulgation of impervious surface.

Anne Arundel County, one of the counties with among the most waterfrontage in the entire country, has lagged behind in adopting progressive reforms such as a stormwater utility. These fees help residents and commercial enterprises pay their fair share for the damage that the impervious surfaces on their property cause to our natural environment, rather than passing those costs on to the public-at-large. They help to begin to "create an honest market" [pdf]. More on this later.....