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Basement sewage backups: a public hearing and next steps
Last month, we gathered at Baltimore City Hall with City Council members, community association presidents, faith leaders, insurance and health experts, and people from all across the city who have been impacted by the problem of sewage backing up into their home. This chronic problem impacts thousands of people each year - and as we have learned over the past year, the newest city program intended to help isn't working. Before the public hearing, people from across the city spoke out about their experiences at a rally outside of city hall: please watch and share our Facebook livestream!
The
Replacing a forest with a business park?
In Abingdon in Harford County, a developer has proposed to build a new "Abingdon Business Park:" three e-commerce/warehouse facilities, four restaurants, two flex retail spaces, one hotel, one convenience store and additional flex spaces, requiring the clear-cutting of 226 acres of a 330-acre forest. While sometimes development on forested lands is necessary, the developer has not proven that the negative externalities to the public are outweighed by the benefits, or that they considered putting their project on sites that would have less of an impact on water quality.
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How local governments help with sewage backups
Last year, over 5,000 basement backups were reported to 311 in Baltimore City. The number of basement backups has increased over the years with such a large number of people having to deal with the issue. Baltimore City’s Emergency Response Plan does not require the city to clean up after a basement backup, forcing many homeowners to spend thousands of dollars and expose themselves to an unhealthy environment. Basement backups occur in many places across the United States, and their responses to cleanup and financial plans are described below.
Baltimore City’s Emergency Response Plan (ERP)
Stormwater, sewage, sediment, and train derailments
Yesterday the city of Baltimore experienced a severe wet weather event that resulted in flood warnings throughout the DMV area, coupled with a water main break downtown. While the water main break is responsible for the day’s increase in train delays and a strong flow of murky brown water into the inner harbor near Howard and Pratt, an infrastructure failure may not be necessary for the same problem to occur in the near future.
Can you report that the brown water was sediment and not human waste in the inner harbor.
— Craig “Sunsun” Allen (@just2muchfunfun) July 9, 2019One of the main effects
Senate, Save the Land and Water Conservation Fund!
Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and Clean Water Action's Baltimore team traveled to the hearing to stand up for public lands. Armed with leaflets about the importance of LWCF - a popular, bipartisan program to ensure that we all have access to the outdoors - we rallied outside the Capitol then attended the hearing as Department of the Interior staff, representatives of state officials who utilize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and advocacy organizations agreed about the critical importance of LWCF but