By PAMELA WOOD, Annapolis Capital
Published 04/23/11

Having fumbled his attempt to ban most new septic systems, Gov. Martin O'Malley is back at it, creating a task force to study the problem of septic pollution.

Most of Anne Arundel County falls into an area the state designates as the Lower Western Shore. The Lower Western Shore includes the Magothy, Severn, South, West and Rhode rivers and their watersheds. Here's a breakdown of the sources of nitrogen pollution in the Lower Western Shore.

Stormwater runoff: 44 percent.
Septic systems: 27 percent.
Sewage plants: 14 percent.
Forests: 7 percent.
Farms: 7 percent.

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O'Malley stopped by the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville this week to sign an executive order creating the task force.

He chose the scenic spot on the Severn River to illustrate the problem. In Anne Arundel's creeks and rivers, 27 percent of nitrogen pollution comes from septic systems - the largest amount anywhere in the state.

"You can see the shape of things to come if we don't change our way," O'Malley said, standing on a bluff overlooking the river.

O'Malley's task force will have more than 20 people on it, including lawmakers, environmentalists, local government leaders, scientists, farmers, developers, real estate professionals and the state secretaries of the environment, natural resources, agriculture and planning. All of the members have not yet been named.

O'Malley didn't give a timeline for when task force members would be named.

The panel will be charged with coming up with recommendations for limiting new septic systems and promoting smart growth. The report is due Dec. 1 and could lead to legislation during the 2012 session of the General Assembly.

This year, O'Malley threw his support behind a bill that would have banned septic systems in new housing developments of five or more homes.

Housing developments would have had to use the public sewer system or build advanced community septic systems, a less-polluting alternative to traditional septic systems.

Del. Stephen W. Lafferty, D-Baltimore County, who said he grew up on Chase Creek on the Severn, was one of the lead sponsors of the bill, which failed during the recently completed 90-day session of the General Assembly.

He thinks it's a good idea to limit the proliferation of newseptic systems, which pollute more than sewage plants and often encourage sprawling development into rural areas.

"It's time to rethink our reliance on septic systems," Lafferty said.

The bill was opposed by builders, farmers, rural lawmakers and even the chairwoman of the House of Delegates Environmental Matters Committee, who shelved the bill.

O'Malley remains committed to attacking septic systems because they're one source of pollution that's barely been touched in the effort to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

The other top pollution sources - sewage plants, farming runoff and urban stormwater runoff - have all been subject to new laws and pollution-control efforts.

"This is the hard part. We've done the easy part for the bay, but we haven't done the hard part," said Del. Maggie McIntosh, the Environmental Matters chairwoman who put the septic bill on hold. She supports the creation of the task force.

Conventional septic systems emit about 40 milligrams of nitrogen per liter. The discharge from most sewage plants is about 8 milligrams per liter, with discharge from upgraded sewage plants at just 3 or 4 milligrams per liter.

Nitrogen is a nutrient that fuels the growth of algae blooms in the water. When the algae die, they suck life-sustaining oxygen from the water, contributing to the Chesapeake's infamous summertime "dead zone."

Kim Coble, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said in an interview that the task force is a step in the right direction.

She hopes task force members will hash out workable solutions for how to reduce pollution while not harming communities.

"This is a difficult question about how we choose to grow, where we choose to grow," she said.