Sustainable Frederick County
Summer 2020
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Creek ReLeaf Reforestation Property
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Executive Gardner Reintroduces Initiatives to Protect Forest Cover, Environmental and Historic Resources
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On June 4, 2020, County Executive Jan Gardner
reintroduced two initiatives to protect Frederick County’s forests, environmental resources, and historic and cultural assets. “We need to protect the natural and cultural amenities that our community values,” said
Executive Gardner,
“
I am reintroducing these bills because it is essential that our forest cover, our environmental resources, and our rich history are protected before any new development is approved, so we can preserve what we cherish about Frederick County for generations to come.”
Read more..
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Maryland Chesapeake and Coastal Bays Trust Fund Grant Project Completion
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In June 2018, the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources received
over $1 Million in funding
from the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund Grant
.
The grant helped to partially fund the completion of
County Capital Improvement Projects
which included two County-owned stormwater pond retrofits at the TransIT B Pond and Dudrow Business Park Pond,
projects
at the
University of Maryland Extension Office
site in partnership with the Frederick County Master Gardeners, and the reforestation of private and county-owned properties through the
Creek ReLeaf Program
.
County-owned reforestation properties included: Ballenger Creek Park, Round Tree Stormwater Management Facility, Creagerstown Park and Monocacy River Park.
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Transit B Stormwater Pond Retrofit
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Filterra System at University of Maryland Extension Office
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Monocacy River Park Reforestation
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Round Tree Stormwater Management Facility Reforestation
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COVID-19 Online Dashboard
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Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner
unveiled a
new online dashboard
t
hat allows the public to track local
COVID-19
statistics. The dashboard includes charts and data about testing, cases, and hospitalizations, which will be updated daily. Statistics on nursing homes will be updated each week. “We want to be transparent and provide the public with a reliable source of information,”
Executive Gardner
said, “County staff created an easy-to-use page so people can keep track of Frederick County data in real time.
Joint Information Center updates can be found
here.
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Frederick County's Climate Actions
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Shannon Moore,
Manager of the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources, presented a virtual presentation about Frederick County's climate actions to the Frederick County Council at their June 23, 2020 workshop. The presentation aimed to give the Council a better understanding of Frederick County Government's role in fighting climate change. Covered topics include baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories for internal operations and community-wide, progress updates, coordination with the Comprehensive Energy Plan and Livable Frederick, Climate Action Planning within the Metropolitan Washington region, and actions taken by County Divisions.
The presentation can be viewed by clicking
here
, and the virtual Frederick County Council meeting is available to watch on
FCGTV.
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Farewell and Best Wishes Tyrah and Megan!
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Tyrah Cobb-Davis (left) and Megan Sinclair (right) attended a site visit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Fox Haven Farm to collect tree tubes for future reforestations.
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Megan and Tyrah collected and installed willow stakings for a stream buffer at Ballenger Creek
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The OSER team bids a fond farewell to our Chesapeake Conservation Corps interns,
Tyrah Cobb-Davis
and
Megan Sinclair,
as they move onto full-time positions!
At the start of her service year last fall
,
Tyrah Cobb-Davis
helped the office promote a solar co-op with Solar United Neighbors that encouraged homeowners to take advantage of the benefits of renewable energy resources through bulk buying. Over the course of the past year, she has learned new things and developed skills while assisting the OSER staff with a variety of projects. Some of her favorites include working with ArcGIS, collecting outfall and stream stabilization data, and conducting field work for the Creek ReLeaf program. Tyrah created outreach materials relating to energy efficiency and restoration projects, and assisted with the analysis of County energy data. After the conclusion of CCC in August, Tyrah plans to continue her work in the environmental field. She will be working with
AmeriCorps
as an Urban Forestry Coordinator with the
Cumberland River Compact
in Nashville, Tennessee.
Megan was an instrumental part of the
Creek ReLeaf
program in all aspects from initial applications through tree plantings. Megan’s Capstone project was within the Creek ReLeaf program and involved the planting of
the
Creagerstown Park
property. Earlier this
spring, Megan performed a streambank stabilization of Ballenger Creek which involved placement of live willow stakes in areas of erosion. Megan also assisted with multiple other office tasks including County Outfall and Stream Bank Stabilization Verifications, Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination inspections, storm water pond retrofit project development, flooding issues, and community engagement activities. Megan began a new full-time position at NewDay USA in June.
Thank you both for all of your hard work! We wish you the best!
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Power Saver Retrofits Program
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Frederick County residents can save money by making their homes more energy efficient. Funding through the
Power Saver Retrofits Program
will help low- and moderate-income households to have energy audits conducted and energy-efficient home improvements made. The program is funded through a $155,984
Clean Energy Communities
grant that was awarded to the Frederick County Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources by the
Maryland Energy Administration.
For more information about the program, visit
FrederickCountyMD.gov/psr
or contact Dawn Ashbacher, the County's Sustainability Program Manager, at 301-600-6864 or dashbacher@frederickcountymd.gov.
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Beaver Dam Stream Restoration Project
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T
he Hagerstown, MD-based not-for-profit organization,
Western Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Council (WMRC&D
) is pleased to announce its partnership with Frederick County to receive and implement a Maryland Department of Natural Resources Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund (Trust Fund) Grant using Fiscal Year 2020 funding! WMRC&D’s mission is to build and sustain resource conservation programs which raise the quality of social, economic, and environmental development in our region.
This grant provides all of the construction funds, in the amount of $494,000, necessary to complete the
Beaver Dam Stream Restoration project
with the County providing cost share towards the design of the project in the amount of $27,720.
This project includes
1,250 linear feet
of stream to be restored, the restoration of over one acre of an existing wetland, and the reforestation of over 6 acres of riparian area. It will support local and Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) restoration with the annual removal of 493 pounds of nitrogen, 70 pounds of phosphorous, and 36 tons of total suspended sediments from
Double Pipe Watershed, located in the northern end of Frederick County. The project will also be used towards the County's restoration goal within its
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit.
As the project moves through the design and construction phases, OSER will provide periodic updates on this exciting project.
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Green Business - Pumpernickel & Rye
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Pumpernickel & Rye,
(also known as "Pump & Rye), a "new school" deli and market in Urbana, Maryland is leading by example by incorporating many eco-friendly practices into their business.
Megan Hook
and
Amy Nesbit
, sisters and owners of
Pump & Rye,
built their business with sustainability in mind from the start. Pump & Rye uses 100% compostable in-house packaging and utensils and they have teamed up with local business
Key City Compost
for a full composting program. Key City Compost picks up and composts all of the food waste from their kitchen along with their in-house packaging and utensils. Pump & Rye also offers reusable coffee mugs to their customers and their menu ingredients are locally-sourced.
Pump & Rye's eco-friendly practices and composting efforts are ahead of the sustainability curve occurring in Maryland to remove the use of polystyrene (Styrofoam) food service products by July 1, 2020. The ban was passed during the 2019 legislative session by the
Maryland General Assembly
.
Due to the current COVID-19 crisis Governor Hogan and the Maryland Department of the Environment extended the deadline to October 1, 2020.
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Controlling Runoff with Grass Swales
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Grass swales are just one of the many ways the
Frederick County Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources
utilizes the guidelines provided by
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)
in an effort to help uncontrolled runoff.
Grass swales fall under the small-scale stormwater management (SWM) guidelines as an environmental site design (ESD) that provides the maximum extent practicable (MEP) for non-structural techniques. The grass swale design reroutes SWM runoff, it mimics natural runoff, and minimizes land development's impact on water resources helping to minimize discharge to local waterways. These grass-lined channels convey stormwater runoff, provide water quality treatment, and decrease flow. They can also remove pollutants through vegetative filtering, sedimentation, biological uptake, and infiltration into the underlying soil. (Source
:
MDOT-SHA Structural Stormwater Controls
)
Frederick County is required to restore 20% of untreated impervious area within the Frederick County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) boundary per requirements in the Clean Water Act.
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At Home Energy Conservation and Efficiency Tips
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With COVID-19 underway, people are not driving as much, but have been consuming energy in other ways since we are spending more time at home. This means that more lights are on, more water is being used, more toilets are being flushed, and more energy is being used on a daily basis. Our everyday actions have an impact on our lives and the environment.
The
Green Homes Challenge
guides renters and homeowners on how to save energy by adopting green lifestyle practices. Here are a few
Green Homes Challenge
tips to keep in mind as you spend more time at home. These tips are useful during this time, and if implemented, will help to save on monthly energy bills over time.
Actions that can be done at home to be more efficient include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Turn off the lights and open the blinds or curtains to make use of the natural light
- Unplug appliances and turn off power strips when not in use
- Set the thermostat to 77-78°F in the summer time, but open your windows when possible
- Set your water heater to 120°F.
Utility companies offer different programs and incentives, so we encourage you to look into this more. Potomac Edison offers a
free home energy checkup,
where auditors can install energy saving products in your home!
See
https://energysavemd-home.com/quick-home-energy-checkup/
for more information on how you can take advantage of this. Visit the
Green Homes Challenge
website to learn more ways to go green and save green and become a Green Homes Challenge Certified Household!
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Frederick County Government
Office of the County Executive
Sustainability and Environmental Resources
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