N e w s l e t t er

October 2022

EMMITSBURG PASSES STORMWATER FEE

The Town of Emmitsburg, MD is currently mid-way through its first MS4 Permit cycle. The need to implement costly impervious restoration requirements, coupled with the need to increase certain activities such as the frequency of street sweeping for the next permit cycle, will add additional costs to the Town’s limited stormwater management budget. Realizing their inability to afford the increasing costs associated with stormwater management, the Town contracted with EFC to conduct a Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study.

EFC’s study resulted in several stormwater fee scenarios, as well as a recommended credit system for non-residential properties. On September 12, 2022, the Mayor and Board of Commissioners voted to enact a $20 Stormwater Management Utility Fee for all residential and non-residential properties, including property that is tax exempt. The fee will be assessed annually and will be based on the amount of impervious surface (sidewalk, driveway, etc.) on a property. The majority of Emmitsburg’s residents (69%) will pay $20/year, 20% will pay $10/year, and the remaining 11% of residents will pay more than $20 due to the larger amounts of impervious surface on their property. Fees will be added to the quarterly sewer, water, and trash bills beginning in January 2023.

Emmitsburg’s Stormwater Management Utility Fee will generate approximately $34,500 annually. Fees collected will be deposited into a Stormwater Management Enterprise Fund and used solely to fund stormwater management, storm drainage, and water resources programs and services that are required by the Town’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit. More information about the fee can be found on Emmitsburg's website.

CHECK OUT EFC AT THE ANNUAL

CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED FORUM

Are you attending the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay's 2022 Watershed Forum in November? If so, make sure to check out EFC's presentation "Installing Residential BMPs in Underserved Neighborhoods." EFC will share how we are working in partnership with municipal governments and watershed organizations to establish a strong pipeline of community leaders - moving from stormwater education, to public outreach, to implementing residential best management practices. We look forward to seeing you there!

EFC RECEIVES EPA POLLUTION PREVENTION GRANT TO HELP BREWERIES GO GREEN

This fall, EFC will kick off a project to help craft breweries adopt sustainability practices, reduce pollution, and save money. The project – “Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance to Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania Craft Breweries” – is supported by a Pollution Prevention grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's historic $100 million investment in the program.

EFC will provide onsite and offsite technical assistance to small brewery businesses in Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania to help breweries identify opportunities to implement cost-efficient strategies to reduce water, energy, and chemicals used in their operations. The team will provide benchmarking tools, case studies, and recommendations for practices that increase operational efficiencies, reduce pollution, improve worker safety, and save costs.

The craft brewing industry is an important economic driver in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. According to the national Brewers Association, Delaware is home to 32 craft breweries, a four-fold increase since 2011. Pennsylvania saw craft breweries double in the past five years, and the state’s southeastern Chester County alone is home to 27 small brewery businesses. This fast-growing sector added nearly $6 billion to the two states’ economies in 2021 alone.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with two fellow Environmental Finance Centers at the University of Southern Maine and the University of North Carolina, both of which also received EPA Pollution Prevention grants for aligned programs in their regions. The EFC project teams will collaborate to identify promising pollution prevention practices for the craft beverage industry, including guidance on financing environmentally friendly refrigerants. The centers will also foster opportunities for beverage manufacturers to compare notes with other sustainably-minded businesses across the country.

FREE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR

SMALL SYSTEMS

Through funding from the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts, EFC is offering FREE technical assistance to municipalities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. This support is designed to assist small municipalities, with systems serving fewer than 10,000 people, with questions related to drinking water and wastewater systems. Communities may receive up to two hours of technical assistance on topics such as reviewing job descriptions or vacancy postings for positions related to drinking water or wastewater, asset management, source water protection, climate resilience, community outreach and engagement, and how to match potential projects with the appropriate funding opportunity.

Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and ends in January 2023! If you are interested in participating, or are unsure whether your needs qualify, please contact Michelle Kokolis at mkokolis@umd.edu or 301-405-3577.

Meet James Lee, Chesapeake Conservation Corps

I'm the new Chesapeake Conservation Corps member working with the EFC until mid-August of 2023. Growing up as the eldest of three in a diplomatic family, we lived in Bulgaria, Takoma Park, Colombia, and Paris, where I finished high school. I went on to receive my Bachelor’s in Political Science and Anthropology from University College Utrecht, a liberal arts school in the Netherlands. My time abroad enabled me to become fluent in French and Spanish, fostered adaptability, and taught me cultural intricacies that I otherwise would not have been privy to. During the coming year I am very interested in learning more about sustainable finance, grant consulting, foreign policy, and ecological restoration. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, cycling, listening to jazz, cooking, and going on walks in Rock Creek Park. And, I love dogs!

Meet Amory Jones, EFC Graduate Assistant

I'm a first-year graduate student pursuing a dual degree in Architecture and Community Planning. I'm a native of Maryland and graduated from UMD in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a minor in Sustainability. I like to bake, visit museums, and binge watch medical dramas in my free time. I hope to further the architecture profession by integrating my knowledge of sustainability and planning.

Consider.

  "From day one, the president and E.P.A. have been committed to not just making progress on environmental justice and civil rights, but to ensure that environmental justice and civil rights are at the center of everything we do, that we enshrine it in a way that outlasts any of us."

-Michael S. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator and the first Black man to run the agency, announcing the creation of a new national office of environmental justice.