OLIVET -- The view of Solomons Harbor from Page Joy's septic drainfield could hardly be more picturesque, but the pristine water that laps the shore in winter can turn funky in the summer.
"I don't go out on the water anymore. In the summertime down here, it's terrible," says Joy. Scum clogs the cove behind his house, he says, and "green-looking fuzzy stuff" grows on the bottom of the boats.
Scientists say those are telltale signs of an algal bloom, the product of nitrogen pollution linked to the high density of septic systems along the shores of the harbor at the southern tip of Calvert County.
If Gov. Parris N. Glendening gets his way, Joy and thousands of other Marylanders who rely on septic systems could end up spending hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce their pollution of the state's waters.
The governor has made septic system cleanup the centerpiece of his environmental agenda this year, prompting a sharp counterattack from homeowners and industries all over the state that feel threatened by the proposal.
As a result, septic tanks, underground processors of human waste used by 400,000 Maryland homes, have emerged as one of the most contentious topics of the 2000 legislative session.
"The cost of this will run over $1 billion for both the state and the individual homeowners," says Mary C. Antoun, executive vice president of the Maryland Association of Realtors.
Glendening's proposed legislation would require homebuilders and residents in environmentally sensitive areas to use an expensive new nitrogen-reduction technology when they install a new septic system or replace a failing one. The law would take effect in 2004.
The administration says the technology will cost an extra $3,000 to $7,000 on top of the roughly $5,000 it takes to install a conventional septic system. Opponents say it will cost more, driving up the cost of new housing and putting an unreasonable burden on homeowners in rural areas of the state.
The governor's proposed bill received a skeptical reception in legislative hearings last week as lobbyists for farmers, homebuilders, Realtors and members of other industries mobilized opposition to the measure. But Glendening has muscled difficult environmental proposals through the General Assembly before -- notably his 1997 Smart Growth initiative and his 1998 program to control farm runoff in the wake of fish kills that scientists linked to outbreaks of toxic Pfiesteria.
