Fees

Stormwater is the only source of pollution to local waterways that is growing. There has been much talk lately of stormwater fees as a "rain tax. " While catchy, the moniker really doesn't tell the story. The story begins when those raindrops hit parking lots, roads and other paved surfaces. As they flow downhill, they pick up pollution - oil and grease from automobiles, fertilizer from our yards, and dog waste that wasn't picked up. That pollution flows into storm drains, then into local streams and creeks, then into local rivers.

Anne Arundel County's proposed stormwater fee provided newly appointed County Executive Laura Neuman with her first leadership test, and she failed. Her veto puts the county at risk of sanctions if it does not enact a fee structure by July 1, yet she appears to have no plan for complying with state and federal requirements for reducing the polluted stormwater that is washing into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The County Council should override her reckless decision without delay.

Calendar These activities will be offered at the Annapolis Senior Activity Center, 119 S. Villa Ave. Information: 410-222-1818: The following activities will be offered at the Arnold Senior Activity Center, 44 Church Road. Information: 410-222-1922: Cultural Influences of Motown Music with instructor Nat Martin meets from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursdays. Registration and fees required. Art History: 19th-Century French Painters with instructor Deb Boudra meets from 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

Howard County legislators said this week that they believe the General Assembly will need to make adjustments to a state-mandated stormwater management fee imposed on Howard County and nine other Maryland jurisdictions. "I don't think it's over yet," said state Sen. James Robey, co-chair of the county's delegation to Annapolis. "We need to go back and make this more fair. " Robey and six other members of the county delegation spoke at the Howard County Chamber of Commerce's annual legislative wrap-up breakfast Thursday in Columbia.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura A. Neuman on Thursday vetoed that county's version of the so-called rain tax — making it the first jurisdiction to take action against the state-mandated stormwater management fee. Under legislation approved last year, Anne Arundel, eight other counties and Baltimore City have until July 1 to approve a fee on property owners to pay for stormwater projects aimed at curbing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. ...

As a long time resident of Maryland state and Howard County, I am so concerned about the many taxes and fees being imposed on all of us. Even more surprising is that no articles or letters to the editor have been forthcoming in letting us know the entire budget of both bodies of governments, exactly where all the tax dollars and fees are going. We are currently living in a very serious economic situation, people are either losing their jobs, having reduced incomes, paying higher taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, clothing, food, the future of our children's college education, etc., and yet our governments continue to make it more difficult to spread our income to even the most critical of our survival.

Your recent editorial on stormwater fees made me burst out laughing with tears streaming from my eyes - hopefully, liquid that will not one day to be considered taxable run-off ("The rain tax sham," April 18). You opine that "we think it's far more sensible to expect polluters to clean up after themselves - and in this case, that means all of us. " In response to that statement, I couldn't help but think of the Sunday morning televangelist shouting at us "repent, you nasty polluters, repent!"

For decades in Maryland many things have been done in the name of saving the Chesapeake Bay, but the degree to which tangible progress has been made is something of a disappointment. To be sure, there have been some successes. The mid-1980s ban on catching rockfish in an effort to allow the Chesapeake stock of the state fish to make a recovery has resulted in reasonably healthy stocks of the fish being available for watermen and sport anglers alike these days. Substantially stricter regulation of blue crab harvests seem to have helped avert a rockfish-like population collapse in Maryland's signature table fare.

Just when you thought Annapolis had run out of new ways to tax us, now we're all going to be hit again with the accurately named "rain tax" ("Anger grows over stormwater fees," April 16). Of course, the editors of The Sun think this is just wonderful and sorely needed to pay for all the new storm drains, collection ponds, stream restorations and so on mandated the E.P.A. Funny though, how it was only a couple of years ago that we were told the major cause of pollution in the bay was manure from chicken farms and agricultural run-off on the Eastern Shore.