Runoff

Anne Arundel County officials said yesterday that they might change their grading and sediment-control review process to guard against storm-water runoff problems such as those that occurred last weekend at the Compass Pointe Golf Course project in Pasadena. "We need to look at our regulations to make sure they won't allow that much exposed area," said Spurgeon Eismeier, director of inspections and permits, who shut down the project Tuesday after large amounts of material washed off the construction site and into local creeks after a weekend deluge.

Phoenix--IN THE MIDST of the final televised debate between Arizona gubernatorial runoff candidates Fife Symington, the Republican, and Terry Goddard, the Democrat, lightning struck the television tower and blacked out the telecast in Phoenix.Both candidates quipped later that maybe God was trying to tell them something. But what they fear more as next Tuesday's election approaches is that voters will also tell them something by staying away from the polls in droves.Part of the wrath, from earthly critics at least, stems from the ungodly length of the gubernatorial campaign.

KIEV, Ukraine - For two weeks the enormous crowds swirling through central Kiev shouted and marched until the government agreed to a new presidential runoff. But yesterday afternoon, the streets grew quieter as protesters braced themselves for what they believe will be an anxious wait until the new vote on Dec. 26. Many of the protesters supporting the opposition candidate Viktor A. Yushchenko say they will stay in their tents pitched in the streets and continue their blockade until the government adopts measures to ensure that the vote is fair.

A "sleeper" bill that would require Baltimore city and the state's nine largest counties to levy fees on property owners to pay for controlling storm-water pollution won preliminary Senate approval  this evening, though whether it will pass in the General Assembly's waning hours remains to be seen. The measure, HB987 , which has failed to pass in prior years, gained traction late in the 90-day legislative session after the O'Malley administration and lawmakers agreed to scale back a proposed increase in the so-called "flush fee"to help pay for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup.  That bill, which gained final approval today, would double the $2.50 monthly fee paid by all utility customers and septic tank owners.  The money raised would help finish upgrading the state's largest sewage treatment plants, while also funneling aid to farmers to control runoff from their fields.

Toll Brothers, one of the nation's largest home-building companies, has agreed to pay $741,000 in penalties for allowing polluted runoff from construction sites in Maryland and 22 other states, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday. The Pennsylvania-based builder was accused of failing to stabilize disturbed soil or properly install and maintain runoff controls such as silt fences, swales and sediment ponds. Forty of the 370 building sites found in violation by EPA are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where officials say storm-water runoff is a significant and growing source of pollution.

Have you ever considered the possibility that water runoff from your roof is contributing to degradation of local streams and that you might be able to do something about it? The job of rain gutters is to collect rainwater from the roof and direct it away from the house as quickly as possible. Water from downspouts is often drained directly to the street or to a driveway that drains to the street. Once in the street, water runs rapidly to storm drains, which discharge directly to a local stream or creek.

Robert Prettyman walked along the uneven ground surrounding Anne Arundel Community College's resource management building and pointed to soil erosion, storm runoff and other evidence that the area is losing its battle against the elements. "You can see the erosion. It's a mess," said Prettyman, 51, a student at the college. He then ventured down a series of weather-beaten steps in the woods to a small waterway known as Divided Creek. Runoff from the resource management building flows through underground pipes and spills into the creek before heading to the Magothy River and Chesapeake Bay. Prettyman, a Glen Burnie resident studying ecosystem restoration and environmental monitoring, wants to stem that tide of erosion, and he recently came up with a project to reduce and naturally filter some of the runoff from the building.

I am writing about the bill by Councilman Fox proposing changes to the stormwater management fee. Having read about the many issues that have arisen as counties try to implement this fee, I can appreciate Councilman Fox's motivation, but I am opposed to this bill and urge you not to pass it. There are many problems with stormwater management both locally, with many areas suffering flooding or standing water, and regionally, including pollution of...

Editor: I, like most everyone in the People's Republic of Maryland, have grown weary of "O'Taxes," which essentially translates to our esteemed governor taxing every aspect of our lives. While he's probably hard at work trying to determine a new tax on the very air we breathe, and trying to find a back door into the White House, his last insult, the rainwater run-off tax is laughable at best. First and foremost, it will do absolutely nothing to cleanse the waters of Chesapeake Bay, which despite the billions already spent, is in worse shape now that it was when the first studies were done more than a century ago. Yep, that money went mostly for studies.

With frozen ground, and plenty of snow and ice left over from last weekend's snowstorm, the "wintry mix" and rain forecast for Friday and Saturday could combine to produce a lot of melting and runoff in the next few days. Forecasters warn that the surge of water could lead to flooding. Check today to be sure the storm drains around your home are clear of any snow, ice and debris that could cause runoff to back up. There's nothing like the gurgle of free-flowing gutters and drains.