Septic System

Funding available for septic upgrade The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is funding nitrogen-reducing units for septic systems through the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, which is supported by a state grant. Applications are available on the department's Web site at www.aahealth.org or by calling 410-222-7193. Nitrogen-reducing pretreatment units are designed to decrease nitrogen in wastewater and extend the life of a septic system. Reducing excess nitrogen from septic systems helps protect against algal blooms, low oxygen and fish kills.

Dear Mr. Azrael:My wife and I are considering purchasing land in Howard County to build a home. Could you please provide the following information [on] how to purchase land: financing; restrictions; things to look out for; and any other helpful hints or things to consider during initial stages of purchasing land.Cliff Saunders Owings MillsDear Mr. Saunders:Here's a checklist of questions to consider if deciding whether to buy a particular lot or tract for a homesite.Is the land served by public water and sewer?

Opponents of a proposed 116-unit condominium complex in western Howard say they will renew their fight next week in a meeting with state environmental officials.Developer Donald Reuwer and his engineers will present information about the site's proposed septic system before a group of environmental officials at a public meeting in Ellicott City.The septic system, which could discharge up to 34,800 gallons a day, was a contentious issue during 13 hearings spanning four months before the county Board of Appeals.

WATER, water, where it shouldn't be, is a continuing problem for homeowners.A reader who's arranging some home improvements for an elderly friend in Harford County writes:"My friend gets her water from an indoor well. Each time it rains heavily rain water and soil sediment spill out of the pump room onto the main cellar floor. The plumber informs me that the well is in good condition and is made of concrete. However, it was probably not grouted or encased, as the house was built in the early 1950s before this was required.

Business and environmentalists are expected to clash next week when the Frederick County Planning Commission reconsiders a proposal for a gas station near Parrs Spring in Mount Airy.Shell Oil Co. is making its second attempt to win planning commission approval for a gas station, convenience store and carwash on a 0.69-acre site on Lakeview Court, south of Interstate 70.Environmentalists contend that even a small oil spill at the site could contaminate the headwaters of three rivers.The Planning Commission rejected Shell's request in March, saying its application contained inadequate and inaccurate information.

The Maryland Department of the Environment is seeking an injunction against a Mayberry man accused of diverting his septic waste -- which had overflowed into a neighbor's yard -- through an agricultural drain and onto an adjoining vacant lot.The state agency filed the request last week in Carroll County Circuit Court against Rusling Blackburn and Mayberry Associates, developers of Runnymede Summit subdivision. Blackburn lives at 2828 Mayberry Road, on a lot in the subdivision.Blackburn, an official with Mayberry Associates, said Tuesday he could not comment because he had not seen the MDE complaint.

James and Stacie Boyle razed their one-story bungalow last year with plans to build a waterfront home twice the size.The Long Point couple got a county permit and built a three-story, three-bedroom home with cathedral ceilings and views of Hunters Harbor.But their next-door neighbor Calvin F. Shilling Sr. has challenged their dream home before the county Board of Appeals, contending that the home at 1673 Grandview Road in Long Point, Pasadena, is too large for the lot and that the septic system is in the wrong location.

Dear Mr. Gisriel:Last July, my husband and I bought a 30-year-old house. Both the real estate listing and the seller disclosure statement that we received at settlement indicated a public sewer system, which was an important factor in our choice of the house. But we recently learned that we are on a private septic system, which is now in need of cleaning or repair. Do we have legal grounds for damages?Susan WidermanJarrettsvilleDear Mrs. Widerman:Your situation would seem to present a classic case of what the seller-disclosure statement was designed to remedy.

The owners of the Hillside Apartments near Aberdeen say they will wait for a written ruling from the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning before replacing the property's inadequate septic system.L The replacement was ordered by the county health department.The building has seven apartments, but the planning agency has yet to determine whether the three-story stone building legally can be used for apartments. A decision could come as early as this week, said Patricia Barth, supervisor of the zoning enforcement section.

Military veterans applying for work with Harford County will have 5 percent or 10 percent added to their test scores under a preference law passed by the County Council.The measure, which was suggested by the county's Commission on Veterans Affairs, was approved last week by a 6-0 vote, with District A Councilwoman Susan B. Heselton absent.George Mitchell, a veteran of the Korea and Vietnam wars who heads the county's veterans commission, said the new law will bring Harford into line with the state and federal governments' hiring practices.

Anne Arundel County is blessed with two of the state's most popular rivers - the Severn and the Magothy - and cursed by a preponderance of septic systems. It's a curse because most septic systems, in some measure, sully those very same rivers and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Anne Arundel's waterways are among its primary assets, and the county should be leading the effort to protect them. The County Council is considering a bill that would require homeowners in environmentally sensitive areas to upgrade failing septic systems with a pollution-reducing model.

State fund, Annapolis join in tree plantings As part of a reforestation and beautification program, the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund joined with Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and the Annapolis city council to plant more than two dozen trees around Annapolis Walk Community Center, near MAIF's Forest Drive headquarters. MAIF Deputy Executive Director John Banghart said of Friday's planting: "MAIF has been and remains committed to working toward a greener, more environmentally friendly business model."

Highest Md. court to hear suit on slots referendum The Maryland Court of Appeals will hear arguments Monday in a lawsuit protesting the ballot language for November's slot-machine referendum, the high court said yesterday. On Wednesday, a panel of Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judges ruled that the proposed ballot language was "misleading" but said it could be fixed by adding a single word to clarify that anticipated gambling revenues would "primarily" support state education programs.

The chance to confront Howard County Executive Ken Ulman face-to-face with their festering complaints brought a standing room-crowd of more than 200 people last week to a public forum at Glenwood Community Center in western Howard County. "Isn't it fun being county exe cutive?" Hugh Flaherty asked to laughter as he rose to speak about one of the two issues that brought the majority of the crowd out Thursday night - a proposed used-car lot in rural Daisy, in far western Howard County. The other major topic was the failed septic system at the Villas at Cattail Creek, where construction is soon to begin on a new system.

With the opening today of the 90-day 2008 General Assembly session, Howard County legislators will be considering local bills that would apply only in the county. They have scheduled a delegation discussion and voting session Jan. 16 in Annapolis. The delegation held a public hearing on the bills Nov. 29 in Ellicott City. The measures include: Three bond bills, seeking $500,000 in state funding each for development of Blandair Park in east Columbia, the North Laurel Community Center and Park and the proposed Robinson Nature Center, off Cedar Lane near Route 32. A bill to give mobile home park residents the right to try to buy the land under their homes if the owner wants to sell for redevelopment.

Funding available for septic upgrade The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is funding nitrogen-reducing units for septic systems through the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, which is supported by a state grant. Applications are available on the department's Web site at www.aahealth.org or by calling 410-222-7193. Nitrogen-reducing pretreatment units are designed to decrease nitrogen in wastewater and extend the life of a septic system. Reducing excess nitrogen from septic systems helps protect against algal blooms, low oxygen and fish kills.

Baltimore County officials agreed yesterday to repair damage done by public works contractors to an Essex home that has been the site of repeated sewage-related problems. The latest damage -- discovered earlier this week -- was to a temporary fix installed after public works contractors accidentally destroyed the home's septic system. Since beginning work in April 2006 to install a 54-inch pressurized sewer line from the Stemmers Run pumping station to the Back River Treatment Plant, contractors have bulldozed a swimming pool and outdoor brick grill at the home on Oriole Avenue.

Program pushes local products A farmers' association yesterday urged Anne Arundel County residents to buy locally grown products this month during the "Buy Local Challenge." The program, conceived by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, seeks to boost the local farm economy and to highlight taste, nutrition and health benefits of local products. The Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., which manages and promoted county farming, has coordinated two special events for the Buy Local Challenge: Tomorrow, 2 to 6 p.m. -- The South River Colony Farmers' Market, Routes 2 and 214 in Edgewater, will have a chef demonstration using local produce prepared by the Fix New York Deli.

Leopold reassigns Land-use staff Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has eliminated the Land Use and Environment Office, reassigning staff to two other departments in a move that he said would save $700,000 a year. Eight staff positions have been cut, and the remaining employees are now working in the Department of Public Works, Inspection and Permits, and the Office of Planning and Zoning. Existing vacancies in these three agencies will be used for most of these transfers, he said in a statement Wednesday.

The well and overflowing septic system on a Carroll County farm -- where the commercial slaughter of livestock has been banned and a swine quarantine remains in effect -- violate state environmental laws, a county health department official said yesterday. The well, which serves a slaughterhouse on the 112-acre farm in the community of Marston, is infested with bacteria and has never complied with drinking water requirements, Edwin F. Singer, Carroll's environmental health director, told the county commissioners.