Wastewater Treatment

The commissioners amended the county's water and sewerage master plan yesterday to include the disposal of sewage from Francis Scott Key High School, a necessary step for state approval to operate the school's treatment plant. The amendment outlines plans to use the $786,000 wastewater treatment plant - which was built in 1998 without the required construction and environmental permits - and discharge the treated waste onto a wetland on an adjoining property or release it directly into a nearby stream.

The Howard County school system is one step closer to building the much-needed 400-seat addition at Glenelg High School. The Maryland Department of the Environment informed school officials last week that it has decided to issue a permit for the high school's proposed wastewater treatment facility that will accommodate the addition - despite concerns of a few residents over possible contamination of drinking water in western Howard County. "The permit is fully protective of public health and state groundwater quality standards," MDE stated in a notice of final determination.

salisbury -- Three workers suffered minor injuries in a predawn chemical explosion at the Perdue Farms Inc. poultry processing plant yesterday. The blast caused the roof of the plant's wastewater treatment building to collapse, fire officials said. "Basically, we believe they off-loaded the wrong chemical into the wrong tank, and the mix created a violent explosion," said Steve Dickerson, a Salisbury Fire Department spokesman. Two of the injured were Perdue employees; the other was an independent truck driver, according to fire officials.

"Now, not later" is when Carroll County Schools Superintendent R. Edward Shilling said he wants Runnymede Elementary School's wastewater treatment plant fixed.School officials are taking a tougher stand with Triangle General Contractors Inc., giving the company 14 days to show some progress before they hire another contractor.Although the new school building was ready for students and staff to move in this month, the subzero weather in mid-January damaged the wastewater treatment plant. The ground around one tank froze, causing the tank to heave and shear some pipes attached to it.Last week, Lester Surber, supervisor of school facilities, wrote a letter to Triangle of Hanover, Anne Arundel County.

Howard County school officials remain hopeful about getting state approval for a new wastewater treatment facility for Glenelg High School's much-needed addition, despite concerns over possible contamination of drinking water in western Howard County. Nearly 100 people gathered at Glenelg for a public hearing Monday night before the Maryland Department of the Environment, which must issue a permit for the treatment facility. The crowd appeared evenly split between those who were concerned over the effects of the proposed treatment facility on the drinking water and those who disagreed with that assessment, saying that the crowded high school desperately needs more seats.

CENTREVILLE -- State environmental regulators say traces of a banned pesticide found in soil, water and sediment samples taken at an abandoned Eastern Shore dump near here are within acceptable standards and pose no threat to public health or groundwater. The tests, conducted by an independent laboratory, were ordered by the Maryland Department of the Environment last month after rusted barrels that once contained the chemical Toxaphene were found in a wooded ravine adjacent to a 300-acre spray irrigation field that is part of Centreville's new wastewater treatment system.

A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore issued a 10-count indictment yesterday against a civilian employee at Fort Meade, charging him with violating the Clean Water Act and theft of government property.Richard A. Pond, 34, of Laurel could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $750,000 if convicted of all charges in the indictment. Mr. Pond's indictment marks the fifth time federal employees have been charged with violating environmental laws.Mr. Pond, who was superintendent of Fort Meade's wastewater treatment plant, was responsible for ensuring Fort Meade complied with a permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Wastewater treatment plants in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will have to comply with new pollution limits under a new Environmental Protection Agency policy. The agency announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement in which the six watershed states and the District of Columbia will set limits for the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus in local waterways. States, which issue the permits, will work with the EPA to make sure they are enforced. "It's a milestone. I think it's unprecedented," said Jon Capacasa, director of the water protection division for the EPA's mid-Atlantic region.

A report detailing an environmentally safe way to dispose of sewage at Francis Scott Key High School is due Friday to the Carroll County commissioners, who are concerned about the costs of waste disposal there.County public works Director J. Michael Evans told the commissioners yesterday that the $4,500 report will conclude whether a bacteria-killing, environmentally safe method of disposing sewage at the school is a feasible alternative.The commissioners are expected to consider the report and cost estimates of the plan next week.

Maryland was handed nearly $122 million Tuesday from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund drinking water projects and improve water quality as part of the federal government's latest round of stimulus spending. The stimulus effort, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was advanced by President Barack Obama to jump-start the economy by improving the nation's infrastructure and creating and saving jobs. The money has begun steadily flowing to states through a variety of programs that are expected to improve roads and schools, as well as waterways and other programs.