Opinion ID: 2442854
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Talbot County Infrastructure

Text: The following facts serve as a backdrop for the specific party interests in this case. Talbot County owns the Region II Wastewater Treatment Plant (the Plant), which serves a number of towns within the County. The Plant was operated, at all times relevant to this case, by an independent contractor under contract with the Talbot County Sanitary District. The Plant is funded through user fees paid by property owners served by the Plant, and through fees paid by other owners who are not served by the Plant, but pay benefit charges to reserve the right to connect to the Plant in the future. The Plant, through the Talbot County Sanitary District, also receives some funding (in the form of grants and low-interest loans) from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). The Talbot County Council bears the ultimate responsibility for Plant management. The Plant was to be constructed with a flow capacity of approximately 1,000,000 gallons per day (GPD). Through the year 2003, however, a study of the Plant's function showed an actual flow capacity of approximately 500,000 GPD, with more than 170 problems reported in the collection system. In recognition of these issues, the Talbot County Council voted to authorize expansion of the Plant on August 12, 2003, so that the Plant's actual capacity would increase to 660,000 GPD. As of July 2005, the County had yet to begin construction on the expansion, and had not received a construction permit from the MDE allowing the expansion to proceed. On April 5, 2005, rainstorms caused approximately 300 gallons of untreated sewage to overflow from the Plant's collection system into the Miles River. Three days later, continuing heavy rains and local flooding caused sewers in the Town of St. Michaels to overflow, releasing approximately 2,400 gallons of raw sewage into the Miles River. On May 20, 2005, an additional 850 gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into the Miles River.