MARYLAND BRIEFING

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

CHESAPEAKE BAY

Conflict Resolution Expert to Head EPA Office

An expert in resolving environmental disputes has been appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency office for the Chesapeake Bay, taking over a massive but underachieving cleanup effort.

Jeffrey L. Lape, a 16-year EPA veteran, works for the agency's Office of General Counsel in a program that tries to find cooperative solutions to fights over water rights, pollution permits and Superfund sites. He will take over the Chesapeake Bay program office next month, a spokeswoman said.

Lape will replace Rebecca Hanmer, who is retiring March 18 after heading the office for five years. He will inherit a cleanup effort that is running behind schedule: Bay program officials recently said that they were not on pace to meet goals for a healthy bay by 2010.

-- David A. Fahrenthold

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Two Troopers Hurt as Driver Hits Their Car

Two Maryland State Police troopers were injured yesterday when their unmarked vehicle was hit by a car while stopped on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 270 in Rockville, police said. The car's driver was also injured.

The incident at 10:20 a.m. closed northbound I-270 near Montrose Road for almost an hour, causing traffic backups.

Police said troopers Matthew Cantwell and John Davis had just completed a traffic stop when a 2003 Mercury Sable driven by Thomas J. McClellan II, 62, of Alexandria struck their car on the driver's side, police said. McClellan's car traveled across four lanes before hitting a concrete barrier.

Cantwell, who was in the driver's seat, was trapped for 15 minutes before Montgomery County rescue workers extricated him, police said. He was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. Davis, who was in the passenger seat, was taken to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital with minor injuries, police said.

McClellan, who police said might have suffered from a medical condition before the crash, was taken to Suburban Hospital. The accident remained under investigation.

-- Katherine Shaver

Broken Main Triggers Sewage Spill

Almost 18,000 gallons of diluted wastewater spilled into a storm drain that empties into Rock Creek before workers were able to stop a sewage overflow yesterday in Silver Spring, officials said.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission said a broken sewer main caused the overflow in the 1300 block of Fenwick Lane, beginning about 3:45 p.m. Sunday. The overflow was stopped yesterday at 11:30 a.m., officials said.

The broken pipe, which was installed in 1928, is undergoing repairs, commission officials said.

-- Katherine Shaver

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Man Found Dead in Car in Beltsville

Prince George's County police are investigating the killing of a man found in a car in Beltsville on Monday night, authorities said yesterday.

Police discovered the body about 11:10 p.m. after receiving a call that a man sitting in a vehicle at the 12300 block of Clonnie Place appeared to be unconscious. When officers arrived, they found an adult man with a gunshot wound to the upper body.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The body was sent to the chief medical examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy. Police did not release his name pending notification of family.

-- Candace Rondeaux

D.C. Man Sentenced in Drug Dealer's Killing

A Prince George's County judge sentenced a District man who was convicted of killing a rival drug dealer to life without parole plus 20 years, with the sentences to be served consecutively, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said yesterday.

Circuit Court Judge E. Allen Shepherd sentenced Lamont M. Brown, 33, yesterday for the Jan. 29, 2006, murder of Andre D. Williams of Temple Hills. Brown fatally shot Williams at a Temple Hills apartment complex. Part of the attack was captured on videotape, prosecutors said.

-- Ruben Castaneda

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Man Shot and Killed by Intruders at House

A 36-year-old Halethorpe man died yesterday after being shot by intruders at a house in the Pumphrey area, Anne Arundel County police said.

James William Fabian was found dead about 2:20 a.m. by police responding to a call about intruders who had assaulted occupants at the house before fleeing, police said in a statement. Police said that although Fabian "died from apparent gunshot wounds," an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

"We're pretty clear that the suspects targeted the home and the occupants of the home," said Lt. David Waltemeyer, a police spokesman. "We're unsure if the victim himself was targeted or if he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

-- Raymond McCaffrey