Calvert Outlines Criteria for Grants

Bay Fund Supports New Septic Systems

The Calvert Board of County Commissioners has approved criteria to narrow the list of homeowners eligible for funding to install septic systems that remove nitrogen.

Previously, any homeowner with a failing septic system in an environmentally sensitive area received priority for money from the Bay Restoration Fund, followed by those with failing systems in the Mill Creek watershed and those in a "critical" area.

A significant portion of Calvert County is in a critical area, 1,000 feet from shorelines or tidal wetlands.

Under the criteria adopted by the board Tuesday, homes assessed at less than $250,000 will receive special consideration, as will those occupied year-round.

The county received nearly $1 million in grant money from the program last year and $1.6 million this year, said Greg Bowen, the county's director of planning and zoning. About 125 homeowners have applied for grants this year. The funding will cover up to 95 new systems.

An estimated 25 percent of the diffuse nitrogen pollution in Calvert's waters comes from septic systems, said David Brownlee, the county's principal environmental planner. The portion is double in the Mill Creek area, he said.

More than 90 percent of single-family homes in the county have septic systems. Nitrogen often seeps from the systems into waterways, causing algae blooms that kill fish and other aquatic life.

"These nitrogen-removing septic systems might be key to reaching our . . . goals," Bowen said.

In 2004, the Maryland General Assembly approved a "flush tax" to help pay for programs to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The bill established the restoration fund, which is supported by a monthly fee on sewer bills and an annual assessment on septic system owners. The tax went into effect Jan. 1, 2005.

The money is collected by the county and given to the state, which distributes it for projects that reduce nitrogen discharge.

In addition to helping homeowners replace septic systems, the money helps farmers plant cover crops that reduce nutrient runoff.

"The object [of the grants] is to minimize what is going into the bay and creeks," Commissioner Gerald W. Clark (R-Lusby) said Tuesday.

Commissioner Linda L. Kelley (R-At Large) said the grant program is "a noble cause." But she was the only board member to vote against the new criteria, saying that a property owner's income and ability to pay for a new septic system should be considered.