We are taxpayers, residents and landowners in Calvert County who strongly oppose PEPCO Holdings Inc.'s construction of a high voltage electrical converter station within the Parkers Creek or Governors Run watersheds or any other location that has been officially identified by the county as a preservation area.
Specifically, we strongly oppose PHI's recent selection of a site in Port Republic for this purpose.
We support the construction of a converter station on land that is currently zoned for industrial use and provides adequate space, security and appropriate infrastructure for such a facility. However, we adamantly agree with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Office of People's Counsel, and Dorchester County that a full and thorough review of the Supplemental Application filed by PEPCO on Nov. 12 is absolutely essential before any approvals for the MAPP project are even considered.
We oppose the Port Republic site for the following reasons.
The construction of a large converter station in this location completely undermines long-standing efforts to protect Parkers Creek — "one of the most ecologically valuable sub-estuaries in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the least disturbed on Maryland's western shore," according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
For more than 25 years, Calvert County citizens, working largely as volunteers with the American Chestnut Land Trust, have worked with private, nonprofit organizations and county and state agencies to preserve more than 4,000 undeveloped acres in the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds for the public's benefit. This equates to 49 percent of the land in the Parkers Creek watershed and 23 percent of the land in the Governors Run watershed so far.
Private landowners within the Parkers Creek watershed have also voluntarily put their land in permanent preservation and the Calvert Farmland Trust has permanently preserved land within this watershed, including the property immediately adjacent to the proposed site. Thanks largely to these efforts, the preserved lands surrounding Parkers Creek and Governors Run provide critical habitat for ecologically important species that require undisturbed environments, offer year-round recreational opportunities, and contribute significantly to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
The construction of a large converter station in this location conflicts with state efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources identifies a portion of this site as a "Targeted Ecological Area." Targeted Ecological Areas are described by DNR as "lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. These areas represent the most ecologically valuable areas in the state — they are the ‘best of the best.'"
The construction of a large converter station in this location severely conflicts with the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance and potentially sets a dangerous precedent for similarly zoned land throughout Calvert County.
The site is zoned Farm and Forest District and designated by the county as a Priority Preservation Area. The purpose of such zoning, according to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan is to "Preserve the Rural Character of the County, its Prime Farmland, Contiguous Forests, Historic Resources and Environmentally Sensitive Areas ..."
Only minor structures accessory to transmission lines are permitted by the zoning ordinance. PEPCO has made no effort to honor the purpose and intent of Calvert County's Comprehensive Plan and the project does not comply with the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance.
The construction of a large converter station in this location will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star-Spangled Banner Byway.
Port Republic, together with its surrounding area, is still largely composed of late 19th/early 20th century buildings situated within a traditional landscape of forests and fields. It is located along the Maryland Star-Spangled Banner Byway, one of 19 unique routes designated by the State of Maryland for their scenic beauty, history and culture. The route connects many sites from Southern Maryland to downtown Baltimore that played a role in the War of 1812 and includes Broomes Island Road, Route 2/4 and Route 765.
The view directly in front of anyone approaching Route 2/4 from Broomes Island Road will be two side by side buildings, each of which is as wide as a typical "big box" store (e.g., Prince Frederick Walmart) and at least three times as tall (60-65 feet). The buildings, together with the array of towers and wires, will cover approximately 35 acres, some or all of which will require strong outdoor security lighting. The site will also be highly visible along Route 2/4.
The ACLT Board of Directors passed a resolution opposing the siting of the MAPP converter facility at the Port Republic site in the headwaters of Parkers Creek.
PEPCO's decision to choose this site was made without any regard for long-standing efforts on the part of local and state governments, nonprofit organizations and hundreds of volunteers to preserve and protect important ecological, cultural and economic resources in this county, without even asking for input from the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners or their staff in finding an appropriate site and without providing any explanation for why the originally proposed converter site, which was on land zoned for industrial use, was abandoned. We find that unacceptable.
Nevertheless, we believe a solution can be found that will address our concerns while at the same time addressing the region's energy needs.
Marcia Tripp and Edward U. Graham, Port Republic
The writers are the chairman of the Calvert Citizens for Safe Energy Executive Committee and president of the American Chestnut Land Trust Inc., respectively.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Calvert Recorder Speaks
By MEGHAN RUSSELL
Staff writer
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After formal plans went public last month of Pepco Holdings Inc.'s desire to build a 34-acre converter station in Port Republic, a group of about 25 citizens banded together in opposition.
In order to complete its Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway, a $1.2 billion project that will run from Virginia to Delaware but will not service Calvert County, Pepco plans to construct two large switching stations and an open air substation in Calvert County to convert electricity from alternating current to direct current. Each switching station would be the size of a football field and roughly six stories high, according to a Nov. 16 presentation on the project.
Because Pepco's original site at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant did not work out due to the plant's anticipation of a third reactor, MAPP project manager Robert Jubic Jr. said, the proposed buildings and substation instead would consume more than 30 acres at the headwaters of the longest tributary to Parkers Creek.
This is upsetting news to the growing new group, Calvert Citizens for Safe Energy.
"When we heard it was happening in the headwaters of Parkers Creek, we just said something has to be done," Marcia Tripp, the group's chairwoman, said. "And at the [Calvert County Board of County Commissioners'] meeting, the people from Pepco made it seem like they had no opposition to it and that the American Chestnut Land Trust was fine with it. That's not true."
In fact, ACLT President Ted Graham spoke out against the company's decision to use the Parkers Creek location as the construction site for its converter station. At the same commissioners' meeting, during public comment, he asked, "Why is [Pepco] proceeding with a single candidate site when no environmental assessment of the proposed site has been done?"
Graham said the site selection process should have addressed water quality impacts, habitat, noise, traffic, air quality, deforestation, loss of wetlands, aesthetics and electromagnetic radiation before making a decision.
Members of the ACLT have joined the citizens who live along the Parkers Creek watershed in taking part in the CCSE group. The ACLT also issued a press release last month in opposition to the MAPP converter station site, calling the proposed switching stations "intrusive facilities."
ACLT's Executive Director Karen Edgecombe said in the release, "[g]iven the public interest and investment in land conservation in the [Parkers Creek and Governors Run] watersheds, it only makes sense to utilize available land that has already been dedicated to energy production and transmission in Calvert County."
She and CCSE wish to see Pepco return to its initial site plan at the power plant and work out an agreement with Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the plant's owner. Tripp even said she would like to see the Federal Energy Regulation Commission "go down to the people who can't agree at the plant and talk to them. … It seems so silly when they have all that industrial space down there."
Tripp added, "I think this is so important. Everybody's put in a tremendous number of hours on fighting this. We don't want to be ‘nimbys,' or ‘not-in-my-backyard' folks; we just say not in our watershed, not in our protected land."
Although Pepco plans to work with the Calvert County commissioners, who strongly expressed their disapproval of the site location at their Nov. 16 meeting, the utility company also is moving forward, said Matt Likovich, a spokesman for Delmarva Power, owned by Pepco, and for the MAPP project.
"We are continuing to have discussions with Calvert County officials to address their concerns regarding our site selection," Likovich said in a prepared statement. "Meanwhile, the site we have selected will be included in the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity filing with the Maryland Public Service Commission."
Pepco recently filed a modified application for a CPCN for the MAPP construction, Likovich said. That file includes the details regarding the Calvert County converter station site selection.
After analyzing approximately 30 sites for the converter location, he said, Pepco chose Parkers Creek near the intersection of Routes 765 and 2/4 because the site is in close proximity to the Baltimore Gas & Electric transmission line corridor that provides viable interconnection access, the site already contains an access road and the necessary work to clear trees and other vegetation will be less "extensive as it would be if one of the other sites was chosen."
However, plans to keep the location at Parkers Creek are not set in stone, as Pepco has not officially purchased the rights to the property yet. "The details of the land acquisition for the Calvert County converter station are still being worked out at this time," Likovich said in an e-mail.
According to the ACLT, the Parkers Creek watershed is designated in the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan as a "priority preservation area" and in the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance as the "Farm and Forest District" intended to "protect and preserve prime farming regions, lands in proximity to agricultural preservation districts, large contiguous forested areas, and to maintain historic and scenic landscapes," the release states.
One CCSE document contains the history of preservation of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds, dating back 35 years. "By contrast, the 92 acres already purchased or under contract to [Pepco] in Port Republic is particularly valuable for preservation because it occupies the headwaters of Parkers Creek's longest tributary, and is in fact also the headwaters of Parkers Creek," CCSE states as its summary analysis at the close of the document. Additionally, "The tract is in a particularly scenic rural area — clearly visible from Routes 2/4 and 765."
Furthermore, CCSE contends the construction of a large converter station in the proposed location "will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway," one of 19 routes highlighted for its historical significance during the War of 1812.
In a letter forwarded to several government officials and the parties involved with the MAPP project, two scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory expressed their opposition to the proposed converter station site in Port Republic, as well.
Placing the site there jeopardizes the CBL's studies that ultimately help meet the conditions of the Clean Water Act, Margaret Palmer, professor and laboratory director, and Lora Harris, assistant professor, wrote.
"Our research in this area includes evaluating the effectiveness of available restoration practices while also considering climate associated impacts on hydrology and temperature. In order to best assess these impacts in the complex context of changing land use, we need a research location to collect data for comparison with more urbanized sites where the watershed is still forested and impact is low," the letter states. "As a consequence of the efforts of the American Chestnut Land Trust and its partners, the [Parker's Creek] watershed is one of the only locations left in the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay watershed where these conditions have been preserved."
In addition, the scientists wrote that pollutant loads will be much harder to gauge and much less reliable during the "large construction efforts" sure to come with the building of the converter station.
They, like the ACLT and CCSE, concluded with a plea for elected officials and Pepco to explore alternative locations.
Staff writer
E-Mail This Article | Print This Story
After formal plans went public last month of Pepco Holdings Inc.'s desire to build a 34-acre converter station in Port Republic, a group of about 25 citizens banded together in opposition.
In order to complete its Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway, a $1.2 billion project that will run from Virginia to Delaware but will not service Calvert County, Pepco plans to construct two large switching stations and an open air substation in Calvert County to convert electricity from alternating current to direct current. Each switching station would be the size of a football field and roughly six stories high, according to a Nov. 16 presentation on the project.
Because Pepco's original site at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant did not work out due to the plant's anticipation of a third reactor, MAPP project manager Robert Jubic Jr. said, the proposed buildings and substation instead would consume more than 30 acres at the headwaters of the longest tributary to Parkers Creek.
This is upsetting news to the growing new group, Calvert Citizens for Safe Energy.
"When we heard it was happening in the headwaters of Parkers Creek, we just said something has to be done," Marcia Tripp, the group's chairwoman, said. "And at the [Calvert County Board of County Commissioners'] meeting, the people from Pepco made it seem like they had no opposition to it and that the American Chestnut Land Trust was fine with it. That's not true."
In fact, ACLT President Ted Graham spoke out against the company's decision to use the Parkers Creek location as the construction site for its converter station. At the same commissioners' meeting, during public comment, he asked, "Why is [Pepco] proceeding with a single candidate site when no environmental assessment of the proposed site has been done?"
Graham said the site selection process should have addressed water quality impacts, habitat, noise, traffic, air quality, deforestation, loss of wetlands, aesthetics and electromagnetic radiation before making a decision.
Members of the ACLT have joined the citizens who live along the Parkers Creek watershed in taking part in the CCSE group. The ACLT also issued a press release last month in opposition to the MAPP converter station site, calling the proposed switching stations "intrusive facilities."
ACLT's Executive Director Karen Edgecombe said in the release, "[g]iven the public interest and investment in land conservation in the [Parkers Creek and Governors Run] watersheds, it only makes sense to utilize available land that has already been dedicated to energy production and transmission in Calvert County."
She and CCSE wish to see Pepco return to its initial site plan at the power plant and work out an agreement with Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the plant's owner. Tripp even said she would like to see the Federal Energy Regulation Commission "go down to the people who can't agree at the plant and talk to them. … It seems so silly when they have all that industrial space down there."
Tripp added, "I think this is so important. Everybody's put in a tremendous number of hours on fighting this. We don't want to be ‘nimbys,' or ‘not-in-my-backyard' folks; we just say not in our watershed, not in our protected land."
Although Pepco plans to work with the Calvert County commissioners, who strongly expressed their disapproval of the site location at their Nov. 16 meeting, the utility company also is moving forward, said Matt Likovich, a spokesman for Delmarva Power, owned by Pepco, and for the MAPP project.
"We are continuing to have discussions with Calvert County officials to address their concerns regarding our site selection," Likovich said in a prepared statement. "Meanwhile, the site we have selected will be included in the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity filing with the Maryland Public Service Commission."
Pepco recently filed a modified application for a CPCN for the MAPP construction, Likovich said. That file includes the details regarding the Calvert County converter station site selection.
After analyzing approximately 30 sites for the converter location, he said, Pepco chose Parkers Creek near the intersection of Routes 765 and 2/4 because the site is in close proximity to the Baltimore Gas & Electric transmission line corridor that provides viable interconnection access, the site already contains an access road and the necessary work to clear trees and other vegetation will be less "extensive as it would be if one of the other sites was chosen."
However, plans to keep the location at Parkers Creek are not set in stone, as Pepco has not officially purchased the rights to the property yet. "The details of the land acquisition for the Calvert County converter station are still being worked out at this time," Likovich said in an e-mail.
According to the ACLT, the Parkers Creek watershed is designated in the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan as a "priority preservation area" and in the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance as the "Farm and Forest District" intended to "protect and preserve prime farming regions, lands in proximity to agricultural preservation districts, large contiguous forested areas, and to maintain historic and scenic landscapes," the release states.
One CCSE document contains the history of preservation of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds, dating back 35 years. "By contrast, the 92 acres already purchased or under contract to [Pepco] in Port Republic is particularly valuable for preservation because it occupies the headwaters of Parkers Creek's longest tributary, and is in fact also the headwaters of Parkers Creek," CCSE states as its summary analysis at the close of the document. Additionally, "The tract is in a particularly scenic rural area — clearly visible from Routes 2/4 and 765."
Furthermore, CCSE contends the construction of a large converter station in the proposed location "will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway," one of 19 routes highlighted for its historical significance during the War of 1812.
In a letter forwarded to several government officials and the parties involved with the MAPP project, two scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory expressed their opposition to the proposed converter station site in Port Republic, as well.
Placing the site there jeopardizes the CBL's studies that ultimately help meet the conditions of the Clean Water Act, Margaret Palmer, professor and laboratory director, and Lora Harris, assistant professor, wrote.
"Our research in this area includes evaluating the effectiveness of available restoration practices while also considering climate associated impacts on hydrology and temperature. In order to best assess these impacts in the complex context of changing land use, we need a research location to collect data for comparison with more urbanized sites where the watershed is still forested and impact is low," the letter states. "As a consequence of the efforts of the American Chestnut Land Trust and its partners, the [Parker's Creek] watershed is one of the only locations left in the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay watershed where these conditions have been preserved."
In addition, the scientists wrote that pollutant loads will be much harder to gauge and much less reliable during the "large construction efforts" sure to come with the building of the converter station.
They, like the ACLT and CCSE, concluded with a plea for elected officials and Pepco to explore alternative locations.
Calver Recorder Seaks UP
click on this link and read what the Calvert Recorder has to say.
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12222010/rectop134442_32384.shtml
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12222010/rectop134442_32384.shtml
Thursday, December 16, 2010
PSC case No.9179 Public hearing January 6, 2011
This is the Public Service Commissions case number for the PHI Chestnut converter.
Pre-Hearing Conference January 6, 2011 10:am
PSC Hearing Room 19th floor
Case No. 9179 CPCN for MAPP Project (Electric Transmission Line)
Hearing of matters connected to the proposed construction of a multi-state electric transmission line. Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power & Light, and Baltimore Gas & Electric Company
Pre-Hearing Conference January 6, 2011 10:am
PSC Hearing Room 19th floor
Case No. 9179 CPCN for MAPP Project (Electric Transmission Line)
Hearing of matters connected to the proposed construction of a multi-state electric transmission line. Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power & Light, and Baltimore Gas & Electric Company
No Electric Converter Plant in Parkers Creek Watershed
No Electric Converter Plant in Parkers Creek Watershed
We are taxpayers, residents and landowners in Calvert County, Maryland who strongly oppose the construction of a high voltage electrical converter station within the Parkers Creek or Governors Run watersheds or any other location that has been officially identified by the County as a preservation area. Specifically, we strongly oppose Pepco’s recent selection of a site in Port Republic for this purpose.
We support the construction of a converter station on land that is currently zoned for industrial use and provides adequate space, security, and appropriate infrastructure for such a facility. However, we adamantly agree with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, and Dorchester County that a full and thorough review of the Supplemental Application filed by Pepco, PHI on November 12, 2010 is absolutely essential before any approvals for the MAPP project are even considered.
We oppose the Port Republic site for the following reasons:
The construction of a large converter station in this location completely undermines long-standing efforts to protect Parkers Creek -“one of the most ecologically valuable sub-estuaries in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the least disturbed on Maryland's western shore”. Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
For more than 25 years, Calvert County citizens, working largely as volunteers with the American Chestnut Land Trust, have worked with private non-profit organizations and County and State agencies to preserve over 4,000 undeveloped acres in the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds for the public’s benefit. This equates to 49% of the land in the Parkers Creek watershed and 23% of the land in the Governors Run watershed so far.
Private landowners within the Parkers Creek watershed have also voluntarily put their land in permanent preservation and the Calvert Farmland Trust has permanently preserved land within this watershed, including the property immediately adjacent to the proposed site. Thanks largely to these efforts, the preserved lands surrounding Parkers Creek and Governors Run provide critical habitat for ecologically important species that require undisturbed environments, offer year-round recreational opportunities, and contribute significantly to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
The construction of a large converter station in this location conflicts with State efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources identifies a portion of this site as a “Targeted Ecological Area”. Targeted Ecological Areas are described by DNR as “lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These areas represent the most ecologically valuable areas in the State- they are the ‘best of the best’”.
The construction of a large converter station in this location severely conflicts with the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance and potentially sets a dangerous precedent for similarly zoned land throughout Calvert County.
The site is zoned Farm and Forest District and designated by the County as a Priority Preservation Area. The purpose of such zoning, according to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan is to “Preserve the Rural Character of the County, its Prime Farmland, Contiguous Forests, Historic Resources, and Environmentally Sensitive Areas...” Only minor structures accessory to transmission lines are permitted by the Zoning Ordinance. Pepco has made no effort to honor the purpose and intent of Calvert County’s Comprehensive Plan and the project does not comply with the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance.
The construction of a large converter station in this location will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway.
Port Republic together with its surrounding area is still largely composed of late 19th/early 20th century buildings situated within a traditional landscape of forests and fields. It is located along the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway, one of 19 unique routes designated by the State of Maryland for their scenic beauty, history and culture. The route connects many sites from southern Maryland to downtown Baltimore that played a role in the War of 1812 and includes Broomes Island Road, Rt 2/4 and/ Rt 765.
The view directly in front of anyone approaching Rt 2/4 from Broomes Island Road will be two side by side buildings, each of which is as wide as a typical “Big Box” store (e.g., Prince Frederick Wal-mart) and at least three times as tall (60-65’). The buildings, together with the array of towers and wires will cover approximately 35 acres, some or all of which will require strong outdoor security lighting. The site will also be highly visible along Rt 2/4.
Pepco’s decision to choose this site was made without any regard for long-standing efforts on the part of local and state governments, non-profit organizations and hundreds of volunteers to preserve and protect important ecological, cultural and economic resources in this County, without even asking for input from the Board of County Commissioners or their staff in finding an appropriate site and without providing any explanation for why the originally proposed converter site, which was on land zoned for Industrial use, was abandoned. We find that unacceptable. Nevertheless, we believe a solution can be found that will address our concerns while at the same time addressing the region’s energy needs.
We are taxpayers, residents and landowners in Calvert County, Maryland who strongly oppose the construction of a high voltage electrical converter station within the Parkers Creek or Governors Run watersheds or any other location that has been officially identified by the County as a preservation area. Specifically, we strongly oppose Pepco’s recent selection of a site in Port Republic for this purpose.
We support the construction of a converter station on land that is currently zoned for industrial use and provides adequate space, security, and appropriate infrastructure for such a facility. However, we adamantly agree with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, and Dorchester County that a full and thorough review of the Supplemental Application filed by Pepco, PHI on November 12, 2010 is absolutely essential before any approvals for the MAPP project are even considered.
We oppose the Port Republic site for the following reasons:
The construction of a large converter station in this location completely undermines long-standing efforts to protect Parkers Creek -“one of the most ecologically valuable sub-estuaries in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the least disturbed on Maryland's western shore”. Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
For more than 25 years, Calvert County citizens, working largely as volunteers with the American Chestnut Land Trust, have worked with private non-profit organizations and County and State agencies to preserve over 4,000 undeveloped acres in the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds for the public’s benefit. This equates to 49% of the land in the Parkers Creek watershed and 23% of the land in the Governors Run watershed so far.
Private landowners within the Parkers Creek watershed have also voluntarily put their land in permanent preservation and the Calvert Farmland Trust has permanently preserved land within this watershed, including the property immediately adjacent to the proposed site. Thanks largely to these efforts, the preserved lands surrounding Parkers Creek and Governors Run provide critical habitat for ecologically important species that require undisturbed environments, offer year-round recreational opportunities, and contribute significantly to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
The construction of a large converter station in this location conflicts with State efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources identifies a portion of this site as a “Targeted Ecological Area”. Targeted Ecological Areas are described by DNR as “lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These areas represent the most ecologically valuable areas in the State- they are the ‘best of the best’”.
The construction of a large converter station in this location severely conflicts with the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance and potentially sets a dangerous precedent for similarly zoned land throughout Calvert County.
The site is zoned Farm and Forest District and designated by the County as a Priority Preservation Area. The purpose of such zoning, according to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan is to “Preserve the Rural Character of the County, its Prime Farmland, Contiguous Forests, Historic Resources, and Environmentally Sensitive Areas...” Only minor structures accessory to transmission lines are permitted by the Zoning Ordinance. Pepco has made no effort to honor the purpose and intent of Calvert County’s Comprehensive Plan and the project does not comply with the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance.
The construction of a large converter station in this location will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway.
Port Republic together with its surrounding area is still largely composed of late 19th/early 20th century buildings situated within a traditional landscape of forests and fields. It is located along the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway, one of 19 unique routes designated by the State of Maryland for their scenic beauty, history and culture. The route connects many sites from southern Maryland to downtown Baltimore that played a role in the War of 1812 and includes Broomes Island Road, Rt 2/4 and/ Rt 765.
The view directly in front of anyone approaching Rt 2/4 from Broomes Island Road will be two side by side buildings, each of which is as wide as a typical “Big Box” store (e.g., Prince Frederick Wal-mart) and at least three times as tall (60-65’). The buildings, together with the array of towers and wires will cover approximately 35 acres, some or all of which will require strong outdoor security lighting. The site will also be highly visible along Rt 2/4.
Pepco’s decision to choose this site was made without any regard for long-standing efforts on the part of local and state governments, non-profit organizations and hundreds of volunteers to preserve and protect important ecological, cultural and economic resources in this County, without even asking for input from the Board of County Commissioners or their staff in finding an appropriate site and without providing any explanation for why the originally proposed converter site, which was on land zoned for Industrial use, was abandoned. We find that unacceptable. Nevertheless, we believe a solution can be found that will address our concerns while at the same time addressing the region’s energy needs.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Parkers Creek and Governors Run Preservation History
Parkers Creek and Governors Run Preservation History:
Timeline and 2010 status
PRESERVATION TIMELINE
1937 Scientists Cliffs Association (SCA), founded by G. Flippo Gravatt and first property owners as a ‘civic association’, is incorporated, with Articles of Incorporation including a stated goal of “preservation of wild areas”.
1967 Jewell Glass bequests 5.13 (8?) acre Laurel Grove to The Nature Conservancy—the first piece of land to be preserved in Parkers Creek watershed.
1969 G. Flippo Gravatt, developer of Scientists Cliffs, writes letter to Calvert County government, expressing concern about effluent from proposed Prince Frederick wastewater treatment plant impacting Parkers Creek and thence by longshore currents Scientists Cliffs.
1973 Developer’s widow Anne Gravatt, in partnership with SCA, successfully opposes a planned large camping (425 sites) and trailer park (250 units) in Parkers Creek watershed.
1975 William Gay DVM conceives the idea of a nature park along Parkers Creek mainstem, proposes it to the Maryland chapter of The Nature Conservancy. TNC then discusses/explores/negotiates this intermittently with main downstream landowners Louis Goldstein and Page Jett, but no progress is made for two decades.
1977 Maryland enacts program enabling farmland owners to sell conservation easements.
1978 Calvert County BOCC adopts Agricultural Preservation Program (first of its kind among US counties), enabling preservation of farm and forestland by sale of Transferable Development Rights (TDRs). ACLT’s preservation efforts in Parkers-Governors Run watersheds later facilitated by this program.
1980 Johns Hopkins PhD student Norman Froomer publishes results of sediment coring in Parkers Creek saltmarsh and swamp.
1984-5 Scientists Cliffs Association purchases from the developer’s widow (Anne Gravatt) and sister (Margaret Miles) 150 acres of open space within and bordering the community. This forested land, ca. 30 acres of which is in the Governors Run watershed, is declared permanent community open space in 1990.
1986 American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT), a charitable nonprofit, is incorporated to purchase from the estate of Anne Gravatt-- and manage largely for wildlife and the public-- the remaining 436 acres of undeveloped Gravatt-Miles property. About 100 acres of this property is in the Governors Run watershed, and 336 acres in the adjoining Parkers Creek watershed.
1987 (and earlier in 80s) Parkers Creek considered a prime candidate for NOAA “Estuarine Reserve” system, but key landowners decline.
1990 ACLT reinvests funds from TDR (Transferable Development Right) sale by purchasing the 80 acre “Russell Tract”, first land to be preserved along the Parkers Creek tidal mainstem (2000 ft frontage). This helps trigger the second ‘sea change’ in local land preservation goals—from preserving the Gravatt-Miles property to protecting the Parkers Creek-Governors Run watersheds. At about this same time, The Nature Conservancy independently evolves in thinking from saving local rare ecosystems (e.g., the Battle Creek baldcypress and Hellen Creek Canadian hemlock stands) to larger systems such as watersheds.
1991 Using TDR income from its protected properties, ACLT purchases 81-acre Kenwood tract. Governors Run Development Corporation (GRDC) 81 acres, enrolled as an Ag Preservation District already in 1984, remains the largest remaining unprotected forested parcel in the GR watershed.
1991 Geology magazine publishes article demonstrating that Parkers Creek was pirated and inverted by the Chesapeake Bay in the last several hundred thousand years. Before that, a stream with headwaters later destroyed by cliff erosion began in uplands in what is today the Chesapeake Bay, flowed west along the same course as present Parkers Creek, and thence continued via Battle Creek into the Patuxent.
1994 ACLT purchases and preserves 137-acre Kenneth Michael tract, which Michael had already platted out as the approved but unrecorded 30-lot ‘Parkers Creek Knolls’ subdivision. This parcel, later renamed ‘Double Oak Farm’ lies some distance from previously preserved ACLT property, and is the first preserved land north of the Parkers Creek mainstem. TNC and DNR take notice, redoubling efforts to negotiate purchase of the large Jett (Warrior’s Rest) and Goldstein properties.
1995 TNC purchases 116 acre Ward property in middle PC watershed, adjoining ACLT’s Double Oak Farm; TNC then negotiates and turns over to DNR the purchase option on 230-acre Warrior’s Rest property on lower tidal Parkers Creek and cliffs from heirs of Dr. Page Jett.
1996 Parkers Creek Watershed Management Plan is produced as a local, state, and federal partnership with a goal to “preserve as much of this watershed, especially its wetlands, outside of the town center as possible”.
1996-98 TNC purchases three tracts totaling 519 acres in northern PC watershed from the Turner-Somervell family.
1997 Archeologist Matthew Reeves (followed by Molly Stephens, 1999) conducts archeological resource surveys of Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds.
1997 Maryland adopts Rural Legacy Program, providing funds for purchase of conservation easements on farm and forestland. Several key private parcels preserved in Parkers Creek watershed by this mechanism.
1998-99 TNC purchases 757 acres of Parkers Creek wetlands, forests, fields, beach and cliffs from estate of Louis Goldstein. This and other TNC acquisitions are then resold to MD DNR, with ACLT as designated lands manager.
1998 ACLT-led water quality sampling program begins on PC mainstem—initially every two weeks at mouth of creek, at head of tides, and at Waste Water Treatment Plant. Later and ongoing PC WQ sampling stations changed to head of tides, near Trikas property, and near MD 765.
1999 USGS-NRL scientists hire French research vessel Marion Dufresne to recover sediment cores in Chesapeake Bay east of Parkers Creek. One core recovers sediment from the valley of ice-age Parkers Creek, a valley later buried by mud after sea levels rose. Geophysical subbottom profiles map the buried Parkers Creek channel out to its former (prior to 5000 BCE) confluence with the Susquehanna.
1999 ACLT bird watcher Leslie Starr conducts summer bird census on preserved property; repeated in 2006.
1999 Constatine (40 acres) and Vlissides (50 acres) properties purchased by TNC/DNR.
2001 Calvert Farmland Trust preserves (by TDR sale and resale to conservation buyer) 31-acre Somervell property in Port Republic, near headwaters of Parkers Creek and adjacent to proposed (2010) industrial-scale PEPCO ‘converter station’.
2002 199-acre Axley farm, 25 acre Dorsey property, and 33 acre Margaret Young properties preserved by sale of Rural Legacy Easements, to be monitored by ACLT.
2004-2007 ACLT acquires 104 additional acres in PC watershed, including two donated parcels.
2007 Calvert County compiles land use and nutrient loading data on Parkers Creek watershed and identifies it as one of the first five of twenty-two subwatesheds to achieve Calvert County water quality objectives.
2010 Chesapeake Biological Laboratory scientists Dr. Lora Harris and, independently Dr. Kelly Kilbourne initiate research studies in Parkers Creek.
TAKEAWAY : Preservation of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run Watersheds for people and wildlife has a long history, dating back 35 years, and is a work still in progress. Several Maryland agencies, the Calvert County government, and private organizations, led locally by the American Chestnut Land Trust, with the help of more than 1000 private citizens, have contributed time, effort, and money in a remarkable long-term public-private partnership.
CURRENT STATUS
The following land use and preservation status breakdown is based on the ACLT-provided Parkers Creek watershed (7321 acre) and Governors Run (779 acre) areas, and on the 7944 acre Parkers Creek watershed acreage as defined in a 2007 Calvert County spread sheet report on subwatershed land use and nutrient loadings. The two acreage estimates probably differ largely by County inclusion of a strip of cliff-front land (here estimated to equal the 623 acre difference) which technically drains directly into the Chesapeake, not into Parkers Creek. Because the Parkers Creek land preservation effort has always included this cliff-front strip of land, we use the County figure (7944 acres) for the “Parkers Creek
Watershed” to derive the following statistics. NB—the cited acreages are estimates, and the precision of the figures is not to be taken as representing accuracy. Moreover, land use changes over time.
As of 2010, 4060 acres have been preserved to date in the two watersheds (3880- 49 % of total PC watershed and 180- 23.1 % of total Governors Run watershed). Of the 4064 unprotected acres in the PC watershed, 1523 acres (19 %) have been developed to date (residential, commercial, industrial, etc). The developed areas are concentrated (756 acres, about half the total) in the western, particularly northwestern part of the watershed, which includes the southern part of the Prince Frederick town center and adjacent lands, together accounting for 1829 acres (23 % of the PC watershed). This part of the watershed (defined in Calvert County 2007 ‘Sub-watershed 0976’ report) is thus already 41 % developed. The other ca. 50% of the developed area (767 acres) occupies and central and eastern parts of the watershed (77% of the total), and is still only 13 % developed.
Subtraction of the developed 1523 acres from the total unprotected acreage (4064 acres) leaves 2541 acres (of which 1468 acres are in the less developed and so far 63 % preserved central and eastern part of the watershed) still available for potential preservation. The 92 acre PHI-MAPP parcel is part of those 1468 acres.
Overall, the Parkers Creek watershed (protected and unprotected lands) is still 76% forested (61% Forest Interior Dwelling species habitat). The undeveloped parts of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds include the ca. 4060 total so far protected acreage 46 % of combined watershed (protected acreage ca. 908 owned by ACLT, 1780 owned by DNR, and 1372 privately/publicly owned: (1155 protected by deed restrictions or easements, and 217 acres community open space). Of the ACLT-owned lands, 19 acres (2 %) are maintained as open fields, as are 28 acres (1.6 %) of the DNR-owned land. The much larger total PC watershed cropland area (594 acres) is nonetheless only a modest fraction (7 %) of the watershed. (ACLT, with staff grown to three, manages its own and the DNR properties, and monitors easements on most of the other preserved private lands).
Most of the remaining 2541 acres of undeveloped but still unprotected land lies at or near the headwaters and drainage divides, is visible from major highways, and is underlain by the “Upland Deposits”. The latter is a complex, sandy-gravelly, stream-deposited geological formation which supports or could again support a type of forest once dominated by the American chestnut, distinct from the types of forest mainly preserved in the downstream, lower elevation parts of the watersheds. Most land in Calvert County underlain by “Upland Deposits” has already been developed for subdivisions, shopping centers, highways, schools, etc. Of the total protected lands, a relatively higher percent of the privately owned land, lies in the Upland Deposits and remains cleared for agriculture and farming-related structures.
The bottom line is that as of 2010, 60 % (3880 acres) of the total 6421 acres undeveloped land in the PC watershed has been preserved (public and private), while 2541 acres (40 %--concentrated in the uplands and stream headwaters, and much of it visible to the public from highways) still remains undeveloped and potentially available for future preservation. However, due to high acreage cost and surrounding development, much of this acreage—particularly west of MD 2/4 and in the Prince Frederick Town Center-- will not realistically be preservable.
By contrast, the 92 acres already purchased or under contract to PHI-MAPP in Port Republic is particularly valuable for preservation because it occupies the headwaters of Parkers Creek’s longest tributary, and is in fact also the headwaters of Parkers Creek. It adjoins permanently preserved land and is in the Upland Deposit terrain once dominated by the American chestnut. The tract is in a particularly scenic rural area—clearly visible from MD 2/4 and MD 765-- with a traditional field-and-forest landscape including 100-200 year old buildings. As of 2010 there is still no DNR-ACLT public preserved land along or visible from MD 2/4 or MD 765.
Timeline and 2010 status
PRESERVATION TIMELINE
1937 Scientists Cliffs Association (SCA), founded by G. Flippo Gravatt and first property owners as a ‘civic association’, is incorporated, with Articles of Incorporation including a stated goal of “preservation of wild areas”.
1967 Jewell Glass bequests 5.13 (8?) acre Laurel Grove to The Nature Conservancy—the first piece of land to be preserved in Parkers Creek watershed.
1969 G. Flippo Gravatt, developer of Scientists Cliffs, writes letter to Calvert County government, expressing concern about effluent from proposed Prince Frederick wastewater treatment plant impacting Parkers Creek and thence by longshore currents Scientists Cliffs.
1973 Developer’s widow Anne Gravatt, in partnership with SCA, successfully opposes a planned large camping (425 sites) and trailer park (250 units) in Parkers Creek watershed.
1975 William Gay DVM conceives the idea of a nature park along Parkers Creek mainstem, proposes it to the Maryland chapter of The Nature Conservancy. TNC then discusses/explores/negotiates this intermittently with main downstream landowners Louis Goldstein and Page Jett, but no progress is made for two decades.
1977 Maryland enacts program enabling farmland owners to sell conservation easements.
1978 Calvert County BOCC adopts Agricultural Preservation Program (first of its kind among US counties), enabling preservation of farm and forestland by sale of Transferable Development Rights (TDRs). ACLT’s preservation efforts in Parkers-Governors Run watersheds later facilitated by this program.
1980 Johns Hopkins PhD student Norman Froomer publishes results of sediment coring in Parkers Creek saltmarsh and swamp.
1984-5 Scientists Cliffs Association purchases from the developer’s widow (Anne Gravatt) and sister (Margaret Miles) 150 acres of open space within and bordering the community. This forested land, ca. 30 acres of which is in the Governors Run watershed, is declared permanent community open space in 1990.
1986 American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT), a charitable nonprofit, is incorporated to purchase from the estate of Anne Gravatt-- and manage largely for wildlife and the public-- the remaining 436 acres of undeveloped Gravatt-Miles property. About 100 acres of this property is in the Governors Run watershed, and 336 acres in the adjoining Parkers Creek watershed.
1987 (and earlier in 80s) Parkers Creek considered a prime candidate for NOAA “Estuarine Reserve” system, but key landowners decline.
1990 ACLT reinvests funds from TDR (Transferable Development Right) sale by purchasing the 80 acre “Russell Tract”, first land to be preserved along the Parkers Creek tidal mainstem (2000 ft frontage). This helps trigger the second ‘sea change’ in local land preservation goals—from preserving the Gravatt-Miles property to protecting the Parkers Creek-Governors Run watersheds. At about this same time, The Nature Conservancy independently evolves in thinking from saving local rare ecosystems (e.g., the Battle Creek baldcypress and Hellen Creek Canadian hemlock stands) to larger systems such as watersheds.
1991 Using TDR income from its protected properties, ACLT purchases 81-acre Kenwood tract. Governors Run Development Corporation (GRDC) 81 acres, enrolled as an Ag Preservation District already in 1984, remains the largest remaining unprotected forested parcel in the GR watershed.
1991 Geology magazine publishes article demonstrating that Parkers Creek was pirated and inverted by the Chesapeake Bay in the last several hundred thousand years. Before that, a stream with headwaters later destroyed by cliff erosion began in uplands in what is today the Chesapeake Bay, flowed west along the same course as present Parkers Creek, and thence continued via Battle Creek into the Patuxent.
1994 ACLT purchases and preserves 137-acre Kenneth Michael tract, which Michael had already platted out as the approved but unrecorded 30-lot ‘Parkers Creek Knolls’ subdivision. This parcel, later renamed ‘Double Oak Farm’ lies some distance from previously preserved ACLT property, and is the first preserved land north of the Parkers Creek mainstem. TNC and DNR take notice, redoubling efforts to negotiate purchase of the large Jett (Warrior’s Rest) and Goldstein properties.
1995 TNC purchases 116 acre Ward property in middle PC watershed, adjoining ACLT’s Double Oak Farm; TNC then negotiates and turns over to DNR the purchase option on 230-acre Warrior’s Rest property on lower tidal Parkers Creek and cliffs from heirs of Dr. Page Jett.
1996 Parkers Creek Watershed Management Plan is produced as a local, state, and federal partnership with a goal to “preserve as much of this watershed, especially its wetlands, outside of the town center as possible”.
1996-98 TNC purchases three tracts totaling 519 acres in northern PC watershed from the Turner-Somervell family.
1997 Archeologist Matthew Reeves (followed by Molly Stephens, 1999) conducts archeological resource surveys of Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds.
1997 Maryland adopts Rural Legacy Program, providing funds for purchase of conservation easements on farm and forestland. Several key private parcels preserved in Parkers Creek watershed by this mechanism.
1998-99 TNC purchases 757 acres of Parkers Creek wetlands, forests, fields, beach and cliffs from estate of Louis Goldstein. This and other TNC acquisitions are then resold to MD DNR, with ACLT as designated lands manager.
1998 ACLT-led water quality sampling program begins on PC mainstem—initially every two weeks at mouth of creek, at head of tides, and at Waste Water Treatment Plant. Later and ongoing PC WQ sampling stations changed to head of tides, near Trikas property, and near MD 765.
1999 USGS-NRL scientists hire French research vessel Marion Dufresne to recover sediment cores in Chesapeake Bay east of Parkers Creek. One core recovers sediment from the valley of ice-age Parkers Creek, a valley later buried by mud after sea levels rose. Geophysical subbottom profiles map the buried Parkers Creek channel out to its former (prior to 5000 BCE) confluence with the Susquehanna.
1999 ACLT bird watcher Leslie Starr conducts summer bird census on preserved property; repeated in 2006.
1999 Constatine (40 acres) and Vlissides (50 acres) properties purchased by TNC/DNR.
2001 Calvert Farmland Trust preserves (by TDR sale and resale to conservation buyer) 31-acre Somervell property in Port Republic, near headwaters of Parkers Creek and adjacent to proposed (2010) industrial-scale PEPCO ‘converter station’.
2002 199-acre Axley farm, 25 acre Dorsey property, and 33 acre Margaret Young properties preserved by sale of Rural Legacy Easements, to be monitored by ACLT.
2004-2007 ACLT acquires 104 additional acres in PC watershed, including two donated parcels.
2007 Calvert County compiles land use and nutrient loading data on Parkers Creek watershed and identifies it as one of the first five of twenty-two subwatesheds to achieve Calvert County water quality objectives.
2010 Chesapeake Biological Laboratory scientists Dr. Lora Harris and, independently Dr. Kelly Kilbourne initiate research studies in Parkers Creek.
TAKEAWAY : Preservation of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run Watersheds for people and wildlife has a long history, dating back 35 years, and is a work still in progress. Several Maryland agencies, the Calvert County government, and private organizations, led locally by the American Chestnut Land Trust, with the help of more than 1000 private citizens, have contributed time, effort, and money in a remarkable long-term public-private partnership.
CURRENT STATUS
The following land use and preservation status breakdown is based on the ACLT-provided Parkers Creek watershed (7321 acre) and Governors Run (779 acre) areas, and on the 7944 acre Parkers Creek watershed acreage as defined in a 2007 Calvert County spread sheet report on subwatershed land use and nutrient loadings. The two acreage estimates probably differ largely by County inclusion of a strip of cliff-front land (here estimated to equal the 623 acre difference) which technically drains directly into the Chesapeake, not into Parkers Creek. Because the Parkers Creek land preservation effort has always included this cliff-front strip of land, we use the County figure (7944 acres) for the “Parkers Creek
Watershed” to derive the following statistics. NB—the cited acreages are estimates, and the precision of the figures is not to be taken as representing accuracy. Moreover, land use changes over time.
As of 2010, 4060 acres have been preserved to date in the two watersheds (3880- 49 % of total PC watershed and 180- 23.1 % of total Governors Run watershed). Of the 4064 unprotected acres in the PC watershed, 1523 acres (19 %) have been developed to date (residential, commercial, industrial, etc). The developed areas are concentrated (756 acres, about half the total) in the western, particularly northwestern part of the watershed, which includes the southern part of the Prince Frederick town center and adjacent lands, together accounting for 1829 acres (23 % of the PC watershed). This part of the watershed (defined in Calvert County 2007 ‘Sub-watershed 0976’ report) is thus already 41 % developed. The other ca. 50% of the developed area (767 acres) occupies and central and eastern parts of the watershed (77% of the total), and is still only 13 % developed.
Subtraction of the developed 1523 acres from the total unprotected acreage (4064 acres) leaves 2541 acres (of which 1468 acres are in the less developed and so far 63 % preserved central and eastern part of the watershed) still available for potential preservation. The 92 acre PHI-MAPP parcel is part of those 1468 acres.
Overall, the Parkers Creek watershed (protected and unprotected lands) is still 76% forested (61% Forest Interior Dwelling species habitat). The undeveloped parts of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds include the ca. 4060 total so far protected acreage 46 % of combined watershed (protected acreage ca. 908 owned by ACLT, 1780 owned by DNR, and 1372 privately/publicly owned: (1155 protected by deed restrictions or easements, and 217 acres community open space). Of the ACLT-owned lands, 19 acres (2 %) are maintained as open fields, as are 28 acres (1.6 %) of the DNR-owned land. The much larger total PC watershed cropland area (594 acres) is nonetheless only a modest fraction (7 %) of the watershed. (ACLT, with staff grown to three, manages its own and the DNR properties, and monitors easements on most of the other preserved private lands).
Most of the remaining 2541 acres of undeveloped but still unprotected land lies at or near the headwaters and drainage divides, is visible from major highways, and is underlain by the “Upland Deposits”. The latter is a complex, sandy-gravelly, stream-deposited geological formation which supports or could again support a type of forest once dominated by the American chestnut, distinct from the types of forest mainly preserved in the downstream, lower elevation parts of the watersheds. Most land in Calvert County underlain by “Upland Deposits” has already been developed for subdivisions, shopping centers, highways, schools, etc. Of the total protected lands, a relatively higher percent of the privately owned land, lies in the Upland Deposits and remains cleared for agriculture and farming-related structures.
The bottom line is that as of 2010, 60 % (3880 acres) of the total 6421 acres undeveloped land in the PC watershed has been preserved (public and private), while 2541 acres (40 %--concentrated in the uplands and stream headwaters, and much of it visible to the public from highways) still remains undeveloped and potentially available for future preservation. However, due to high acreage cost and surrounding development, much of this acreage—particularly west of MD 2/4 and in the Prince Frederick Town Center-- will not realistically be preservable.
By contrast, the 92 acres already purchased or under contract to PHI-MAPP in Port Republic is particularly valuable for preservation because it occupies the headwaters of Parkers Creek’s longest tributary, and is in fact also the headwaters of Parkers Creek. It adjoins permanently preserved land and is in the Upland Deposit terrain once dominated by the American chestnut. The tract is in a particularly scenic rural area—clearly visible from MD 2/4 and MD 765-- with a traditional field-and-forest landscape including 100-200 year old buildings. As of 2010 there is still no DNR-ACLT public preserved land along or visible from MD 2/4 or MD 765.
No Electric Converter Plant in Parkers Creek Watershed
We are taxpayers, residents and landowners in Calvert County, Maryland who strongly oppose the construction of a high voltage electrical converter station within the Parkers Creek or Governors Run watersheds or any other location that has been officially identified by the County as a preservation area. Specifically, we strongly oppose Pepco’s recent selection of a site in Port Republic for this purpose.
We support the construction of a converter station on land that is currently zoned for industrial use and provides adequate space, security, and appropriate infrastructure for such a facility. However, we adamantly agree with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, and Dorchester County that a full and thorough review of the Supplemental Application filed by Pepco, PHI on November 12, 2010 is absolutely essential before any approvals for the MAPP project are even considered.
We oppose the Port Republic site for the following reasons:
The construction of a large converter station in this location completely undermines long-standing efforts to protect Parkers Creek -“one of the most ecologically valuable sub-estuaries in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the least disturbed on Maryland's western shore”. Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
For more than 25 years, Calvert County citizens, working largely as volunteers with the American Chestnut Land Trust, have worked with private non-profit organizations and County and State agencies to preserve over 4,000 undeveloped acres in the Parkers Creek and Governors Run watersheds for the public’s benefit. This equates to 49% of the land in the Parkers Creek watershed and 23% of the land in the Governors Run watershed so far.
Private landowners within the Parkers Creek watershed have also voluntarily put their land in permanent preservation and the Calvert Farmland Trust has permanently preserved land within this watershed, including the property immediately adjacent to the proposed site. Thanks largely to these efforts, the preserved lands surrounding Parkers Creek and Governors Run provide critical habitat for ecologically important species that require undisturbed environments, offer year-round recreational opportunities, and contribute significantly to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
The construction of a large converter station in this location conflicts with State efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources identifies a portion of this site as a “Targeted Ecological Area”. Targeted Ecological Areas are described by DNR as “lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These areas represent the most ecologically valuable areas in the State- they are the ‘best of the best’”.
The construction of a large converter station in this location severely conflicts with the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance and potentially sets a dangerous precedent for similarly zoned land throughout Calvert County.
The site is zoned Farm and Forest District and designated by the County as a Priority Preservation Area. The purpose of such zoning, according to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan is to “Preserve the Rural Character of the County, its Prime Farmland, Contiguous Forests, Historic Resources, and Environmentally Sensitive Areas...” Only minor structures accessory to transmission lines are permitted by the Zoning Ordinance. Pepco has made no effort to honor the purpose and intent of Calvert County’s Comprehensive Plan and the project does not comply with the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance.
The construction of a large converter station in this location will severely and destructively impact an important cultural landscape that is part of the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway.
Port Republic together with its surrounding area is still largely composed of late 19th/early 20th century buildings situated within a traditional landscape of forests and fields. It is located along the Maryland Star Spangled Banner Byway, one of 19 unique routes designated by the State of Maryland for their scenic beauty, history and culture. The route connects many sites from southern Maryland to downtown Baltimore that played a role in the War of 1812 and includes Broomes Island Road, Rt 2/4 and/ Rt 765.
The view directly in front of anyone approaching Rt 2/4 from Broomes Island Road will be two side by side buildings, each of which is as wide as a typical “Big Box” store (e.g., Prince Frederick Wal-mart) and at least three times as tall (60-65’). The buildings, together with the array of towers and wires will cover approximately 35 acres, some or all of which will require strong outdoor security lighting. The site will also be highly visible along Rt 2/4.
Pepco’s decision to choose this site was made without any regard for long-standing efforts on the part of local and state governments, non-profit organizations and hundreds of volunteers to preserve and protect important ecological, cultural and economic resources in this County, without even asking for input from the Board of County Commissioners or their staff in finding an appropriate site and without providing any explanation for why the originally proposed converter site, which was on land zoned for Industrial use, was abandoned. We find that unacceptable. Nevertheless, we believe a solution can be found that will address our concerns while at the same time addressing the region’s energy needs.
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