ENSP 400: Capstone in Environmental Science and Policy

Assignment Objective

To conduct research and develop deliverables outlining the laws and policies that apply to development projects in Maryland counties that are experiencing significant development pressure. The research will assist affected communities in understanding the legal obligations for these projects and their opportunities to participate in this process from the earliest stages through public participation, administrative proceedings, as well as potential legal challenges.

Background

Many parts of the state of Maryland continue to feel significant development pressure. This rapid pace of development has and will continue to have impacts on natural resources, air and water quality, and the quality of life for Marylanders. Development is absolutely necessary to create adequate housing, but ill-advised development does more harm than good (environmentally destructive, fiscally/financially wasteful, and creates numerous other social ills). The focus here is on ensuring that our land use laws live up to the “Smart Growth” and environmental goals and mandates that have made Maryland a national leader in both of these legislative arenas, because the current development frenzy is proving that having the right laws on the books is not enough.

For example, in Trappe, Maryland, in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the environmental community has expressed concerns over a major housing development and accompanying wastewater treatment project that would include spraying treated wastewater on local fields. In Harford County, Maryland, Chesapeake Legal Alliance (CLA) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have challenged various aspects related to the development of a warehouse complex in an area of over 300 acres of forested wetlands and streams that drain into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In Lothian, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County, local residents are challenging a sand and gravel operation that poses environmental justice concerns. In Prince George’s County, concerns are mounting about a potential development on public lands that border the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge.  Calls for data center development are growing in rural areas of Frederick County, Maryland.

These and other projects have been challenged at various points in the development process, yet environmental advocates are still in need of additional tools to assist them in understanding the development process and how best to shape or, if needed, challenge projects of concern.

Problems to be solved

CLA would like the students to research the development process in Charles, Harford, and Frederick counties, three counties in Maryland facing forest and wetland loss in the State due to development. This would include an exploration of all laws and policies at the local and state levels that apply to development projects.  Students should begin by reviewing materials for Anne Arundel County and Prince George’s County already created by ENSP students in Fall 2023 for CLA and build on these efforts. Students would then produce deliverables for each county outlining the development process and access points for participation in the process democratically, administratively, or legally.

Questions to Answer

1. What are the local laws and policies that apply to development projects in Harford, Charles and Frederick County?
2. What are the state laws delegated to local governments to implement (critical area, erosion and sediment control, floodplain) that apply to these counties?
3. For each county, are there any obvious flaws in the process whereby development approvals are considered out of sequence or there is a risk of developers “forgetting” to obtain certain approvals before the shovels are put in the ground?
4. How do the processes in these counties compare to each other? Are there notable similarities or differences?  For CLA or others wishing to replicate this project in other counties, are there stages in the process that are most likely to be different where others should focus or start their research?
5. What are the most ideal points in each county’s process for advocates to become involved? Why?