County, State Agree To Sewer Overflow Settlement

SNOW HILL – In an effort to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, county officials have agreed to pay the state a one-time fee for sewer overflows that occurred in 2014 and 2015.

The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to settle with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for a payment of $3,100. The eight sanitary sewer overflows that occurred between July 2014 and June 2015 could have been subject to penalties of $100,000 each.

“We, of course, recommend settlement, but I still believe this tends to be a money grab by the Maryland Department of the Environment,” said John Tustin, the county’s director of public works.

According to Tustin, the first overflow was the result of a complete electrical failure in one of the Mystic Harbour pump stations that caused a grease trap to overflow near Sunset Grill. Three of the other overflows were related to the ongoing upgrades in the Ocean Pines wastewater collection system. Another came after a mechanical failure at a pump station. The remaining overflows were the result of small leaks identified by staff throughout the year.

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