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| Poll: Marylanders support increase to 'flush fee' |
| Friday, 20 January 2012 21:24 |
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Published 01/19/12
Environmentalists are touting a new poll that shows nearly two-thirds of Marylanders support raising the "flush fee" to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
The poll from Annapolis-based OpinionWorks asked 801 registered voters if they'd support increasing the Bay Restoration Fund fee - its officially name - to upgrade sewage plants and reduce stormwater runoff.
Twenty-six percent offered strong support and 38 percent said they somewhat support an increase, for a total support of 64 percent. Another 27 percent either somewhat or strongly oppose and increase, while 9 percent were not sure. "What the polling makes clear is that Marylanders are willing to spend more on clean water projects like upgrading wastewater treatment plants and reducing polluted stormwater runoff - even in these difficult economic times," Erik Michelsen, director of the South River Federation, said in a statement. The federation is one of the groups that commissioned the poll. The question did not include a specific dollar amount. The flush fee is currently $30 annually per home, usually paid as a quarterly $7.50 charge on water and sewer bills. Residents on private wells and septic systems pay the fee through their property tax bills. Commercial and industrial properties pay based on their amount of water and sewer flows. Gov. Martin O'Malley said this week he intends to double the fee for septic system users from $30 to $60. Meanwhile, he'd charge homes on public sewer based on usage, with higher users paying more. He has not yet offered further details of his plan. A task force recommended doubling and eventually tripling the fee to $90 in order to raise more money for the bay. Many environmental groups are promoting an immediate quadrupling of the fee. The fee was established during the administration of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. as a way to raise money to upgrade sewage plants, modernize septic systems and plant winter cover crops on farms. But the money coming into the fund is not enough to pay for the full schedule of sewage plant upgrades. The state is reluctant to slow down the pace of upgrades, especially as the federal bay "pollution diet" has Maryland on the hook for significant pollution reductions. The Chesapeake Bay and its rivers suffer from too much pollution from nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment. Sewage plants, septic systems and farm runoff are all significant sources of nitrogen pollution, which contributes to the bay's oxygen deprived "dead zones" each summer. The OpinionWorks poll was paid for by the Clean Water, Healthy Families Coalition, which includes the state's major environmental organizations. It was conducted from Dec. 11 to 15 and has a 3.4 percent margin of error. Copyright © Capital Gazette Communications LLC, 2012. |
