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Baltimore's stormwater fee
is needed to clean the harbor
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"It may be hard to picture, but it's possible for us to have clean waterways in the Baltimore region."
In an op-ed published in today's Baltimore Sun, BCF's director of neighborhood sustainability Cheryl Casciani made the case for the city's proposed stormwater fee.
Read a short excerpt of the op-ed below, and click here to read it in full on the Baltimore Sun's website.
Stormwater runoff is a long-ignored and growing source of pollution and sediment. Today, we have dedicated funds for the pipes that carry wastewater (sewage) and drinking water, but there is no reliable source of funds to upgrade the stormwater pipes.
Funds collected through the fee will be dedicated specifically to job-creating projects that improve our stormwater system and to other projects that filter and clean water, such as planting trees and grasses and restoring streams. And a group of leading environmental and business interests is forming to monitor the fee and make sure the funds are used to improve the stormwater system.
We have ignored the runoff problem for too long. This pollution source will continue to grow, and solutions will be more expensive as we build more structures and pave over more open space. We must act now to begin undoing the damage our paved landscape is causing. We urge Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the City Council to create a fee that is fair and broad-based.
Click here to continue reading.
BCF invests in the livability of neighborhoods because they are at the core of Baltimore's economic vitality and civic health. We aim to help communities become and remain safe, clean, green and vibrant. For more on our work in neighborhoods, click here .
For more on our advocacy efforts, made possible by our Civic Leadership Fund, click here.
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