Published: October 10, 2008 09:37 am         

EPA pushes for Mount Savage water compliance

County commission hesitant to draft letter on plan to link system to Frostburg

CUMBERLAND — A federal government agency has told Mount Savage Water Co. that action needs to be taken on coming into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act or residents face the risk of the system being shut down.

Dan Williams, president of the private water company, said during the Allegany County commissioners meeting Thursday that the Maryland Department of the Environment turned the issue over to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because the water system is in violation of a federal law. When the MDE handed over the issue, Williams said state officials told the federal agency that a plan was in place and not to worry about Mount Savage.

The plan is to tie Mount Savage into the city of Frostburg’s water system. Williams said the county’s Department of Public Works has indicated working in that area around April 2010, which coincides with the deadline given to the town by the EPA. Williams asked the county to draft a letter to EPA saying the project would get under way by then. Williams said that letter must be received by the end of the month.

“If we don’t do something, they’re going to come in and shut down the water system,” Williams told the commissioners. “When they come in and close the valve, somebody who generally sits in your seat has to say, ‘Where do we get water?’”

County staff identified the water system as a top priority in a December 2007 public works presentation.

“We all agree, I’m sure, that the Mount Savage project is our No. 1 priority,” Commissioner Bob Hutcheson said at the time. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time. We have to do something about this.”

County Administrator Vance Ishler said it’s the county’s desire to help Mount Savage. But Rawlings is in a similar situation. And putting a letter in writing without knowing what the cost will be to the nearly 250 water customers served in the area is not an enviable situation.

Williams said water customers currently pay $50 on a quarterly basis, and Frostburg officials, who have determined they can handle the capacity required by Mount Savage, have said the projected cost would be up to $95 every three months.

Ishler, however, said that figure is “a totally unrealistic number” and opined the number could be closer to $150 every quarter.

Ishler expressed a concern that any letter to the federal government could put Allegany County on the hook should the April 2010 deadline not be met.

Steve Young, director of the county Department of Public Works, echoed Ishler’s caution.

“Money is going to be the key,” Young said. “We’re looking at millions of dollars” and even “if the money (was available) today, we would probably be hard-pressed to have that up by April 2010.”

And the money isn’t available, which caused county officials a deeper reluctance to put something in writing saying work could begin within the next 18 months.

“I find it hard to believe MDE would close the valve,” Young said. “My recommendation ... I would be very, very careful of what (a letter) says.”

He said since MDE is the regulatory agency over water, it’s “their problem.”

Ishler later said that while the water is in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act, it’s not “unsafe” water. Much of the issue surrounds the process by which the water is tested. The water is safe for drinking and is not a health hazard, Ishler said.

County Attorney Bill Rudd recommended that he and county public works staff determine exactly what kind of assurances the EPA is looking for and then respond as the commissioners direct.

Williams made the motion of handing over the keys to the system to Young.

“Don’t give them to me, give them to the EPA,” Young said.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.