Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley Is Seeking to Destroy Rural Property Values with Septic System Restrictions; In This Way, the State Can Destroy the Small Farmer, Buy Up Now 'Worthless' Private Property for Pennies on the Dollar, and Force Even More People to Move to Urban Communities Where They Can Be Monitored and Controlled

The United Nations' Agenda 21 action plan is Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development works to abolish private property in order to manufacture natural resource shortages and other alarms in order to facilitate governmental control over all resources and, ultimately, over all human action. So-called public/private partnerships are the major tool used to accomplish this objective. What makes the United States of America unique is that this is the only country in the history of the world where management of the natural resources is under citizen control. Everything that city residents obtain originates from the natural resources that come from rural lands. If public/private partnerships achieve control over natural resources, urban citizens are doomed. - Freedom Advocates, Transforming America: Sustainable Development, 2005

The first plank in "The Communist Manifesto," by Karl Marx, page 25: Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

O'Malley Going After Septic Systems

February 4, 2011

HometownAnnapolis.com - Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to ban septic systems for new housing developments to stem the tide of pollution leeching into the Chesapeake Bay. O'Malley made the announcement Thursday in his annual "State of the State" address in Annapolis.

"We must realize that where we choose to sleep, eat and live affects our environment and it affects our bay," the governor said. "There is one area of reducing pollution where, so far, we have totally failed and, in fact, it is actually much worse."

The environment would be well-served by eliminating systems which "by their very design are intended to leak sewage ultimately into our bay and into our water tables," he said. The ban would be in effect for new developments of five or more buildings, according to the administration.

"This is common sense, this is urgently needed, this is timely," O'Malley said. "We are up to this."

Anne Arundel County officials said the ban could potentially have a significant effect on development and redevelopment in Anne Arundel County, but it would depend on the specifics in a bill. Wide swaths of the county's western and southern sections remain without public sewer service.

Environmentalists cheered the governor's comments. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which has suggested the idea of banning new septics, called the governor's proposal "a bold step."

Requiring new homes to be on sewer systems, which do a more efficient job of reducing nitrogen pollution than septic systems, is key to restoring the health of the bay. There are about 430,000 septic systems in Maryland, and about 145,000 more could be added in the next two decades, according to projections from the Maryland Department of Planning.

Septic systems contribute nearly 7 percent of Maryland's nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.

In a statement, CBF Maryland Executive Director Kim Coble said:

"All the progress we hope to make in reducing pollution from other sources - wastewater treatment plants, urban and suburban streets, coal plants, cars, farms - all could be undone if we continue to allow sprawl growth using septic systems in our rural areas. It will be one step forward and two steps backward."

Housing worries

The real estate industry is not as enthusiastic. Tom Farasy, president of the Maryland State Builders Association, said banning septic systems could cause development to come to a halt in large stretches of the state.

"It's all over the state. I think every county has septic development, with maybe the exception of Baltimore City," said Farasy, a developer who works in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

The building and development industry is still struggling to recover after being hit badly by the recession. This proposal could hurt the industry even more, Farasy said.

Farasy also worried that the governor is using this proposal to push through a significant change in growth and development policy. The banning of septic systems could be a property rights issue, too, as some landowners would now have land that suddenly wouldn't be able to be developed, he said.

Those concerns were echoed by some lawmakers after the speech.

Del. Michael Smigiel, R-Cecil, said in a statement the ban on septic systems would be a "direct attack on the private property rights of rural landowners."

"This will destroy the ability of working class Marylanders to have affordable housing," he said.

Del. Herb McMillan, R-Annapolis, who serves on the House Environmental Matters Committee, said the proposal was a "laudable goal," but said he has concerns over the cost and reach of such legislation.

"When your housing market is not going very well … do you really want to do this?" McMillan said. "It is somewhat of an ambiguous statement and a pretty broad statement."

Septic systems and sewage plants send nitrogen and phosphorus into the water, where they fuel the growth of algae blooms. When the algae die, they suck life-sustaining oxygen from the water, which harms fish, crabs, oysters and other marine life.

Maryland and other states around the bay are making a renewed effort to cut pollution and improved water quality through a "pollution diet" ordered by the federal government.

O'Malley Wants to Ban Septic Systems

February 3, 2011

Washington Examiner - Gov. Martin O'Malley says he wants to ban developers from installing septic systems in new housing developments in Maryland. The proposal would prohibit developers from installing an underground septic system — the most common method for draining sewage in Maryland's rural communities — in developments with at least five homes, according to legislative aides. The bill is still being drafted.

O'Malley slipped the proposal into his 27-minute State of the State address on Thursday, creating an immediate, audible buzz among lawmakers representing the state's rural communities.

"There's some real questions marks on [O'Malley's] proposal to ban septics from the rural area," said Republican Sen. E.J. Pipkin of the Eastern Shore. "What impact does that have on rural areas and private property rights?"

O'Malley says the ban would help prevent sewage from leaking into the Chesapeake Bay.

"This is a direct attack on the private property rights of rural landowners in Maryland," said Republican Del. Michael Smigiel, also from the Eastern Shore. "This will destroy the ability of working-class Marylanders to have affordable housing."

Going Down the Drain

Our view: Gov. O'Malley proposes an important, if controversial, boost to Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts with a limit on use of septic systems

February 6, 2011

Baltimore Sun - For 150 years, the technology of the septic system has been little changed. It remains a large tank where household waste is deposited; sediments accumulate at the bottom while liquids are allowed to slowly drain into the soil.

When working properly, septic systems protect human health from pathogens and allow rural areas to support housing and other types of development. But tanks and drainage fields do little to prevent nitrogen from leaching into the groundwater.

The environmental consequences on local streams and rivers of that shortcoming can be significant — septic systems account for an estimated 3.6 million pounds of nitrogen poured into the Chesapeake Bay each year. And there are rivers in rural areas where septic tanks account for 30 percent to 40 percent of the local nitrogen load. Experts forecast that developers will add 145,000 new septic systems to the state over the next two decades.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's call last week to limit the creation of large subdivisions with traditional septic systems was easily the highlight of his State of the State address. It is a bold, if necessary, step in preserving Maryland's water quality.

But it will not be easily accomplished. Rural lawmakers, developers and contractors are already up in arms. Expect them to be joined by farmers and other property owners who could see the value of their land diminished.

Nothing stirs controversy quite like land use issues, and counties have resisted the intrusion of state governance over land planning before. But Maryland can ill afford to allow rural development to continue unchecked. Even the counties recognize this, as several on the Eastern Shore have already placed similar restrictions on large subdivisions.

Nevertheless, the consequences of what the governor has proposed could be profound. Farmers who might suffer a loss in land value may merit some type of compensation. Lawmakers will need to find ways for government to encourage more appropriate forms of development so homebuilders will have work and the next generation of Marylanders a place to live.

Make no mistake, a ban on large-scale septic-based development is not a vote for "no growth" but for smart growth. Instead of busting up farm fields, this measure would steer developers toward focusing on revitalizing older neighborhoods and building in areas served by public water and sewer. That may be as significant a result of this law as the reduction of nitrogen itself.

Meanwhile, legislators should also endorse a separate proposal to require enhanced septic tanks (which can reduce nitrogen discharge) for all new homes and businesses where public sewer is unavailable. The technology is already required of homes and businesses built along the waterfront.

Together, these measures could make a real difference in protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. And without such changes, the concept of smart growth in this state will continue to be nothing more than a pipe dream as Maryland continues to lose farms and open spaces to unchecked development sprawl.

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