Baltimore City DPW is seeking to engage community members to identify our next round of potential quality improvement projects in high-priority (1 and 2) areas in Baltimore City (maps of priority areas are attached to the email). Communities were prioritized by considering equity, environmental health factors that could be improved through these projects, and physical constraints affecting the feasibility of these projects.   

DPW needs your input on how you would like to be engaged by the DPW, to identify any stormwater quality projects you would like DPW to evaluate in your area, and to learn about any aligned projects you are leading or considering.  The types of DPW installed projects we are considering include pavement removal, rain gardens, tree planting, soil restoration (tilling the soil so it infiltrates better), and rainwater harvesting.   

Get Involved:   

• If would like to take 3 minutes to share ideas now and sign up for future events,  please take our 3 minute Sign Up & Survey here.  https://forms.office.com/g/SBktjFKHZw 
• If just want to sign up for future events/in-depth focus groups, please sign up here Sign Up Only. - https://forms.office.com/g/PkzV9x140C 
• If you have an idea for how DPW can share this opportunity to be involved in this process (meetings to attend, individuals or organizations we can contact) 
• Feel free to share this with your networks if you have them to help us get the word out and if you have existing events, DPW may be able to attend to spread the word. 
• If you would like to collaborate (especially organizations that work in one of these high-priority areas in the attached document), please let  Meghan.Hazer@baltimorecity.gov  know. 

General Discharge Permit For Discharges Associated with Construction Activities

Maryland General Permit No. 20-CP

On September 25, 2020, the Department published notice of its tentative determination to renew the current general discharge permit (14GP) for stormwater associated with construction activities and replace it with proposed General Discharge Permit No. 20CP (NPDES No. MDRC). The proposed permit applies to stormwater discharges from construction activities in the state of Maryland that will disturb one or more acres of land, or will disturb less than one acre of land but are part of a common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb one or more acres of land. The Department held a public hearing regarding the tentative determination on November 10, 2020. Notice of the hearing was included in those publications.  The public comment period concluded on December 24, 2020.  

The Department is preparing a final permit determination and is now informally seeking comments limited to these four areas: addressing climate change, timeframes related to gaining authorization, threatened and endangered species, and water quality-based limits. Further background and details on these proposed changes from the tentative determination may be found on the Department's website at: https://mdewwp.page.link/CGP.

Written comments concerning these potential changes may be considered in the preparation of a final determination. You may send your comments to  Paul Hlavinka at paul.hlavinka@maryland.gov, by mail to Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 455, Baltimore, MD  21230-1708, or by (fax) 410-537-3163, by close of business on or before Monday, September 12, 2022.

Does UMBC have wetlands?