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7540 Main Street
Suite 7
Sykesville, MD 21784
410-795-4626 phone
410-795-4611 fax
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HB 1141 & WRE Plans
In 2006, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1141, requiring detailed Water Resources Elements (WREs) to be included in comprehensive plan updates and to assist in the development of the Water Supply Capacity Management Plans (WSCMPs) to be prepared and submitted by local governments by October 1, 2009. Certain other elements of HB 1141 include expansion of sensitive area planning elements, including wetlands, agricultural conservation and forest protection criteria.
Successful WREs identify drinking water adequacy (or inadequacy) in supporting the needs of existing users and future development, especially important during times of drought and water restrictions. WREs also identify suitable receiving waters (and/or lands) to meet stormwater and wastewater treatment and disposal needs. Successful WREs are reviewed and approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for conformance with agency goals (e.g., protection of the Chesapeake Bay from excess nutrient loading), policies (e.g., Smart Growth) and applicable statutes and regulations.
Driven in part by the Federal Clean Water Act requirements to protect the Chesapeake Bay, successful WREs include and incorporate the following:
Accurate and defensible assessments of existing and future water resources are at the heart of successful WREs. Implementing comprehensive planning through the tenets of Smart Growth remains a local government responsibility. MDE and its sister agencies (chiefly the departments of planning and natural resources) provide technical assistance, review and comment. However, agency resources are finite and as the submittal deadline of October 2009 approaches, private sector consultants will play an important role in researching, analyzing, preparing and defending successful WREs.
Successful WREs require neither engineers nor attorneys. At a series of recent seminars and symposia, MDE presenters and spokespersons repeatedly recommended that counties and other jurisdictions retain consulting hydrogeologists to perform supporting evaluations and to assist in WRE development. Using GIS as an integral research tool, hydrogeology is the core scientific discipline required to assess the adequacy of existing water resources and the availability of additional supplies for future needs.
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