St. Mary’s County Agrees to Settlement to Stop Wastewater Discharges, Pollution of Oyster Beds, and Harm to Watermen and the General Public
Washington, DC – August 1 – Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) and the State of Maryland have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against St. Mary’s County’s Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) to halt persistent and illegal discharges of raw sewage from its sanitary sewer system into the Potomac River and its tributaries, PRKN President Nancy Stoner announced today.
Said Stoner, “For five years, MetCom’s sewage spills have sent raw sewage streaming into our streams and rivers and storm drains, contaminating oyster beds and exposing the public to serious health risks. In 2022, PRKN notified MetCom and the State that it intended to sue MetCom over these illegal discharges. Maryland and PRKN joined forces in the lawsuit and have achieved a settlement requiring MetCom to take immediate steps to halt sewage overflows and to undertake a comprehensive plan for upgrading its whole system to ensure they do not recur. The result is a win for the river, the oysters, watermen, and the public.”
Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper, added, “The steps to halt raw sewage discharges into the Potomac are among the most significant in the history of the Potomac watershed and certainly the broadest in my 20 years of fighting for clean water. I am so proud to have been a part of it. Everyone will have a safer river – and safer oysters – because of it.”
The settlement, detailed in a proposed consent decree filed with the Maryland court today, requires MetCom to take immediate action to upgrade pump stations that have been the source of repeated sewage spills. The Commission is then required, over the course of at least the next nine years, to conduct comprehensive inspections and studies of its entire system and conduct repairs to ensure that the system has adequate capacity and is properly inspected, maintained and operated to avert future sanitary sewage overflows. Further, the agreement requires Metcom to develop an emergency response plan in the event of future spills to notify the public, clean up of the spill, and investigate the cause. Finally, the settlement requires MetCom to pay a civil penalty of $250,500, with half of that amount directed to the Potomac River Fisheries Commission to conduct a supplemental environmental project to restore oysters in the Potomac River.
Naujoks concluded, “The residents of St. Mary’s County should not be at risk of illness from illegal discharges of sewage from municipal treatment plants. Clean water is a fundamental public right.”
PRKN is represented by Van Ness Feldman LLC, a law firm specializing in energy, environmental and natural resources law.
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Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization with three regional Waterkeeper branches: Potomac Riverkeeper, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, and Shenandoah Riverkeeper. Our mission is to protect the public’s right to clean water in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and their tributaries. We stop pollution to enhance the safety of our drinking water, protect healthy river habitats, and enhance public use and enjoyment.
