Calvert County Government’s Post

This week we will explore the cost for Stream Restorations and Watershed Improvement Projects paid for largely by TAX Payer Money. Sediment Pollution, also known as Tomato Soup, is just one part of the problem. Once damage is done to the creeks, the costly restorations follow. March 11, 2024 Durham's Board of County Commissioners voted on a Southeast Durham Watershed Improvement Plan that will cost the CITY and COUNTY taxpayers $3,130,729.47 JUST to create a PLAN to improve the watersheds damaged by all the sediment and stream bank erosion. This cost does NOT include the implementation of the Watershed PLAN once created. This is the cost just to create the plan. There are two recent studies that give a comprehensive assessment of the watershed and local creeks. Why can't we use these assessments? Study 1. The UNC Collaboratory completed a study in December 2023 titled The University of North Carolina FALLS LAKE STUDY, the Final Report to the North Carolina General Assembly. Legislation was passed to provide $500,000 annually for the study. Study 2. Dr. Burkholder and other scientist also published an article titled, "Watershed Development and Eutrophying Potable Source-Water Reservoirs in a Warming Temperate/Subtropical Regin" in November 2023 as well. Dr. Burkholder states, "It tells a sad story in general about the lack of protection for drinking source-water reservoirs across the Southeast, with Falls having among the poorest in water quality condition." In this YouTube video, Tina Motley-Pearson explains the watershed issues. https://loom.ly/EMEG8KU The funds to create this PLAN ONLY will come from Durham City and County! Durham County will fund $910,895.51, while Durham City will find the remaining $2,219,833.96

Heirs’ property is a significant cause of land loss. To address this concern, a team of leading educators in the field have designed a three-part training program to help community members take action to protect their lands. The three sections walk participants through an overview of heirs’ property, strategies for preventing heirs’ property, and key considerations in resolving heirs’ property. The Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher Policy Research Center, the Southern Risk Management Education Center (SRMEC), and the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) are anchor partners in the effort through funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Farm Service Agency, and the National Resource Conservation Service. Target Audience: The train-the-trainer workshop is designed for Land-Grant professionals who will, in turn, use the materials to provide training to families and communities in their home states. The USDA defines heirs’ property as land that has been passed down informally from generation-to-generation. In most cases, it involves landowners who died without a will. Heirs’ property is land owned “in common” by all of the heirs, regardless of whether they live on the land, pay the taxes, or have ever set foot on the land. Geographic areas heavily impacted: Appalachia Colonias of South Texas Mississippi River Delta Region Native American Tribal Lands Southern Crescent Region (Blackbelt Region) Continue to follow the SDFR Policy Center for future Heirs Property Training dates. Continue to follow the SDFR Policy here: https://lnkd.in/eF4rjVXq https://lnkd.in/euj4WTMK https://lnkd.in/e4q2BCcV https://lnkd.in/edfnaczD https://lnkd.in/eqEPv9W7... https://lnkd.in/eBHaiVEX

Heirs’ property is a significant cause of land loss. To address this concern, a team of leading educators in the field have designed a three-part training program to help community members take action to protect their lands. The three sections walk participants through an overview of heirs’ property, strategies for preventing heirs’ property, and key considerations in resolving heirs’ property. The Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher Policy Research Center, the Southern Risk Management Education Center (SRMEC), and the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) are anchor partners in the effort through funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Farm Service Agency, and the National Resource Conservation Service. Target Audience: The train-the-trainer workshop is designed for Land-Grant professionals who will, in turn, use the materials to provide training to families and communities in their home states. The USDA defines heirs’ property as land that has been passed down informally from generation-to-generation. In most cases, it involves landowners who died without a will. Heirs’ property is land owned “in common” by all of the heirs, regardless of whether they live on the land, pay the taxes, or have ever set foot on the land. Geographic areas heavily impacted: Appalachia Colonias of South Texas Mississippi River Delta Region Native American Tribal Lands Southern Crescent Region (Blackbelt Region) Continue to follow the SDFR Policy Center for future Heirs Property Training dates. Continue to follow the SDFR Policy here: https://lnkd.in/eF4rjVXq https://lnkd.in/euj4WTMK https://lnkd.in/e4q2BCcV https://lnkd.in/edfnaczD https://lnkd.in/eqEPv9W7... https://lnkd.in/eBkD7jes

📢 Texas Lawmakers Urge Public Utility Commission to Investigate Undine Residents in Hideaway Lake and Lindale are reporting dramatic water bill increases, with some charges surpassing $1,000 per month. In response, lawmakers have called on the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate Undine, LLC over irregular billing practices and inadequate explanations. State Senator Bryan Hughes and Representative Cole Hefner are pushing for urgent action to safeguard impacted communities. Read more: https://hubs.li/Q02YPJfb0 #TexasNews #WaterBills #PublicUtility #CommunitySupport

One issue will decide Arizona’s future. Nobody’s campaigning on it. - Tucson Sentinel, Oct 23, 2024. This story was originally published by Grist. The outcome of state legislative races in swing districts will determine who controls the divided state legislature, where Democrats are promoting new water restrictions and Republicans are fighting to protect thirsty industries like real estate and agriculture, regardless of what that means for future water availability The outcome of state legislative races in swing districts will determine who controls the divided state legislature, where Democrats are promoting new water restrictions and Republicans are fighting to protect thirsty industries like real estate and agriculture, regardless of what that means for future water availability. "This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here." The morning temperature is nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit as Keith Seaman sweats beneath his bucket hat, walking door to door through the cookie-cutter blocks of a subdivision in Casa Grande, Arizona. Seaman, a Democrat who represents this Republican-leaning area in the state’s House of Representatives, is trying to retain a seat he won by a margin of around 600 votes just two years ago. He wants to know what issues matter most to his constituents, but most of them don’t answer the door, or they say they’re too busy to talk. Those that do answer tend to mention standard campaign issues like rising prices and education — which Seaman, a former public school teacher, is only too happy to discuss. “We’ll do our best to get more public money into education,” he tells one man in the neighborhood, before turning to the constituent’s kindergarten-age daughter to pat her on the head. “What grade are you in?” “Why are you at our house?” the girl asks in return. Seaman has knocked on thousands of doors as he seeks reelection this year. While his voters are fired up about everything from inflation to abortion, one issue doesn’t come up much on Seaman’s scorching tour through suburbia — even though it’s plainly visible in the parched cotton and alfalfa fields that surround the subdivision where he’s stumping for votes. That issue is water. In Pinal County, which Seaman represents, water shortages mean that farmers no longer have access to the Colorado River, formerly the lifeblood of their cotton and alfalfa empires. The booming population of the area’s subdivisions face a water reckoning as well: The state has placed a moratorium on new housing development in parts of the county, as part of an effort to protect dwindling groundwater resources.  Click on link or see comment section for the rest of the article. https://lnkd.in/gNJdeb64

📢 Texas Lawmakers Urge Public Utility Commission to Investigate Undine Residents in Hideaway Lake and Lindale are reporting dramatic water bill increases, with some charges surpassing $1,000 per month. In response, lawmakers have called on the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate Undine, LLC over irregular billing practices and inadequate explanations. State Senator Bryan Hughes and Representative Cole Hefner are pushing for urgent action to safeguard impacted communities. Read more: https://hubs.li/Q02YPcRz0 #TexasNews #WaterBills #PublicUtility #CommunitySupport

#JuniataCounty Commissioners Approve Memorandum of Understanding for Implementation of Countywide Action Plan. Grant funding to install #conservation practices in the #ChesapeakeBay Watershed in Dauphin, Perry, Juniata and Mifflin counties https://lnkd.in/e56g4V37 #CentralPA

But did you know...for the first time in the program’s history, demand exceeded available funds. Communities requested more than $535 million for wastewater projects. . FYI - Governor Tony Evers announced that Wisconsin is devoting $444 million to address aging wastewater systems in 2025. . The money is awarded through the Clean Water Fund Program that’s overseen by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story - https://lnkd.in/gZER8hmB #wisconsinwastewater #wastewater #wastewaterfunding #cleanwaterfund #cleanwaterfundprogram #wastewaterfinancing

A great new report, called “Water Wars: How Corporations Play the Long Game” tells the story of campaigns in Pennsylvania to prevent the corporate takeover of water resources. It has valuable lessons for New Jersey water and sewer customers. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eQMkD6xi

EPA’s new Lead and Copper Rule better protects children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and child care facilities, getting the lead out of our nation’s drinking water, and empowering communities through information. This rule is will help our nation work our way to a copper and lead-free pipe future by 2037. Inventory services lines is due by Oct. 16 from the states. #MakeWavesWithWASDA #WaterInfrastructure Eddie Morrison Theresa Jaime David Shaw Nathaniel Peirce Rory Budds JB Butler Troy Dressler Anne Forrest Tim Hallmark Doug K. Rich Schaefer Marty Mazzella Greg Davis Emma Wiegers Perry Kevin King Claire Morley Greg Velz Jason Fraser