Maryland
EPA may increase oversight of state stormwater programs in Chesapeake region – Maryland Matters
By Karl Blankenship
Chesapeake Bay Journal
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that they are “significantly off track” in meeting goals to reduce stormwater pollution and that the agency may exert greater oversight of those efforts.
The warning came in the EPA’s most recent evaluation of state-written plans that will guide their actions through 2025, the region’s voluntary deadline for meeting goals to reduce pollution in the Bay.
State and federal officials now acknowledge that the target, established in 2010, will be missed by a large margin, mostly because of shortfalls in the agricultural sector, the largest source of water-fouling nutrients to the Bay.
But runoff from developed lands also contributes a significant amount of nutrient pollution — which includes both nitrogen and phosphorus — to the Bay and its rivers. And, according to computer models, the load is increasing as more land is turned into buildings, roads and parking lots.
Although stormwater runoff has steadily increased since 2010, the evaluations released Aug. 14 mark the first time that the EPA issued a warning to all Bay states that their programs could be subject to greater scrutiny. The warning was not given to the District of Columbia, which has met its goals.
The reviews did not say exactly what actions the EPA might take. But Adam Ortiz, administrator of the agency’s mid-Atlantic region, said he wanted to see “meaningful progress” from the states.
Ortiz said the agency had not warned of possible actions over stormwater programs in past reviews because of the need to focus on agricultural runoff, which states are counting on for the vast majority of future nutrient reductions. But state and federal agencies have greatly ramped up spending for farm conservation efforts in recent years, he noted.
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“Agriculture is now going in the right direction overall, and stormwater has been the stubborn one for a variety of reasons,” Ortiz said. “It’s the toughest and most expensive, and it’s where we’re seeing the most growth with our populations and impervious surfaces.”
Ortiz said Bay states need to be more timely in issuing stormwater permits and demonstrate that they have enough staffing and funding to oversee their programs.
Much of the stormwater runoff is addressed through state-issued permits, which cover densely developed urban and suburban lands. But a growing amount of runoff comes from development in rural and dispersed areas that aren’t currently required to have stormwater permits.
Ortiz said the EPA could begin recommending that permit programs be expanded to such areas.
Kristin Reilly, director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition, which represents more than 300 organizations in the Chesapeake watershed, said she welcomed the stormwater emphasis, noting that it is an area her members have highlighted for years.
“We’re happy to see that it’s finally being called out,” she said, but added that the EPA had been unclear in its reviews about exactly what it would do to increase oversight.
She noted that states often have been late in issuing new permits and that those permits often don’t contain the specific measures needed to reduce runoff.
“It’s less about whether [the permit] was reissued,” Reilly said, “It’s more about what is in the permit. Is it a strong permit?”
The EPA’s evaluations covered plans written by each Bay jurisdiction outlining the nutrient reduction actions they plan to take in 2024-25, and it also included a review of state progress toward targets set for 2022-23. The plans, or “milestones,” are written in two-year increments as part of an effort to ensure that states are on track to meeting their goals.
If the EPA concludes that states are not showing adequate results, it can take a variety of actions to prod greater progress, such as withholding clean water grant money or forcing wastewater treatment plants to make up for shortfalls in other sectors, such as agriculture and stormwater.
Key environmental group seeks more action on Bay cleanup from feds, states
The agency has historically been reluctant to take such actions, though.
In its reviews, the EPA said all Bay states need to demonstrate that they are accelerating efforts to reduce agricultural runoff. Ortiz acknowledged there is “still a big gap” in meeting agricultural goals, but he said, “the bleeding has stopped, and we’re moving in the right direction.”
The EPA reviews also show that Delaware is particularly far off track. The state has achieved only 9% of the nitrogen reductions needed to meet its goals. “We’re in conversations with Delaware, the results have been concerning,” Ortiz said, adding “more to come.”
Among other jurisdictions, all but the District of Columbia and West Virginia were falling short of at least some targets they had set for 2023:
- Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York did not meet targets for nitrogen, phosphorus or sediment.
- Virginia did not achieve targets for nitrogen or phosphorus but it did for sediment.
- Maryland did not achieve targets for nitrogen but did for phosphorus and sediment.
The District of Columbia has met its nutrient and sediment goals, thanks to upgrades at the Blue Plains wastewater treatment plant. It also has undertaken massive upgrades to fix its combined sewer overflow system, which used to send untreated sewage into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers during heavy storms.
Most states are further off track than the EPA review indicates, though. The agency used an older version of a computer model to evaluate nutrient reduction progress. Had a newer version been used, states would have had even less progress.
The EPA said it would begin using the newer model to evaluate state progress beginning next year.
MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland woman was sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Maryland announced on Friday.
Fatoumata Boiro, 32, of Largo, will serve two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and has also been ordered to pay $6,838,558.31 in restitution.
Boiro was found guilty of conspiring to engage in a large, multi-member money-laundering operation. She pled guilty to being involved in the conspiracy and acknowledged that at least $3 million was laundered through her direct participation.
From 2021 through February 2024, she and several other individuals laundered proceeds from a significant wire fraud scheme, according to court documents.
Court documents revealed that the conspirators engaged in various financial transactions to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the wire fraud proceeds, as well as their location.
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The victims of this scheme included government agencies, organizations, and companies, such as an environmental trust, an urban redevelopment program, a medical center, a transportation company, a logistics company, a school district, a college, and a county government, officials reported.
Boiro and her co-conspirators created limited liability companies to act as shell entities, opened bank accounts in the names of these entities, and received and laundered funds from fraudulent activities.
Fourteen defendants have been charged in connection with the money-laundering conspiracy, with 13 already pleading guilty.
Officials reported that Faizou Gnora, 28, formerly of Alexandria, Virginia, remains at large.
The following includes the individuals previously sentenced:
- Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, to 114 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $13,050,827.03, and forfeiture of $1 million
- Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, Maryland, to 108 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $1,247,950, and a forfeiture of $431,750
- Victor Killen, 33, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $7,070,656.46, and a $3-million forfeiture order
- Gedeon Agbeyome, 31, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 72 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, along with restitution of $2,938,424.65, and a $2.8 million preliminary order of forfeiture
- Lawrence Ogunsanwo, 33, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $5,648,816.23
- Lakeisha Parker, 33, of Baltimore, to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and restitution of $8,306,930.95
- Martin Ogisi, 37, of Severn, Maryland, to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $11,077,044.17; and a $500,000 forfeiture order
- Kevin Colon, 34, of Curtis Bay, Maryland, to 27 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, restitution of $2,515,159.63, and a $214,518.42 forfeiture order
- Areal Harris, 27, of Hanover, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $3,159,482.83
- Emily Gil Arias, 29, of Silver Spring, Maryland to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of 2,102,919.27
- Lorena Perez Herrera, 29, of Washington, DC, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $1,473,125.58
- Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $733,941.48, and a $757,562.63 forfeiture order.
Now, Boiro will spend the next two years in prison.
(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice is suing Maryland and State Attorney General Anthony Brown, alleging the state’s “sanctuary” policies hinder the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The lawsuit claims that Maryland’s sanctuary policies are illegal under federal law and that the state’s “refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities” has had negative consequences for immigration law enforcement officials.
What we know:
According to the lawsuit, the state’s refusal to cooperate has led to facilities refusing to help transfer immigrants to federal custody.
Under the direction of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ’s Civil Division will identify state and local laws, policies and practices that violate federal laws or impede federal operations.
“When sanctuary jurisdictions enact laws to shield [undocumented immigrants] from federal law enforcement, it is not merely federal law that is violated, but the voices of everyday American voters silenced,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
The lawsuit cites Maryland’s Community Trust Act, a law that went into effect in May, which prevents local law enforcement from holding an individual without a warrant on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There is an exception for those who commit felonies or sex offenses.
What they’re saying:
The Community Trust Act law sparked pushback from local law enforcement leaders across the state, with 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs suing, and saying the law “undermines public safety and restricts cooperation” between local and federal officials.
“Such blatant disregard for federal laws that have been on the books for decades is not merely a political disagreement or passive abstention; it is deliberate, disruptive action that jeopardizes the public safety for all Americans,” the DOJ lawsuit reads. “The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution prohibits a state from obstructing Congress and the Executive in this manner.”
The Source: This information is from a Department of Justice lawsuit.
GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WBFF) — An office building in Glen Burnie was evacuated on Thursday afternoon after its underground parking garage experienced a shift in one of its floors.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department initially responded to the 7300 block of Ritchie Highway around 2:30 p.m. on July 9 after reports of a partial building collapse.
However, the department later clarified that there has been no collapse of the 10-story building.
Officials said crews are evaluating the building’s structural integrity after work was being performed in the parking garage.
All occupants were safely evacuated, and no injuries have been reported, according to Fire Captain Jenny Macallair.
The fire department is asking drivers to avoid the area while crews continue their assessment.
FOX45 News has a crew on the way to the scene, and we will provide updates as they become available.
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