A view of the Conowingo dam from the shore. Stock.adobe.com photo by Paul.
Maryland environmental officials are restarting a controversial permitting process that would eventually enable Constellation Energy to continue operating the Conowingo Dam for another half century.
The future of the dam along the Susquehanna River, considered a significant source of Chesapeake Bay pollution, has been the object of regulatory wrangling and litigation for several years.
In December, a federal appeals court vacated a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to grant Constellation a license to keep generating hydroelectric power at the dam.
The judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that FERC had violated the federal Clean Water Act in giving the permit, after the state of Maryland and Constellation scrapped a water quality certification process they had originally agreed to. That agreement between the state and Constellation prompted a coalition of environmental groups, led by Waterkeepers Chesapeake and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, to sue; the court agreed with them that FERC “had no authority to issue a lease based on a private settlement arrangement” between the state and the national energy giant.
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The court ordered that FERC merely grant Constellation an annual license for Conowingo Dam until the legal and procedural issues can be resolved.
On Thursday evening, officials at the Maryland Department of the Environment notified Constellation and the environmental groups that launched the lawsuits that the agency would renew the process for awarding Constellation a water quality permit. That permit, which was originally issued in 2018, is necessary for FERC to grant the 50-year license to Constellation to continue generating hydropower at the dam.
In a letter from MDE Assistant Secretary Roberta James to attorneys representing the parties in the lawsuit, the state said it was giving Constellation and the environmental groups 60 days to respond, offering them “the opportunity to supplement that information [from the 2018 review process] by providing any new, updated, and relevant information which the parties would like the Department to review.”
Separately, Maryland Matters has learned that MDE is also opening a 30-day comment period for members of the public to express their views about water quality issues at the dam in writing. The agency would then begin to assemble the feedback from the public and the parties in the lawsuit in August and would issue a renewed permit, with potentially different standards and guidelines from the original permit, at an undetermined date.
“Ensuring a revitalized Chesapeake Bay for the benefit of all Marylanders is a top priority,” Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a statement. “As we move ahead with the reconsideration of the 2018 Water Quality Certification we will be transparent, we will welcome input and we will work collegially with all parties for a healthier and more vibrant Bay.”
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Conowingo Dam is a major regional energy installation, but it also plays an important role in the health of the Chesapeake Bay. It is designed in part to catch much of the sediment and nutrient pollution that comes from upriver in Pennsylvania, which, according to federal and regional environmental regulators, is the source of much of the agricultural pollution that in the bay.
However, powerful storms can tax the dam’s capacity, pouring millions of pounds of pollution into the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake — potentially jeopardizing Maryland’s attempts to meet the federal government’s pollution reduction goals for the bay.
Two months ago, all 10 members of Maryland’s congressional delegation wrote to McIlwain, urging her to ensure that environmental protection measures for the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watershed are central to any new licensing agreement that FERC would consider for the dam.
“As you know, the Chesapeake Bay is both a national treasure and an economic engine for our region, and for decades the federal government and watershed states have worked together to clean up this vital resource,” the lawmakers wrote.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Michigan State has an excellent chance to make a strong statement this weekend that the rebuilding job under new head coach Jonathan Smith is ahead of schedule, if the Spartans can take down 8-point favorite Maryland on Saturday.
A Michigan State victory would be a strong statement within the football industry, but maybe not as strong from a fan perspective. I’m not sure Maryland’s football brand is as respected in the state of Michigan and regionally as it should be, for a program that has gone 8-5 in the past two seasons and defeated Auburn and North Carolina State in bowl games the past two years.
Maryland is good. The Terrapins are coming off a 50-7 victory over a weak UConn team last week. Maryland’s offense looked very good against a weak, soft, conservative UConn defense.
Michigan State’s defense was ahead of schedule last week against a mediocre Florida Atlantic offense. Michigan State’s offense was behind schedule, experiencing inconsistent accuracy and decision-making at the quarterback position, which was somewhat understandable considering it was sophomore Aidan Chiles’ first start as a college player. MSU’s running game also lacked consistency, especially in short yardage and in the red zone.
The big news from Maryland last week in my opinion was the excellent play of new starting quarterback Billy Edwards. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt-junior had waited behind the outgoing, record-breaking Taulia Tagovailoa for three years. Tagovailoa left Maryland as the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader. He went undrafted and is now playing in the CFL.
Edwards looked good last week. He’s strong in the pocket, is a physical ball carrier on designed runs or scrambles. He was accurate over the middle on intermediate routes, and seemed to do a good job processing coverages, although UConn’s coverages were simple, slow and soft.
I saw this Michigan State vs Maryland game as a swing game on the schedule prior to the season. But considering how well Edwards and his receivers looked last week, and Michigan State’s sputtering start on offense, this game goes from being a swing game to uphill slog for the Spartans.
One teen shot another during a dispute in a Maryland high school bathroom Friday in what authorities called an isolated incident.
The victim, a 15-year-old student at Joppatowne High School, was in serious condition after being airlifted to a hospital, the Harford County Public Schools said in a news release, citing information it received from the county sheriff’s department.
A 16-year-old student whom police identified as the shooter fled shortly afterward but was caught minutes later nearby, according to the news release. Officials said no information would be released immediately about the weapon, which had not been recovered.
The state’s attorney has said the suspect will be charged, the release said, citing Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
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Shortly after the shooting, the sheriff’s office asked people to avoid the area, but emphasized that the confrontation was an “isolated incident, not an active shooter.” A parent-student reunification center was established at a nearby church. More than 100 personnel responded to the high school about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Baltimore, Gahler said.
The fight happened two days after a shooter whom authorities identified as a 14-year-old student killed four people at a high school outside Atlanta. Wednesday’s attack renewed debate about safe storage laws for guns and had parents wondering how to talk to their children about school shootings and trauma.
Michigan State football heads out east looking to open Big Ten play with a big-time victory.
The Spartans will play at Maryland on Saturday afternoon in their first conference game of the year. Michigan State enters this matchup with a 1-0 record on the year following last week’s win over Florida Atlantic. Maryland is also 1-0 thus far on the season, picking up a blowout non-conference win over UConn last week.
Maryland enters this game as a more than touchdown favorite depending on the sports book. The Terps have won the last two meetings between these two schools.
Below are the details for Saturday’s matchup between the Spartans and Terps:
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Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET on September 7
Location: SECU Stadium (College Park, Md.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
Listen: Spartan Media Network or MSUSpartans.com
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Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.
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