Author: Admin

In rare move, judge rejects development, citing Baltimore County’s sewer problems

Bluestem Village is disapproved because of infrastructure deficiencies in the Lake Roland area

In a decision considered unprecedented in Baltimore County, a large-scale development has been disapproved on the grounds that it would negatively impact on the county’s overburdened sewage system.

Construction of Bluestem Village, an apartment and retail complex proposed along Falls Road at Bare Hills, would violate “myriad state and county laws which require all residential projects to provide adequate and safe sewage disposal systems,” wrote John E. Beverungen, Baltimore County’s administrative law judge.

“As such, the plan will be disapproved solely on this basis,” he concluded in a 27-page opinion posted online Tuesday.

While the long-contested development did not “create” the sewage problems now facing Ruxton, Riderwood, Towson and Brooklandville, it would add to them by relying exclusively on an old and deficient sewer main under Lake Roland, according to the judge.

What’s more, the Bluestem project, proposed by developer Leonard Weinberg and his Vanguard Retail group, would dispose of stormwater runoff inside the 500-acre park, which is owned by Baltimore City but managed by Baltimore County.

The Brew has been writing about sewage overflows at the park, including a large “blow-out” from a manhole that was reported by Baltimore County only after it was disclosed by this website.

The sewer main that “blew” in early August feeds into Baltimore City’s own antiquated sewer along the Jones Falls, whose frequent overflows of wastewater along lower Falls Road run downstream into the Inner Harbor.

Impact on County Development

“This is Baltimore County’s first acknowledgement that sewage overcapacity is a real problem in the Jones Falls sewershed,” Beth Miller, an architect and member of the Green Towson Alliance, said.

Attorneys and others involved in the case say the implications of the decision could be far-reaching, if upheld by the County Board of Appeals and the Circuit Court.

“This is the first time I’m aware of that lack of adequate sewage disposal has ever resulted in a negative decision, so this is significant,” a veteran zoning lawyer noted.

Equally significant, several experts said, was the opinion’s disregard of the county’s Basic Services Sewerage Map in favor of a special consultant’s report that zeroed in on wastewater issues at Lake Roland.

“The implications for other projects in the area are huge,” said Miller, who presented statistics during the administrative hearings about the impact of widespread construction on county sewers.

The rapid expansion of dorm space at Towson University and the construction of high-rise apartments in downtown Towson had already put undue strain on the sewers that funnel wastewater into a single 42-inch pipe under Lake Roland, Miller and others stated.

Adding 150 apartment units, 56,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, a potential grocery store and 584 parking spaces at Bluestem Village would contribute to unacceptable overloads, they argued.

589% Overcapacity

Because the six-acre project was not located in a “sewer deficient area,” as defined by the Basic Services Map, Vanguard’s lawyers, Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, contended that the project should be approved.

A fellow developer, Lawrence Rief, told the judge that retail stores and restaurants were “sorely needed” at Bare Hills.

Beverungen rejected the map and needs arguments and relied on a detailed report done by Rummel, Klepper & Kahl as part of a sewage consent decree between Baltimore County and the Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The engineers ran hydraulic scenarios that found that the pipe under Lake Roland would be anywhere from 103% to 589% overcapacity during major future storms.

“This is sobering testimony, especially considering the county’s own Sewer Design Manual unequivocally states that ‘trunk and interceptor sewers shall not be designed to flow at depth exceeding 90%,’” Beverungen wrote.

Equally sobering was RK&K’s finding of 541 defects in the Lake Roland sewer pipe as it tunneled under Lake Roland – “more than any other pipe segment in the Jones Falls watershed,” the judge noted in his opinion.

“The county’s own testing shows the levels of E coli in Lake Roland far exceed safe levels set forth in state regulations,” Beverungen wrote.

Some of those defects allowed rainwater to infiltrate the pipe, adding to its overcapacity, while other flaws let sewage leak out into the lake.

“The county’s own testing shows the levels of E coli in Lake Roland far exceed safe levels set forth in state regulations,” Beverungen wrote.

The RK&K report recommended that the county build a “relief sewer” to address these overcapacity issues, but “there is no evidence in the record to suggest that Baltimore County has undertaken such measures,” he said.

The county is currently building a two-mile relief sewer along Towson Run, thereby transferring likely sewage overflows from Towson to Lake Roland Park during heavy storms.

The County Department of Public Works confirmed to The Brew that no major capital improvements are planned for the Lake Roland interceptor sewer, which was built in the early 1950s.

The county, however, is completing a two-mile relief sewer along Towson Run, thereby transferring likely sewage overflows from Towson to Lake Roland Park during heavy storms.

Controversial from the Start

In 2016, Vanguard purchased a sleepy corner of Bare Hills east of Falls Road to build its upscale village.

Almost immediately, the project ran into criticism that it would increase traffic, reduce local open space, encroach on a protected stream and overburden the park with stormwater runoff. On its own webpage, Bluestem presented itself as an environmentally friendly model community.

During the ensuing three-year fight, some residents called on the county to buy the site and turn it into a western entrance to the park, while then-2d District Councilwoman Vicki Almond said she didn’t think the project would hurt Lake Roland at all.

Almond lost in her bid last year to become Baltimore Count executive, despite heavy financial support by the Smith, Gildea & Schmidt firm and its former counsel, ex-Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr.

Vanguard’s Weinberg did not respond to a request for comment. The developer has 30 days to appeal the decision to the County Board of Appeals.

Baltimore County reports a sewage spill it claims really didn’t happen

Baltimore County has rebuilt a stacked manhole that environmental activists say spewed raw sewage earlier this month at Lake Roland, a popular water recreation and nature park in north Baltimore.

County officials, however, say their quick action to replace the manhole’s missing bricks and clean up the site after a story in The Brew should not be taken as proof of any sewage problem at the park.

They say there was no sign of an “active overflow” that would have polluted the Jones Falls before the stream enters Baltimore City at Mount Washington.

Instead, the county believes that a “prior” overflow must have happened at the site – and the repairs made after the Brew story were part of a scheduled maintenance program.

Mistaken Identity?

On August 9, Green Towson Alliance described physical evidence of the sewage spill, which The Brew photographed in the vicinity of the now repaired manhole stack.

The citizen group’s evidence, however, was not “corroborated” by the utility crew that inspected the site, T.J. Smith, press secretary for County Executive Johnny Olszewski, said. (Lake Roland is owned by Baltimore City, but managed by the county.)

Meanwhile, an August 5 report of a spill at the same site – this time made by the Lake Roland Nature Council – was, in fact, a case of mistaken identity, according to Smith.

“That call was about a different manhole (one nearby, but not the same), and the report was about damage to the manhole” instead of a sewer overflow, he said.

“More double talk” is how Tom McCord, a longtime environmental activist who lives in Ruxton, described the county’s response.
The fact that no information was offered to the public about the damaged manhole until after it was “discovered by private citizens and publicized in the media makes you wonder if the county doesn’t want the people to know there are big sewer issues at Lake Roland,” McCord said yesterday.
He called the Olszewski administration’s response disappointing. “People were hoping since the election that Johnny O will be a change agent and do something about these problems,” he said.

“Blow-Out” Predicted

Roger Gookin, a retired Anne Arundel sewage contractor who produced evidence of the sewage spill for the Green Towson Alliance, says manhole 6883 was long identified as a likely spot for a significant sewage “blow-out” in the park area.

A 2012 report by consultants Rummel, Klepper & Kahl predicted that the manhole, located south of the Lake Roland dam, would undergo a sustained overflow during a major 24-hour storm.

A hydraulic model indicated that between 1 million and 1.78 million gallons of sewage mixed with rainwater could spew out of the manhole during such future storms, the latter equal to the volume of three Olympic-size swimming pools.

Such an event would violate Baltimore County’s 2005 consent decree with Maryland Department of the Environment, which calls for improvements to the sewage system that would end “SSOs” (Sanitary Sewage Overflows) going into local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay by March 2020.

(This decree is separate from a state and federal consent agreement with Baltimore City, which has pledged to end “structured” sewage overflows into the Jones Falls by mid-2021.)

65-year-old Pipeline

Under the county consent agreement, all overflows are suppose to be reported to MDE, which then places the information on a publicly accessible database.

Late last week, Baltimore County did submit a report of a sewage overflow – date and amount unknown – at manhole 6883, MDE spokesman Jay Apperson said.

McCord and Gookin say sewage likely adds to the high readings of fecal bacteria routinely found by environmental groups and by the Baltimore County Health Department at Lake Roland and surrounding streams.

The threat of wastewater leaks and overflows, they say, arises from an overburdened 42-inch pipe built in the early 1950s under the lake and alongside the Jones Falls into the city.

This pipe conveys sewage from highly populated parts of the county – from Pikesville and parts of Owings Mills on the west to Lutherville, Timonium and Towson on the east – that eventually travels through the city to the Back River wastewater plant for treatment.

During heavy storms, rainwater infiltrates the entire upper Baltimore system, according to the RK&K report.

The Green Towson Alliance and others say the county needs to build a relief sewer and also undertake repairs on the old lines, which might well be leaking fecal material and household chemicals into the lake through cracks and mismatched joints.

No Improvements Planned

The county is constructing a relief pipeline along Towson Run to handle the expected increase of sewage from an expanded Towson University, construction of Towson Row and other projects.

Otherwise, there are no plans by the Olszewski administration to make major improvements to the local sewer mains.

In his statement to The Brew, Smith defended the county as “sensitive to the Lake Roland area and the environment.”

He said the County Department of Public Works has worked consistently with the Green Towson Alliance, state representatives and county council members “in an attempt to resolve issues.”

GTA Alerts Public to Sanitary Sewer Overflow in Lake Roland Park

On August 8, 2019, Green Towson Alliance (GTA) observed and documented clear evidence of a large sanitary sewer overflow in Lake Roland Park, including a broken manhole stack in the flood plain and sewage debris caught in area bushes knee deep. Lake Roland Nature Council told GTA they reported the overflow to the Baltimore County Department of Public Works. When the overflow was observed by GTA no repairs had begun, cleanup was not evident and stream warnings were not posted.

Sewage debris after an overflow from sanitary sewer pipes in Lake Roland Park.

This large sewer spill in Lake Roland Park is a public health emergency.  Baltimore County must notify park users and needs an immediate, coordinated, multi-agency response as well as a plan to prevent future overflows. GTA calls on Baltimore County to report the event as required by law to State and Federal regulators, identify and report its causes to the public, cleanup the site and make needed repairs immediately.

The capacity of the Lake Roland Interceptor (sanitary sewage collection pipe) located under Lake Roland was the focus of an August 2017 GTA White Paper, “Is Raw Sewage Contaminating our Neighborhood Streams? Analysis of the Jones Falls Sewershed.” The Lake Roland Interceptor has smaller capacity than three existing pipes and one planned relief sewer that feed into it. Analysis shows the interceptor has the potential to overflow during rainstorms and contaminate Lake Roland and downstream waters. While direct cause and effect linkage HAS NOT been determined, an overflow, such as predicted, did in fact occur.

Baltimore County is under a Consent Decree negotiated with the EPA in 2005 because of violations of the Clean Water Act and state pollution laws. The County was ordered to take all measures necessary to comply with those laws with a goal of eliminating all sanitary sewer overflows. Water testing and reporting of all overflows is required.

Manhole 6883, according to a consultant, could overflow in a 10-year storm.

A 2012 consultant evaluation commissioned by Baltimore County recommended adding capacity to the Lake Roland Interceptor with a relief sewer as part of the Consent Decree work. Additional capacity would prevent sewer overflows during larger storms, like the ones Baltimore County is experiencing with increasing frequency. In fact, the consultant predicted this very manhole would overflow 1 million gallons in an intense storm. But Baltimore County’s Sewershed Plans do not address these overcapacity pipes under and around Lake Roland. See the Sewershed Repair, Replacement & Rehabilitation Plan and the 2017 County Water Supply and Sewerage Plan Update.

Baltimore County was given until March of 2020 to complete the 2005 Consent Decree work. Will their proposed remedies prevent sewage overflows in the Jones Falls Sewershed? Increased development, storm intensity and frequency are likely proving the County’s fixes to their sanitary sewage system are insufficient to keep our open waters clean. Sewage debris in a public park including exam gloves, condoms, feminine products, plastic bags and wipes seen on August 8th cannot be ignored.

Baltimore County says it is unaware of sewage spill at Lake Roland

A citizens group says that sewage spewing out of a manhole last week at Lake Roland posed a health risk to park users and demonstrates the need for urgent sewer upgrades in the area.

The “blowout” of Manhole 6883 west of the park’s dam represents evidence of what Green Towson Alliance calls a ticking time bomb – an aged and low-capacity sewer line that, running under Lake Roland, is unable to handle runoff during and after heavy rainstorms.

“It’s only going to get worse,” says Roger Gookin, a retired sewer contractor and former utility association president who is a member of GTA.

He says the expansion of Towson University and construction of a $350 million Towson Row, among other new development, is adding pressure to an already inadequate sewer system in Baltimore County.

Gookin said he spied the “blown” stacked manhole – surrounded by baby wipes, condoms, exam gloves, plastic bags and other debris – in a wetlands area between the dam and a boardwalk used by children, hikers and dog owners to reach Lake Roland from the Light Rail parking lot off Falls Road.

Gookin took photographs of the debris last Thursday and notified the Lake Roland Nature Council.

DPW: No Record of Spill

Jeffrey Budnitz, an officer at the nature council, confirmed that he talked to Gookin and said his group had notified the Baltimore County Department of Public Works of the sewer overflow several days earlier.

As of this afternoon, however, DPW says it has no knowledge of the spill.

“There is some confusion at this point,” said spokesman David F. Fidler. “We had no complaint about the specific manhole mentioned at Lake Roland. We did have a nearby complaint on Woodbrook Lane that may have been confused with that. So we’re trying to sort this out.”

When The Brew visited the site today, the ground around Manhole 6883 was still saturated, plastic debris fluttered on nearby tree branches, and the area had a foul odor.

The manhole is located about 30 feet from the Jones Falls. Sewage appears to have cut through the brush to the stream, which flows another six miles through Baltimore City and empties at the Inner Harbor.

According to Gookin, the sewage discharge took place at the very spot that a 2012 report by consultants Rummel, Klepper & Kahl predicted it would happen based on hydraulic modeling of the Upper Jones Falls Interceptor System.

During an intense storm, Manhole 6883 would overflow with an estimated 1 million gallons of sewage and stormwater, the report estimated.

The problem: Three sewer mains with a combined total of 96 inches of capacity join together into a single 42-inch pipe.

The report was prepared by RK&K as part of a consent decree by Baltimore County to end all SSOs (Sanitary Sewage Overflows) by March 2020. The decree was entered into with the Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland Department of the Environment to comply with the 1972 Clean Water Act.

No Relief

The key problem facing Lake Roland, says GTA member Tom McCord, is that three sewer mains with a combined total of 96 inches of capacity join into a single 42-inch pipe north of Lake Roland.

Built in the early 1950s, that pipe runs under the lake and park to reach Baltimore City’s sewer line downstream.

RK&K recommended adding capacity to the pipe with a “relief” sewer as part of the county’s consent decree work, but that recommendation hasn’t been followed.

“Additional capacity would prevent sewer overflows during larger storms, like the ones Baltimore County is experiencing with greater frequency.
“The sewage debris seen on August 8 cannot be ignored,” the Green Towson Alliance said in a press release issued today.

 

Affordable housing development proposed for East Towson

By Libby Solomon
Towson Times
June 19, 2019

A proposed affordable apartment building in East Towson is drawing skepticism from residents and environmental activists raising concerns about issues including traffic and watershed impacts.

The proposed 56-unit development on the 2.5-acre parcel between 413 E. Pennsylvania Ave. and Joppa Road, dubbed Red Maple Place, is in the early stages of the county development process. Homes For America, an Annapolis-based nonprofit housing developer, is spearheading construction and will manage the property once it is complete.

But neighbors of the property in East Towson and Harris Hill condominiums have concerns about traffic and stormwater management.

Adelaide Bentley, president of the East Towson Community Association, thinks the property is too small, and that the neighborhood is too crammed, to handle one more large apartment building. She listed buildings built in recent decades in what was once a small neighborhood of modest single-family homes — Virginia Towers, Tabco Towers, and further up the street projects like Circle East.

“Truthfully, I don’t think we need any more apartment buildings … How many places do they think they can put in East Towson? Why don’t they try someplace else?” Bentley said.

“It’s the last piece of green space that we have in the community,” said Karen Walker, who lives on Pennsylvania Avenue next door to the planned development.

Walker, an East Towson native who grew up in the tight-knit, historically African American community, said she has no problem with the fact that the units will be affordable — it is about the traffic. “We’re so crowded right now,” she said.

“Being a good addition to the neighborhood and conformance to all applicable laws, standards, and regulations is very important to us,” said Diane Clyde, vice president of development for Homes for America, pointing to the nonprofit’s track record of building 81 communities.

“We are very proud of our communities and the excellent housing we provide for our residents and the communities in which we are located. We look forward to the completion of Red Maple Place and providing high quality housing in Towson.”

The project as planned would have access from Joppa Road. Michele Yendall, secretary of the Harris Hill Condominium Association, which is next to the property, said her 56-unit community is concerned about traffic on Joppa Road, which she said already makes for near-impossible turns during rush hour. She said her community is worried about new residents using Harris Hill’s private road, McManus Way, as an access route.

“It cost us $100,000 to repave the street, we don’t want to add more cars to it,” Yendall said.

Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, said last year he amended the county’s Basic Services Map to temporarily block Red Maple Place until the county committed to traffic improvements. He said a county traffic engineer attended an East Towson community meeting last week and announced some proposed improvements including crosswalks and resurfacing.

Aside from traffic, neighborhood leaders and the Green Towson Alliance are concerned about the property’s affect on stormwater runoff, which Bentley and others say tends to pool on Pennsylvania Avenue, downhill from the proposed development.

Red Maple Place received a variance from the county Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability in May to reduce its forest buffer requirements to build on the land, which is partially forested.

Beth Miller, from the Green Towson Alliance, said while the environmental group does not oppose Red Maple Place, they believe the goals of building affordable housing could be maintained while using a smaller footprint by making the building taller and more narrow. Currently it is set to be four stories high.

“In meeting one obligation, affordable housing, we shouldn’t be undermining other obligations,” Miller said, saying undermining stormwater management and water quality to allow for affordable housing is “sort of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Community association leaders from Campus Hills, Harris Hill and East Towson all wrote letters to the county opposing the variance, as did the Towson Communities Alliance, but the variance was ultimately granted.

County officials have incentive to smooth the process for Homes for America: a 2016 conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the county to “take all necessary steps” to encourage developers to build 1,000 affordable housing units across the county over a period of 12 years, or 83 units per year.

“I remain committed to equitable and affordable housing in Baltimore County as we work towards full implementation of the Voluntary Compliance Agreement,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “We believe Red Maple Place will be an asset to the community and the residents of our county as a high-quality, affordable housing option.”

Baltimore County is providing $2.1 million in assistance to Red Maple Place in the form of a 40-year loan, county spokesman T.J. Smith said.

Qualifying units are those available to families with household incomes below 60 percent of the area median income, including but not limited to those using Section 8 vouchers. Homes for America did not immediately answer a question about what kind of affordable housing Red Maple Place will contain.

Two project-based vouchers, or vouchers attached to a unit rather than a tenant, were awarded to Red Maple Place through the Baltimore Regional Project Based Voucher Program in 2018, according to the Baltimore County website.

The HUD agreement stipulates that the county encourage development of affordable housing in wealthier areas where it is not already clustered.

Towson is one of those areas — but Marks said looking at census-level data can obscure tiny East Towson’s structural challenges. Founded by freed slaves in the 1850s, the neighborhood is historically black, and poorer than other areas of Towson. It also already contains two affordable housing buildings, Tabco Towers and Virginia Towers.

“I know one thing, they don’t go to West Towson and build all this stuff,” Bentley said, referring to a neighborhood that is, on average, wealthier and whiter than her own.

For Bentley, the problem is not the project itself — it is the site for which it is planned. She said a site like the former 7-Eleven on Joppa Road, one that is already developed, would be a better way to incorporate the building into the neighborhood and would not “interfere with anyone.”

But what Bentley really wants is for developers looking for opportunities in Towson to look elsewhere. Her neighborhood, she said, has seen enough construction.

“Building is not my expertise,” Bentley said. “But I do know if they keep building and keep building and keep building, they’re going to drown us out.”

Green Towson Alliance Volunteers Remove 5.6 Thousand Pounds of Trash from Towson Streams

During the Green Towson Alliance’s (GTA) stream cleanup month in April, volunteers cleaned up and removed 5,605 pounds of trash from local streams in Towson neighborhoods. Everything from styrofoam, plastic, glass and metal, thrown into the streams or blown in from nearby streets and alleys, was picked up by 260 volunteers. The streams can carry trash for miles, through Towson’s neighborhoods and down to the Harbor on the way to the Chesapeake Bay.

Trash taken in stream clean-up
Volunteers pose with the trash removed from the stream near the Loch Raven Library.

In the last four years, GTA volunteers have cleared out 14,000 pounds of trash and debris from local streams. This was GTA’s 4th annual stream cleanup, held in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. The streams included branches of the Herring Run and the Jones Falls/Lake Roland tributaries from Towson Run and from Roland Run.

260 volunteers participated in GTA’s 12 stream cleanups, including Towson University students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local school students, adults from surrounding neighborhoods and volunteer members of GTA.  State Delegate Steve Lafferty and County Councilman David Marks assisted at the Radebaugh Neighborhood Park cleanup site, and County Executive Johnny Olszewski presented GTA with a citation of appreciation for cleaning up local streams in the county for the last four years and improving the environment of Baltimore County communities.

Trash bags and gloves for the cleanup were donated by Mom’s Organic Market and many local businesses allowed the full trash bags to be left in their dumpsters.

Green Towson Alliance, a non-profit collaborative coalition of local Towson area environmental volunteers, works to make Towson neighborhoods healthy and green by planting trees, cleaning up streams, and removing vines that strangle trees as it works towards its goal to encourage green open space in Towson’s communities.

Encouraging the use of native plants


Much research has documented the importance of native plants in our yards, our neighborhoods, and our ecosystems. Two members of Green Towson Alliance submitted the first-ever plant exhibit using native plants in the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show in 2019, winning 2nd and 3rd Prize Ribbons for their native plant terrarium exhibits.

County Executive Thanks GTA for Improving Environment of Baltimore County Communities

GTA receives award
Marlene Riley, Faculty at Towson University; David Marks, District 5 County Councilman; Dr. Carol Newill, Green Towson Alliance leader; Julia Daniel, Towson University student volunteer; Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore County Executive.

On April 13, during the Green Towson Alliance’s (GTA) 4th annual stream cleanup, Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski, Jr. visited one of the 11 stream cleanup sites to thank GTA for improving the environment of Baltimore County communities. Volunteers cleaned up local streams, removing trash and litter to restore the natural beauty of the streams and clean the water that flows to the Chesapeake Bay.  Last year, GTA volunteers removed 6.75 tons of trash from local streams in Towson neighborhoods.

The County Executive visited the Radebaugh Neighborhood Park stream cleanup site and presented a citation to GTA, thanking this dedicated group of volunteer environmentalists for cleaning up local streams in the county for the last four years.  He also presented a citation to Towson University, thanking its students for volunteering to assist with the stream cleanups every year.

In the citation, Olszweski thanked GTA “for the past four years of organizing stream cleanups at Herring Run at Radebaugh Neighborhood Park, among the 11 additional stream cleanup sites across the county that it has committed to improving.  Your work ensures that Baltimore County will be preserved for countless generations to come.”  He recognized GTA for its dedicated service to the County.

Over 200 volunteers, including Towson University students, Girl Scouts and, community residents and associations, PTAs, county and State elected officials and GTA members, cleaned up local Towson tributaries during the GTA stream cleanup.

GTA Cleaning Up Local Streams at 11 Sites

This spring Green Towson Alliance (GTA) is cleaning up local streams in Towson neighborhoods at 11 sites, clearing out trash and debris for a healthier and more beautiful community.  GTA volunteers will concentrate on the Herring Run stream and its tributaries this year, cleaning up this local stream in 9 different locations.  Last year, GTA removed 6.75 tons of trash from local streams in Towson neighborhoods.

Over 200 volunteers, including Towson University students, Girl Scouts and, community residents and associations, PTAs, county and State elected officials and GTA members, will spend three hours at each of the 11 stream sites cleaning up local Towson tributaries.

At the Radebaugh Neighborhood Park stream cleanup site, volunteers will be joined by the new “Friends of Radebaugh Neighborhood Park” and Towson University students in preparation for the anticipated park opening in September. The Radebaugh family will take care of all the trash bags and other items from the cleanup afterwards. Delegate Steve Lafferty and County Councilman David Marks are expected to attend and help with the stream cleanup at this site.

This is GTA’s 4th annual stream cleanup. April is Stream Cleanup month, so GTA, in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, is sponsoring stream cleanups on April 6 and 13 and May 19. A Roland Run stream cleanup took place March 30.

Volunteers will clear away debris and litter to restore the natural beauty of the streams and clean the water that flows to the Chesapeake Bay. GTA, a non-profit collaborative coalition, is comprised of local Towson area environmental volunteers.

A Herring Run cleanup will be held on April 6, at Stoneleigh Elementary School and at the following sites on Saturday, April 13, from 10 AM – 1 PM:

Stream – Herring Run and its tributaries

  • Radebaugh Neighborhood Park area, from Burke Ave to Towson High School
  • Ashlar Hill from Taylor Ave to the edge of Mt Pleasant Woods Park
  • Loch Raven Library (stream is in ravine under the bridge to the library)
  • Knollwood area from Aigburth Rd south to Quincy to Stevenson Lane
  • Fellowship Forest area, from the pond north of Maryland Country Club by Lake Drive, south to Ridgewood
  • Glendale/Glenmont area, including part of Glendale Park, to Glenkirk Rd and Raven Hill Rd
  • Ridgeleigh area, from Oakleigh Rd near Redwood Ave, south to Putty Hill

Stream – Jones Falls/Lake Roland tributaries from Roland Run:

  • Thornleigh area, from Thornleigh Rd and Essex Farm Rd north to Jeffers Rd

A final Herring Run stream cleanup will take place on May 19 in the Overlook Park area.

Volunteers can sign up at https://www.allianceforthebay.org/our-work/key-program-focuses/building-stewardship/project-clean-stream/

Climate Change – Is it Coming or is it Already Here?

Climate change is already impacting our weather, our health, our food and water security and even our home gardens.  In 2018, extreme weather events occurred across the world at a record pace and intensity and scientists cite the effects of climate change as a major cause.  On March 26, Dr. Sara Via, a Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland, will offer insight into the impact of climate change, possible solutions and what we can do about it.

Presented by the Green Towson Alliance (GTA) and the Friends of the Towson Library, this special climate change “green” program, free to the public, will be held Tuesday, March 26, 7 PM – 8:30 PM.  Dr. Via will discuss ways individuals can adapt to climate change and offer possible solutions at the state, local and individual/family level. The presentation will take place at the Towson Branch of the Baltimore County Library in the Meeting Room on the lower level. Light refreshments will be served.

Dr. Via teaches Biology at the University of Maryland and lectures about human impact on our ecosystems.  For 35 years she researched the genetics of insect pests and now educates groups, including Maryland’s Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists and farmers, about the impact of climate change.

Green Towson Alliance, in conjunction with the Friends of the Towson Library, launched its innovative free series of “green” programs last fall. GTA is a non-profit collaborative coalition of Towson area environmental volunteers that works to make Towson neighborhoods healthy and green by planting trees, cleaning up streams, protecting mature canopy trees and working with local and state officials to encourage green open space in Towson’s communities.