PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — The Department of Planning and Zoning got the green light from the Calvert Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at their Jan. 13 meeting to designate a section of North Beach as a Priority Funding Area (PFA). This certification was undertaken to connect a property in North Beach to the county’s public sewer system.
Calvert County’s Health Department, Environmental Health Division (EH), approached the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) about the failing septic system outside North Beach’s municipal boundary at 3690 3rd Street, and requested state funds to connect this property to the public sewer system.
In the initial presentation to the Planning Commission on Dec. 17, Planner Tay Harris said that this was the fastest way to fix the septic system for that property, but the department did not have plans at this time to connect other properties to the public sewer system. Harris reaffirmed these plans at the Jan. 13 BOCC meeting.
The new PFA will encompass most of North Beach, with the exception of some wetlands areas that cannot be developed.
Failing septic systems can harm people living on a property and those around them, spreading bacteria and potentially causing illnesses. Properties in the county have both private septic systems or are connected to the public water and sewer system. The PFA designation is not a project to overhaul the system in the whole town of North Beach, but rather the most efficient way to get funding for a potential public health problem stemming from this property.
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