Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. honored BRRC president “Captain” Jerry Ziemski at a Back River stakeholders meeting last week.     photo by Randy Leonard

Stakeholders vote on slogan, hear I-95 issues

by Randy Leonard

    While a seemingly endless trove of tires, bottles and drift logs have been pulled from its sandy bottom, this is not the bounty referenced in the river’s new theme, selected by a show of hands from attendees of a meeting last week.
    “Scenic Back River – Discover the Hidden Treasure,” of course, refers to the natural beauty of the waterway being both uncovered and discovered  through Baltimore County and community efforts at restoration and education.
    “This is a good slogan,” said Candace Croswell, manager of the Capital Program and Operations Section for the county’s Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management. “And we will use it wisely.”
    About 90 people attended what was the second meeting of county officials and members of the Back River Restoration Committee and communities at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant on Oct. 7 to discuss projects to better Back River and to hear a presentation on measures designed to limit the impact of the I-695/95 interchange on the waterway.
    Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. commended BRRC founder and president “Captain” Jerry Ziemski.
    “I thank you for your participation,” Smith said.
    Nancy Pentz of DEPRM and Croswell presented the goals for the watershed and citizens’ issues gleaned from input from stakeholders since their first meeting in July.
    The county received $2.25 million in federal stimulus money to go toward the proposed dredging of “The Cut” and build a protected beach on Pleasure Island, Croswell said.
    Plans are progressing for a garbage collection  boom to extend under the I-695 bridge.    
    “We’re getting closer,” Croswell said. “It looks like it is going to go in in March.”
    “We need to educate everyone” about the fact that what goes down the storm drains ends up in the river, Croswell said.
    Attendees heard presentations on massive cleanup events at the area known as “the flats” on Back River and on Bread and Cheese Creek.
    Croswell encouraged the efforts of citizens like Rosedale resident Clark Testerman, who has collected over 100 tires from the river for the county to pick up since Aug. 29.
    “If you’re going to do that, we’re going to help you,” Croswell said.
   
I-95/ I-695 construction
     In response to BRRC member complaints about silt and clay clouding the river from the I-95/I-695 interchange project, Maryland Transportation Authority project manager David Labella presented his department’s measures to mitigate runoff.
    But residents complained that, despite the double silt fence, slope planting and stone barricades to slow flow, sediment finds its way to Stemmers Run and on to Back River. “The river’s still orange,” said Battle Grove resident and BRRC vice president George Malone.
    Investigation uncovered that a silt fence fell over in the major rain storm that occurred the weekend of Aug. 29, when residents observed the distinct orange tint to the water, Labella said.
    To get a better understanding of the level of particles in water entering and leaving the construction site, the transportation authority placed turbidity monitors in four locations near the construction.
    “We installed them last week,” MdTA consultant Bill Park said.
    Eileen Staughan, a  consultant for MdTA, said once completed, the project will provide improvements in stormwater management  that were not part of the original construction – including meandering culverts, wetlands and “daylighting” of previously piped portions of Stemmers Run.

Future action
     Completion of a Small Watershed Action Plan is expected in January, Croswell said. The plan will include measures for citizens to carry out as well as shoreline and stream restoration projects planned by the county.
    Locations considered for stream restoration include Bread and Cheese Creek, Croswell said Friday.
    A second cleanup of “the flats” is scheduled for Nov. 7 and a shrimp feast and membership drive will be held Nov. 15 at Hawks Pleasure Club in Essex. 

 For more information call the Watershed Management program at 410-887-5683 or visit www.savebackriver.org.