What is at
stake: The Maryland Department of
the Environment (MDE) and the Army Corps of Engineers is rumored to announce
soon that they are granting permits to the homeowners to build their
bridges/piers across the tidal pond.
Want to View
A 4 minute video? Click on this
Link to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCfgIrwTz4o
Actions: Write letters and call and encourage your elected
officials to bring a halt to this potential ecological disaster.
Target
Audience: Governor O'Malley,
Congressman Frank Kratovil, Secretary of DNR John Griffin, Chairwoman Maggie
McIntosh (chair of the House Environmental Affairs Committee).
Note: Make sure you also send your letters to The Capital
and The Sun and the Washington Post.
Objective: Let them
know what is at stake. Express your view to STOP the issuance of bridge
and pier building permits.
Main Points:
Invite them to tour Sullivan Cove. Seeing is believing! It is
impossible to understand what is at stake without actually visiting the site.
"The Olde Severna Park Improvement Association's board has invited the
Governor, the Chair of the Environmental Affairs Committee (Del. Maggie
McIntosh) and Maryland Department of Environment Secretary Shari Wilson to tour
our cove in order to learn first hand what is at stake. So far, only Del.
McIntosh has responded that she will attend." Comptroller Franchot wrote a
letter on our behalf to Treasurer Kopp and Governor O'Malley requesting that
the issue be addressed by the Board of Public Works, but they have so far
declined to hear our case.
Specifically--request
that they meet with representatives from the Board of Governors of the Olde
Severna Park Improvement Association.
Protect the
Environment; don't just talk about
it—the Department of Natural Resources, the Severn Riverkeeper Association, the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation—all agree that the construction of these bridges will
cause harm to the sensitive ecosystem that serves as the super kidneys of the
Severn River by filtering out dangerous and polluting contaminants. It is also
a nursery and sanctuary for wildlife.
More
bridges, more piers—when will
it stop?
This is a
Gem to be cherished—it possesses
one of only four stands of the endangered Atlantic White Cedar on the entire
western shore of the Bay. There are sensitive bogs adjacent to the pond.
These are
not just piers. They are bridges
(causeways) across State-owned waters totaling as much as 525 feet (the
equivalent of one and a half football fields).
Environmental experts and the Department of Natural
Resources have stated that the construction will be invasive and will do
tremendous long-term, irrevocable damage. The damage potential
has not been addressed in any of the MDE approvals. In an April 15 memorandum
from Mr. Glenn Therres of the DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service, he states
that "the proposals for three piers in such close proximity across the
northern half of this wetland system may result in cumulative impacts that
could alter the hydrology and composition of the tidal wetland community and
adjacent bog."
Contacts:
Office of the Governor
The Honorable Martin O’Malley
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401
Delegate Maggie McIntosh, Chair
Environmental Matters Committee
6 Bladen Street, Room 251
Annapolis, MD 21401
ph (410) 841-3507
Secretary John R. Griffin
Tawes State Office Building
580 Taylor Ave
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-260-8101
E-mail: Jgriffin@dnr.state.md.us
Margaret McHale, Chair
Critical Area Commission
1804 West Street, Suite 100
Annapolis, MD 21401
Secretary Shari Wilson
Maryland Department of the Environment
1800 Washington Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-537-3084
E-mail: stilton@mde.state.md.us
Letters to Editor at local media:
Letters to the Editor (The Sun)
The Sun, P.O. Box 1377
Baltimore, MD 21278-0001
E-mail us: letters@baltsun.com
Fax: 410-332-6977
Letters should include your name and address, along with day and evening
telephone numbers.
Letters to the Editor (The Capital)
The Capital
PO Box 911
Annapolis, MD 21404.
E–mail: capletts@capitalgazette.com.
Fax to 410-268-4643.
Note: Limit letters to one letter a month, of no more than 300 words. Include
an address and daytime phone number, so that letters can be verified.
Letters to the Editor (The Washington Post)
1150 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20071
E-mail: letters@washpost.com
Note: Letters must be exclusive to The Post, must be signed and must include
the writer's home address and home and business telephone numbers. Because of
space limitations, those published are subject to abridgement. Due to the
number of letters we receive, we are unable to acknowledge those letters we
cannot publish.
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