Month: July 2016

Pivotal moment for county planning!

We can prohibit drilling in the DCL watershed.

A group of 11 individuals and prominent business owners recognize the importance of protecting Deep Creek Lake from natural gas development, including hydraulic fracturing.  They submitted a petition to change the Deep Creek Lake zoning ordinance to bring it into compliance with the Deep Creek Lake Watershed Management Plan recently adopted by the County Commissioners.

The County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing to solicit public input regarding the petition.
 
The Garrett County Commissioners were waiting for the proposed fracking regulations from the Maryland Department of the Environment, MDE, before making a decision on the petition requesting a zoning text amendment to prohibit vertical well drilling in the Deep Creek Lake Watershed. Now that the proposed regulations are in and no mention of protecting the lake watershed is mentioned. If any protection is enacted, it will have to be decided locally. The County Commissioners have the authority to make the needed changes in the zoning ordinance.
 
Updating the county zoning to exclude drilling around our most valued asset is common sense. Deep Creek Lake generates roughly 60% of the county tax base that could be radically harmed by allowing industrial development and associated traffic. This threat was addressed in the Deep Creek Watershed Management Plan that the Commissioners already approved. The petitioners would simply like the watershed plan and county zoning to be congruent. The petition was approved by the county Planning Commission by a vote of 5 to 1.

Attend the public hearing to support the petition.

Attend this important meeting to show your support of good county planning. Adopting zoning to protect the Deep Creek Lake Watershed is our only chance to forbid fracking from entering the landscape around our greatest asset. Our tourism market is our biggest employer and revenue stream.  

Tuesday, July 12 at 6:00PM

Garrett College

Room 205, Continuing Education Building

687 Mosser Road

McHenry, MD

Send in written support for the zoning text amendment to your county commissioners. You can copy Kevin Null, County Administrator, on your correspondence.

Regular Mail

Garrett County Courthouse

South Fourth Street, Room 207

Oakland, Maryland  21550