Page 18 - Port of Baltimore Magazine - July/August 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
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July/August 2013
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Workshop Services & Specialty Products
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Moss Marine USA
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Attendees Flood
BPA’s Stormwater Forum
T
he Baltimore Port Alliance (BPA) devoted its monthly
meeting agenda in May to a single issue — the stormwater
regulations and fees.
Speakers from Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties,
Baltimore City and the Maryland Department of the
Environment explained the proposed fee to a well attended
audience. The stormwater fee is part of a state-mandated
requirement for jurisdictions to have a stormwater program in
order to reduce pollution caused by rainwater flowing across
impervious surfaces like roofs and pavement. Numerous
maritime-related businesses, such as auto processors with
acres and acres of asphalt, would be particularly impacted
by the fee, even though many have stormwater pollution
prevention plans in place.
“We knew the impact on our members, and they were
concerned but were not really educated as to what was going
on,” said Paul Kelly, Chairman of the BPA. “We learned a lot.”
The stormwater forum was organized by the BPA’s
environmental committee, led by Capt. Mike Reagoso,
and featured Kimberly Burgess, Chief of Surface Water
Management for Baltimore City; Ronald Bowen, Director
GREENPORT
of Anne Arundel County’s Department of Public Works;
Vince Gardina, Director of Baltimore County’s Department
of Environmental Protection and Sustainability; and Jay
Sakai, Director of Water Management Administration for the
Maryland Department of the Environment.
BPA members had time to ask questions and explain how
the proposed fees threaten the economic vitality of Port-
related businesses.
But the BPA seems to have gotten its message across as
well: On June 4, Baltimore City officials proposed to reduce
the fees significantly for Port-related companies, and the final
city budget, passed by the City Council on June 17, limited the
fees for businesses to 20 percent of property taxes.
