Ellicott City Students Help Stabilize Stream Banks Alongside Maryland Governor

Ellicott City students were joined by Gov. Martin O’Malley Tuesday on the banks of the Upper Little Patuxent River for a hands-on lesson in environmental education.

Fifth-grade students from Hollifield Elementary School helped install erosion control in an area where workers have been regrading the banks and restoring the stream bed.

The State Highway Administration is overseeing restoration at the Ellicott City waterway to offset some of the damage runoff has done to the bay from other roads, according to WJZ.

To stabilize the soil and protect newly planted vegetation, students and O’Malley rolled out burlap matting along the stream bed.

“In Maryland, we’re investing in restoring our Chesapeake Bay for all of those who depend on her for recreation or for a livelihood, and projects such as restoring streams have a direct and immediate positive impact on the bay’s health,” O’Malley said in a statement. “We stand on the threshold of a tipping point in which the bay can once again flourish, and all of us are partners...”

The $1.7 million project in Ellicott City is included in the $600 million funding package O’Malley announced Tuesday to support the environment over the next five years, according to the statement.

County Executive Ken Ulman said in a statement that Howard County has more than 50 treatment projects in the works to limit pollution.

Through the state funding package, the Maryland State Highway Administration will restore 62,513 linear feet of streams; plant more than 679,000 trees; remove 76 acres of pavement; upgrade 13 stormwater outfalls; and construct and upgrade 1,780 stormwater treatment facilities to improve the quality of water running off pavements and surfaces, according to O’Malley. Funds will come from the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013.

One commenter identified as “Citizen Watch” wrote on Ellicott City Patch that the governor was not practicing what he preached: “If O’Malley wants to help the Chesapeake Bay then he shouldn’t allow a huge natural gas exporting facility RIGHT ON the Bay at Cove Point.

Cove Point in Calvert County used to be a gas import site, where owner Dominion now plans to construct a gas export facility by the end of the year, according to Capital News Service, which reports environmental groups have staged statewide protests due to concerns that Maryland may turn to fracking, a controversial method of gas extraction that could contaminate groundwater.

Photo Credit: Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Related:

• Governor Postpones Visit to Ellicott City Stream Restoration Site
• Governor Martin O’Malley Visits Dunloggin Middle School to Highlight Environmental Education