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Sugarloaf Citizens' Association Newsletter 2007 |
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How to contact us: Sugarloaf
Citizens' Association 20900 Martinsburg
Read Ph. # 301-349.4889 Ph. # 202-331-2956 |
"Fighting to
protect our rural legacy" Visit our web site:
www.sugarloafcitizens.org |
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You Are
Invited to the 2007 Annual Meeting Sugarloaf will hold its Annual Meeting on Saturday
April 28 at 10:00am at our Our guest Speaker this year will be Delegate Craig
Rice. AGENDA: Election of 2007/2008 Officers Guest Speaker Briefing on Mirant Power Plant (see news article) Briefing on the County Agricultural Policy Working
Group Briefing on Zoning Issues Briefing on New High Tension Power Lines in the AG
Area Presentation of Winners of the Piedmont
Environmental Foundation Grants The SCA Officers Placed in Nomination: President: Jim Brown Vice President: Ellen Gordon Secretary: Claire Gunster-Kirby Treasure: Jane Hunter |
Mirant to
Install New Scrubber and
Another Stack The Dickerson Generating
Station (Mirant, ex-Pepco) recently announced plans to comply with the State
of Mirant will be
installing new pollution controls that will "scrub" some
95-98% of the facility's sulfur dioxide
emissions by 2010. The new pollution controls
will also reduce mercury emissions since Mirant has decided to use a
"wet" scrubbing process that yields gypsum for
wallboard as a byproduct containing the mercury. A new 400 foot high flue stack will be installed to
handle the scrubbing process and a 150 foot tall absorber stack will also be built
while existing stacks will remain. Wastewater from the new system will be treated in a new facility on site.
Construction is expected to start in August
2007 and the project to be completed by November
2009. Most of the construction material is to be delivered by
rail. SCA has received assurances that Mirant
will develop a traffic plan to handle the hundreds of construction trucks
that will have to utilize Hwy 109 and 28 as
well as Barnesville and Martinsburg
Roads. New traffic control mechanisms will
be installed at the intersection of Composting Facility Environmental Grants The
Piedmont Environmental and Education Foundation that SCA helped create
following a legal settlement with Mirant has awarded its first environmental
grants. One award has been made to the A
second grant has been awarded the Poolesville High School Global Ecology
Program for an Earth Day project. Reports will be made by students from both
schools at the SCA Annual Meeting on April 28. |
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Sugarloaf Citizens' Association, Inc. Newsletter 2007 President: Jim Brown Vice President: Ellen
Gordon Secretary: Claire
Gunster-Kirby Treasure: Jane Hunter Other Board Members: Tina Brown Anne Cinque Jay Cinque Eric Cronquist Jim Evans Matt McMillen Dolores Milmoe Tom Proctor Anne Sturm |
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COUNTY AGRICULTURE POLICY WORKING GROUP A special SCA committee composed of Anne Cinque, Jane
Hunter, Claire Kirby, and Dolores Milmoe has completed a review of the
recommendations of the Ad Hoc Agricultural Policy Working Group formed by the
County Council in 2006. The committee's recommendations which were adopted by
the SCA Board were presented on February 22 to the County Planning Board by
Sugarloaf's Board member Anne Cinque. The main comments to the County's
Working Group were the following (The full SCA testimony is available on the
SCA web site): 1. SCA agrees with the recommendation for increasing
the receiving areas of Transfer Development Rights to include
industrial, central business districts and commercial zones. SCA urges the
County to tighten up its tracking procedures and supports efforts to
implement the recommendations. 2. SCA supports the current law on Child Lots but
stresses that the original intent should be enforced and the County must put
in place an enforceable monitoring mechanism. "Bonus density"
should not be allowed. The Five year residency requirement should be
extended, and "flipping" the property should not be allowed. SCA
supports the position that child lots could be created after death as long as
the intent is documented in a will or similar legal document. 3. On_Sand Mounds the SCA endorses the
strong position taken in the Master Plan against alternative sewage disposal
systems in the-RDT zone. 4. SCA maintains that the County needs to develop
standards for Termination Easement Programs similar to those adopted
by the State regarding the Legacy Open Space program. 5. SCA is opposed to the County Working Group's
recommendation on Impervious Surfaces. SCA supports a 15% limitation
on impervious surfaces in the RDT area. A landscaping business has proposed a special exception
to allow it to locate on These incude
damage to local historic and rustic roads because the expected spike in
traffic and the existing weight limitations for several small bridges on
Martinsburg and other rustic roads, as well as noise, dust, diesel fumes,
fire hazards, and contamination of local ground water. In addition, the
landscaping business proposes to use portable toilets stationed on a truck at
the site as the only means of sanitation! SCA has notified the County of our alliance with
local neighbors and our plans to testify at the April 26th hearing at Park
and Planning in |
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Sugarloaf Citizens'
Association Annual Drive Name: Address: Phone: Email: Please send your tax deductible contribution to: SCA, $50 $100 $200 $250 $300 $500 $1000 Other |