More News

Legal action will not delay the permitting and designing process of an incinerator in Frederick County, according to a county official.

Michael G. Marschner, director of the county's Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management, said this week the process will continue despite an appeal filed in Circuit Court Friday.

"The [Board of County Commissioners] have already signed agreements with the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority and they have been working on the design and permitting process," Marschner said.

The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority helps counties plan and develop ways to dispose of their trash. They have contracted with Frederick County to design a joint incinerator with Carroll County. The incinerator is also known as a "waste-to-energy facility," because it burns trash to produce electricity.

Frederick County Attorney John Mathias filed an appeal Friday in Frederick County Circuit Court, asking for a judicial review of action taken by the Frederick County Planning Commission on Oct. 14.

The commission undertook a routine review of proposed changes to the county's Solid Waste Management Plan on that date. In a surprise move, commission members ruled that the proposed changes — including the county's new recycling efforts and incinerator construction plans — were not consistent with the Solid Waste Management Plan or the county's comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan, which commissioners are updating, serves as a blueprint for growth, and provides information on development, land use, transportation patterns and water resources.

The Planning Commission ruled that the view of the smokestack and the incinerator's proximity to the Monocacy National Battlefield are not consistent with the comprehensive plan, which calls for the preservation of historic sites, such as the battlefield, and the protection of the Monocacy River.

The incinerator is set to be built at the McKinney Industrial Center off Md. Route 85, south of the City of Frederick near the county's wastewater treatment plant.

Since the incinerator is also inconsistent with the Solid Waste Management Plan, which outlines how the county will dispose of its trash, the Maryland Department of the Environment will not approve permits to build it.

But Marschner said despite the Planning Commission's ruling on Oct. 14, the authority has continued to work on the permitting process.

Marschner said legal challenges from neighbors opposed to the county's transfer station before it opened in January didn't stop that process either.

The transfer station at the county's landfill on Reich's Ford Road in Frederick holds and crushes both recyclable materials and trash. Neighbors, upset about the truck traffic along Reich's Ford Road, took legal action to try to stop its construction.

Meanwhile, Mathias hopes the Planning Commission will reconsider its decision in the next 60 days to avoid a legal showdown.

On Nov. 10, Mathias presented commissioners with several options, including legal action that they can take to overrule the Planning Commission's decision. Knowing the deadline to file an appeal was Friday, one month from when the Planning Commission issued its ruling, Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (R), in a last-minute move added the issue to the agenda on Nov. 5.

Commissioners David P. Gray (R), Kai J. Hagen (D) and Thompson were the only members at the meeting to vote. Gray and Thompson voted in favor of filing an appeal; Hagen voted against.

Commissioners will ask the Planning Commission to take another vote. Thompson wants the board to ask the Department of the Environment to intercede.

E-mail Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@gazette.net.