SILVER
SPRING, MD – Montgomery County environmental specialists,
reviewing the state’s proposed environmental mitigation measures for where the
Intercounty Connector (ICC) will cut through the Upper Rock Creek area, have
recommended that the county Planning Board ask for greater protection of the
sensitive watershed.
The board, which provides advice on local
environmental and park issues to the State Highway Administration (SHA) and
other agencies working on the highway, will hold a public hearing at
approximately 1 p.m. Thursday to consider the proposed environmental
protections for the Upper Rock Creek Special Protection Area.
Montgomery County’s Special Protection Areas
protect sensitive, high-quality stream systems – which include forests and
groundwater recharge – by limiting construction and requiring extra environmental
protection measures. The Montgomery County Departments of Permitting Services
and Environmental Protection join county environmental planning staff in
reviewing all projects within Special Protection Areas. The Upper Rock Creek Special
Protection Area, which contains Upper Rock Creek and North Branch, is bordered
by Woodfield Road, the North Branch of Rock Creek and Muncaster Mill Road in
central Montgomery County.
While the ICC is a state highway project not subject
to county laws, highway officials have said they would respect the Special
Protection Areas in the ICC’s path and participate in hearings with the
Planning Board so the public could scrutinize its proposed environmental
measures.
In a report to be heard by the board on Thursday, specialists
from the county Department of Permitting Services who reviewed the SHA’s
proposed stormwater management said the protections don’t go far enough to
protect sensitive resources. According to the specialists, the plans do not meet
minimum design requirements for water quality, water recharge and channel
protection and require significant changes to do so.
In addition, the state’s reforestation plans fall
short, county environmental planning staff said. Under county forest protection
rules, the state should reforest about 87.5 acres to compensate for forest to
be cleared in the SPA. Instead, the state has proposed 40 acres of new forest planting
in the watershed. Environmental reviewers also have recommended lengthening a
proposed highway bridge over a North Branch tributary to better protect a forested
wetland in the stream valley, reflecting one of the county’s goals for the
Special Protection Area.
Visit our ICC page to learn more about highway plans.
WHO:
Montgomery
County Planning Board
WHAT:
Public hearing on proposed environmental measures in
the Upper Rock Creek Special Protection Area to mitigate for the ICC
WHEN:
Thursday, February 21, approximately 1 p.m.
WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD