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December, 2015

THE GAZETTE
RAINY DAYS FOR MARYLAND TAX PAYERS
By: Elizabeth Colin
There is quite the controversy over the impervious surface or more commonly named
Rain Tax placed in Maryland. Despite whether you think the government has taxed landowners
unjustly, there is no doubt Maryland is in the Chesapeake water shed and there is a pollution
problem that we must address. In fact this tax can make a huge difference and the public should
stand behind the governments choice.
The Chesapeake is a very lucrative gift to Maryland, and we are constantly deteriorating
its value. With city development we have affected the water cycle. Impervious surfaces like
pavement have stopped water from infiltrating into the Earth to ground water reservoirs. With a
decrease of infiltration water is not filtered and runs off carrying revolting pollutants such as
bacteria, trash, nutrients and sediment (Maryland Rain Tax) to local streams and rivers that
eventually make way to the Chesapeake. These pollutants are changing water temperature and
with agricultural nutrient runoff that causes eutrophication, extensive algal bloom, they will
lower Dissolved Oxygen levels causing a decline in biodiversity underwater plant life, and
creating possible zones of hypoxia, dead zones. This not a foreign threat as it has occurred in the
Gulf of Mexico and they must face the consequences of creating a habitat that cannot sustain fish
therefore encroaching their own fishing resources.

A study at University of Maryland shows that the Impervious Surface Tax should raise
about $50 billion a year (King). The revenue is not planned for solely cleaning the Bay but local
watercourses by the cities being taxed and some point-source, identifiable, runoff. If this water is
not put to cleaning the waterways now it will be lost later when there is no source to sustain the
crab and fishing demands of this nation. It is an extremely expensive process to clean polluted
surfaces and this tax can be looked as an investment. Getting a start on cleaning waters, and
getting knowledge and control of the causes to the public will be very effective and profitable if
we get the public to support this tax. In fact having this tax will create a great number of jobs in
water cleanup services (King). Despite the inconsistencies within this law, how each county is
responsible for setting their own fees, and its steepness will cause strict economic management
by many local taxpayers, it is said that one cant put a price on life. Lets not put a price on
marine life

"Maryland "Rain Tax" Debunked: Stormwater Fees Are Common, Equitable Way to
Pay for Reducing Polluted Runoff." Center for Watershed Protection. Center for
Watershed Protection, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"Annapolis Maryland/The Issues/Stormwater Fee - Chesapeake Bay Foundation."
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"Facts and Myths about Maryland's Stormwater Remediation Fee." Facts and Myths
about "Rain Water Tax" Center for Watershed Protection, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
King, Dennis, and Patrick Hagan. "Stormwater Treatment in Maryland: County Costs
and Financing Options." University of Maryland. University of Maryland, n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2015.

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