Critics want more environmental testing of the former golf courses at Turf Valley in an effort to stall the bill extending water and sewer to an additional 40 acres of the Ellicott City development.”There is a fundamental issue of the public?s environmental health and safety,” said Marc Norman, a resident and critic of Turf Valley development, speaking at a Howard County Council public hearing Monday.
“The problem is no one knows what chemicals have gone down in that course.”
Bills to bring public water and sewer to new developments are brought to the council when opposition exists, and critics of the Turf Valley development, which is owned by Mangione Family Enterprises, are using this as a forum to argue environmental concerns, said Jim Irvin, director of thecounty?s Department of Public Works.
However, this bill is simply to allow the county to charge the developer fees for public water and sewer once the land is developed.
“This is not the right place to have this debate,” Irvin said.
Two years ago, 13 samples were tested for environmental hazards, and the land was found not to pose any threats, said Richard Talkin, attorney for Mangione Family Enterprises.
But more representative samples should be taken, said Kathy Hudson, chairwoman of the environmental committee of the Howard County Citizens Association, a nonpartisan organization and advocacy group.
Irvin said the County Council will need to decide eventually when water and sewer will be extended even if the current bill is not passed.
