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1. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in its 2020 Infrastructure Report Card* rated Maryland’s stormwater infrastructure C (mediocre, needs attention). Is there a similar report card for

There is not an individual breakdown per County.

2. How old is the Tantallon stormwater infrastructure? How often is it inspected? When was it last inspected and what were the results of the inspection? (Failed drains & culvert at K-8 site)

The infrastructure is built with the communities. It ranges in ages from approximately 70 years old to as recent as a few years old. There is not a set schedule (i.e., bridges or SWM facilities) but the County inspects approximately every 5-10 years. Developers are required to inspect all systems that they tie into.

3. What standard was our stormwater management system built to?

The standard depends on when it was developed. Portions of the community were developed prior to many of the stormwater regulations that exist today. The current County Standards can be found in the Drainage Design Manual.  https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4782/Stormwater-Management-Design-Manual-PDF?bidId=

4. Where are Tantallon Best Management Practices (BMPs) located?

Click the link to view the map identifying existing BMPs in the Swan Creek/Tantallon watershed demonstrating WQ and volume control.   BMP’s (referring to Stormwater Management BMP’s) can be found on the following map through the Department of the Environment. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dc168a43d3554905b4e4d6e61799025f

5. What is the water quality of Swan Creek?

The County is not required to provide water quality tests at the creek level. It is tested at the watershed level (i.e.: Potomac River)

6. What is the current quality of stormwater flowing into Swan Creek?

The County is not required to provide water quality tests at the creek level. It is tested at the watershed level (i.e.: Potomac River)

7. What is the boundary of Swan Creek watershed stormwater that flows through the National Golf Course?

Click the link to access the map that identifies existing BMPs in the Swan Creek/Tantallon watershed demonstrating WQ and volume controls. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dc168a43d3554905b4e4d6e61799025f

8. Is the county in compliance with state and federal stormwater requirements? What is not in compliance?

The County is under a consent agreement from MDE/EPA to provide a designated number of acres of treatment for impervious surfaces not controlled by BMPs.

9. Does PG-DoE monitor rainfall? Where is our nearest monitoring station? Are we in compliance with air quality requirements?

DoE operates and monitors rainfall (precipitation) gauges in the Anacostia River and Western Branch Watersheds which fall in the north and central County. The nearest County operated gauge to Ft. Washington is at Water Street in Upper Marlboro.  Private entities like Weather Underground and Weather Bug collect rainfall data in the Ft. Washington area.

EPA establishes national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for six common air pollutants - carbon monoxide, lead, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. (Awaiting MWCOG confirmation of the status of (non)attainment status for Washington metropolitan region).  

10. What percent of Prince George’s County is impervious?

The County’s geographical area is approximately 490 square miles; Impervious is 48 Sq. Mi. = 9.8%

11. What percent of Tantallon is impervious?

Approximately 512 acres of ~ 1,188 acres = 43%.

12. Where exactly is the “Noon Property” that will benefit from K-8 tree replacement?

The Noon Property is near Avalon ES (7302 Webster Ln, Fort Washington, MD 20744). It is owned by PGCPS and used for off-site tree preservation credits. (When we take down trees on one site, we have the option of preserving, in perpetuity, trees on another site that would otherwise have been developed.)

13. Is the Swan Creek watershed in compliance with our stormwater permit? What is out of compliance?

To the extent that we know, there are no specific State/Federal non-compliance issues identified for Swan Creek/Tantallon.

14. ASCE rates Maryland roads C. Is there a rating for Prince George’s County roads?

There is not a County rating (see state): https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Maryland-ASCE-Report-Card-2020-Full-Sections.pdf

15. Where is the nearest rain gauge?

See response to Question 9. There are many different sources of rain gauge data. Here are several options:

https://water.weather.gov/ahps/

https://www.wunderground.com/

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1. What is the plan to upgrade stormwater infrastructure to current standards?

Currently, DPW&T plans and programs stormwater infrastructure projects based upon the severity of localized flooding issues.

2. How does Prince George’s County monitor the condition of our roads?

DPW&T has Pavement Assessment Management System (PAMS) to evaluate asphalt condition. PAMS is based on a pavement condition index (PCI) rating, which is measured from 0 to 100 (worst to excellent).

3. Do the MDE and PG DoE monitor our air quality? Where is our nearest monitoring station?

The State operates three (3) air monitoring stations in the County.  The nearest monitoring station (to the Ft. Washington) area is at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro.

4. What is the Remaining Service Life of Tantallon roads?

The remaining service life on roadway pavements varies significantly. Please see the PAMS web-map for the entire County.  This application provides the assessed pavement condition on each section of County-maintained roadway in the Tantallon neighborhood.  Click on this link to access: https://princegeorges.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b94b91ba595148edac49ae294926d61c

5. What action is taken to extend road service life?

Beyond standard pavement mill and overlay treatments, DPW&T utilizes pavement preservation techniques to extend the life of pavement, such as crack sealing, base pavement repair and a variety of slurry seal coat and micro surfacing applications.

6. What is the rate of change of Prince George’s impervious surface and how does it compare to other counties?

The County has not calculated the annual rate of change of impervious increase in the County.  The County has not compared the impervious rate change from other counties.  Impervious rates of change amongst counties would be dependent on the new and redevelopment projects conducted annually.  This information is not readily available.

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1. Can we monitor air quality, traffic speed, flows and backups on Swan Creek and Fort Washington roads before the K-8 school is built so we can see the impact of the additional school traffic?

Neither DoE nor PGCPS has readily available contractor and technical support for installation and monitoring services.

As part of the M-NCPPC Mandatory Review process (which occurs for all school projects), a traffic study was conducted and approved with recommendations set forth in the approval letter, including having a cross guard and possibly adding a signal light (to be determined by DPW&T) at each entrance of the school. 

2. What is the county’s vision for stormwater management?

Prince George’s County’s vision for stormwater management is multi-faceted and involves a long-term coordinated effort by County agencies, residents, the development community, and external government stakeholders.

Prince George’s County strives to mitigate immediate stormwater issues while holding public and private institutions accountable for meeting standards and specifications to which they have agreed to pursue development activities.  Specifically, we envision a stronger effort to work with the development community prior to, during, and following construction activities to set achievable expectations and objectives.

3. What is the plan to fix the flooding on Norwood Lane?

DPW&T has met with contractors onsite to complete maintenance and upgrades of the existing systems.

4. Do we need more BMPs in Tantallon?

All communities that pre-date SWM regulations will benefit from any additional BMP’s.

5. Why aren’t the K-8 replacement trees planted in Tantallon?

The requirement is to replace the acres of trees/woodland removed with the same or more acres of trees/woodland. There is no open land at the Tantallon site to plant acres of new trees/woodland. Instead, we are preserving the equivalent acres of trees/woodland on the Noon property that would otherwise have been removed for development.

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1. What are we in Tantallon getting for our Stormwater/Flood Control tax?

County Property Owners pay Ad Valorem and Clean Water Act Fees as follows:

Ad Valorem fees:  

5.4 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Clean Water Act (CWA) fees are applied as follows:

Administrative Fees:

All property parcels (flat fee $20.58 per parcel)

Impact Fees:

Tier One (0.6 *ESU) = $20.90/ESU [RT, R20, R35, RU]

Tier Two (1.0 ESU) = $20.90/ESU [R55, RS, R80, RR, RM]

Tier Three (2.0 ESU) = $20.90/ESU [RE, ROS, RA, RL]

*ESU = Environmental Service Unit

Fees support the following services throughout the County:

SWM public infrastructure operation and maintenance

Water Quality restoration & rehabilitation projects (CIP & CWP programs)

Drainage Relief and flood mitigation projects

Provides funding for Rain Check Rebate and Stormwater Stewardship Grant programs. 

Public/Private BMP inspections and compliance

Public BMP maintenance

New Development & Redevelopment project Inspection and Enforcement programs

NPDES Permit Water Quality Monitoring & Reporting requirements

NPDES Illicit Discharge Detection Elimination (IDDE) inspections  

Administration of Funds