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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

THE PINEY RUN PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION

v.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND

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CIVIL NO. Y-98-3124

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G. Macy Nelson, Esquire, Towson, Maryland, for Plaintiff. Linda S. Woolf, Esquire, Baltimore, Maryland, and Michael B. MacWilliams, Esquire, Baltimore, Maryland, for Defendant. YOUNG, Joseph H., Senior United States District Judge Date: February ___, 2000

MEMORANDUM OPINION I. The Piney Run Preservation Association ["the Association"] is a non-profit citizens' group whose activities include the protection of a stream known as Piney Run in Baltimore County, Maryland. Members of the Association reside The

in Baltimore County in the vicinity of the stream.

Maryland Department of the Environment ["MDE"] has designated Piney Run a Class III-P stream, which signifies that it -1-

supports the growth and propagation of trout and serves as a source of public drinking water. The Defendant, the County

Commissioners of Carroll County ["the County"], operates a sewage treatment plant ["the Plant"] in Hampstead, Carroll County, Maryland. The Plant discharges treated sewage into

Piney Run pursuant to a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ["NPDES"] permit issued by MDE. The permit

allows the County to discharge certain listed pollutants into Piney Run, but heat is not one of the pollutants listed in the permit. In 1991, the County sought to modify its permit to increase the amount of effluent it discharged into Piney Run. After MDE determined that the increased effluent would comply with all applicable requirements, several landowners challenged the determination and requested an administrative hearing. They asserted that the Plant's current level of

discharge violated the maximum temperature criterion for a Class III-P stream and contended that an increased flow would continue the thermal pollution of the stream. The temperature

criterion at issue is found in the Maryland Administrative Code ["COMAR"], which under the heading "Criteria for Use III Waters

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Maryland Law