County approves study of Ocean Pines wastewater plant after cold-weather permit concerns

Worcester County Commissioners on March 17 approved a performance-evaluation study of the Ocean Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant to identify steps that could reduce periodic exceedances of bay-restoration fee thresholds during cold months. Dallas, a Department of Public Works official, told the board the plant meets its wastewater permit but has struggled to keep nitrate-related metrics below bay-restoration limits in January and February.

The request matters because exceedances can trigger fees paid by county ratepayers and officials said the study could identify low- to mid-cost fixes (insulation, tank coverings, heat tracing or additional mixing) and produce a prioritized list of recommendations with cost estimates. "We meet our permit limits. We do not violate our wastewater permit," Dallas said, adding the study would focus on winter performance and possible operational or equipment measures to maintain microbial processes at lower temperatures.

The county’s presentation explained the project would be paid from Ocean Pines’ enterprise professional services line; staff said that line is technically $0 in the FY26 budget and the work would be covered by under-expenditures elsewhere in the Ocean Pines budget and would show as an over-expenditure in that specific line. Dallas said the county plans to direct-award the work to George, Miles & Buhrer, the firm that completed recent upgrades at another county plant, with an estimated completion timeline of about 18 weeks.

Commissioners asked whether the study is likely to provide a "silver bullet". Dallas responded it would not guarantee a single cure but would present a prioritized action list with costs. Commissioner Martino pressed on the likely turnaround time and the potential for savings to ratepayers; Dallas said any recommended capital work would likely fall into FY27 planning and budgeting. Commissioners also asked how many plants the county operates and which pay bay-restoration fees; staff said the county has nine plants and that all except Ocean Pines are subject to the fee because Ocean Pines was not built with federal or state grants.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the study. The motion was made by Commissioner Martino and seconded by Commissioner Abbott. The study’s procurement approach, estimated schedule and projected funding impact were discussed but the board did not approve specific capital funding at this meeting; any capital recommendations would return for separate review in the next budget cycle.

Next steps: staff will execute the study agreement and return with findings and recommended actions and cost estimates for any proposed capital or operational changes, which will be considered during FY27 budget deliberations.