Friends, 

The Friends of DCL Board wish you a very Happy, Peaceful New Year--- with lots of time to enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities which abound at our lake. 

During the off-season, Friends of DCL Board keeps working to realize our mission to promote stewardship, conservation and restoration of DCL and its watershed. During the winter we move to Annapolis to education and advocay for our lake. The focus of 2017 is passage of the State Lakes Protection and Restoration Fund, a mechanism to generate state funds for  lakes which addresses a major barrier of insufficient allocation of public funds for DCL and other lakes. Senator Edwards and Delegate Beitzel will be leading this bill, supported by our lobbyist, Eric Gally. We will need your help once a hearing schedule it established-- stay tuned!

We had our first meeting on the Fund issue and our perspective on fracking with Senator Ronald Young from Frederick. Attending were: Richard Matlick, Sudi Press, Ron Gregory, and Jean White-- all lake property owners. It was an excellent exchange and we plan to doing more of these sessions in the coming weeks. We would love to have you join us to meet these hard working public servants-- let us know if you are available, please.

                                       Upcoming event:

January 23, DCL Policy and Review Board Meeting, 6 pm, Discovery Center. There will be no tele-conferencing available; to send comments write to Chair Greg Snook at gsnook@nfis.com
Agenda items: Canada Goose Hunt; Lake Management Budget; Wake Boats.


   Update on DCL water quality--- MDE report lists DCL impaired for “Urban  Runoff/Storm Sewers”. Previous listings: in 2014 for elevated temperatures
               in Cherry Creek and in 2012 for “excess sediment”.

The Federal Clean Water Act requires States to assess the quality of their waters every two years and publish a list of waters not meeting water quality standards. This list of impaired waters is included in the State’s biennial Integrated Report (IR) of Surface Water Quality. The Draft IR is can be found at http://www.mde.state.md.us/integratedreport303d.

January 23 is the deadline for public comments. FoDCL plans to submit comments urging action on DCL impairments and adoption by MDE of best limnology practices for water sampling in lakes. At this point MDE rates the DCL impairments as "low" priority and does not anticipate action within the next two years. 

We have written to PRB Chair Snook to review these findings. The other local entity which could act would be the Deep Creek Watershed Advisory Council, but after almost a year, it has yet to be formed. 

                                        Update on Fracking.

The following is an attempt to provide you with compilation of recent actions, polling results, policy statements and newspaper editorials. We are committed to keeping you informed-- but this a fast developing process! 

Top policy makers in Annapolis statements.

     President of the Senate, Senator Mike Miller announced his position at a opening day breakfast. Watch this video: http://thedailyrecord.com/2017/01/11/video-environmental-issues-raised-at-annapolis-summit/
Miller states says he could support a moratorium but would need the leadership of the state delegation, Senator Edwards and Delegate Beitzel, to support a ban since they serve as representatives of the impacted district. Of course, the issue for non-resident property owners at DCL and elsewhere in the county is these elected officials are not elected by us. 

     House Speaker Michael E. Busch said during the summer he is leaning toward supporting a ban, but wants to hear more about the state’s proposed regulations first.“The first thing you have to do is try to understand what those regulations are. If you don't believe that satisfies the problem, then I think the next step is to ban fracking,” he said.

Elsewhere in Maryland—adoption of fracking bans.

Today, the majority of Marylanders live in a locale which supports a fracking ban. Actions have been taken from the following counties: Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore. Baltimore City joins municipalities of Rockville, College Park, and Greenbelt. In western Maryland, Mt Lake Park led the way, joined by Friendsville last year and just recently Frostburg supported a ban. Focus for next organizing effort: Cumberland.

Legal support for Bans.

State Attorney General Brian Frosh has found that “ local jurisdictions may, in certain cases of local zoning and where concurrent jurisdiction exists, effectively ban fracking in their own jurisdictions.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-md-frosh-fracking-20150225-story.html

Polling-- no professional-conducted poll has been conducted to determine the views of Deep Creek Lake property owners. Friends of DCL considered hiring a professional firm but found it was too costly.

     OpinionWorks poll found that Maryland voters support a ban on fracking by a 2-to-1 margin, with a 56 percent majority supporting the ban and only 28 percent opposed. In Garrett County, the margin of support for a fracking ban is more than 2-to-1, with 57% in support of a ban and only 27% opposed. (This result is based on statistically significant “oversampling” of voters in Garrett County, the first likely target shale for fracking in Maryland.) By a 3-to-1 margin, voters say they are more likely to vote for a legislator who supports a fracking ban, with 40% more likely and only 13% less likely.Voter intensity is significantly higher on the pro-ban side: 25% of voters are much more likely to support a pro-ban legislator, compared to only 7% who are much less likely.

    Polls from the Washington Post and Goucher College also found strong majority of Marylanders opposing fracking.

In the press:

     Editorial in Baltimore Sun 1/2/17 concludes a “ban on fracking a win-win for everyone except perhaps the U.S. oil and gas industry. . . If Maryland earns a national reputation for being ultra-cautious about its precious water resources, so much the better.” http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-fracking-20170102-story.html

     Cumberland Times News focused editorial on insufficient facts to support fracking.
http://www.times-news.com/opinion/editorials/not-convinced/article_9ca9a18f-1f2e-50b3-8c18-81ea06b27111.html

     The Republican Newspaper regularly runs editorials challenging the benefit of fracking for Garrett County. 

Fracking supporters statements:

     Delegate Beitzel spoke to support MDE fracking regulations at rally and hearing in late December. https://youtu.be/mIHb7J1u80Q

     The Cumberland Times News conducted excellent set of interviews  with the state delegations from Garrett and Allegany Counties. http://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/md-officials-differ-on-fracking-benefits-risks/article_35a39d3e-e428-54ca-bd04-a62fa559cd2f.html .

      The Petroleum Institute has purchased huge pop-up ad buys in major media markets-- assume you have not been able to avoid them. We urge you to read them to better understand the messages.

Time table on the fracking debate in the General Assembly. 

The bill or bills may be introduced in the coming week.It is unclear whether a bill will start in the House or the Senate. At that time the hearing schedule will be developed.

                                        Event schedule:

Thursday, Jan 26, 4-6 PM: 22nd Annual Environmental Legislative Summit (Annapolis).

Saturday, January 28, 1-2:30 PM: Western Maryland Sierra Club Legislative Preview (Frostburg).

Sunday, Feb. 19th, 3-9 PM: Don't Frack Maryland Ban Launch (Frostburg).

Monday, Feb. 20th, 5-8 PM: Sierra Club Lobby Night (Annapolis).

March 2nd-Western Maryland Lobby Day and Don’t Frack Maryland March and Rally (Annapolis). 

For details check with the following web sites: Citizen Shale, Don't Frack Maryland, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Engage Mountain Maryland. We will also do our best to keep you updated. 

Next steps for concerned citizen involvement, .
      If you live in the state of Maryland, please determine who your State Delegate and Senator are. Go to the following link and enter your address and zip code.   mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage&tab=subject6&poptype=find&popid=


      Determine if your representatives are on the House Environment and Transportation committee or the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. There will be some final assignments made before start of session. If your reps sit on either of these committees, please let us know

IT IS GOING TO BE A VERY BUSY TIME IN ANNAPOLIS IN THE COMING MONTHS, WE ASK YOU TO MAKE A DONATION TO FRIENDS OF DEEP CREEK LAKE TO HELP UNDERWRITE THIS EFFORT. 

To donate, you can go on to our web site  http://friendsofdcl.org/donate/ to download a donation form , write a check or provide us with credit card information. You may also donate using PayPal. You can mail donation directly to FoDCL, 779 Chadderton School Road, Oakland, MD 21550.

A very Happy New Year to all!