Today, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) announced the extension of the public comment period for the Modified Consent Decree Phase II Plan Report. DPW is now accepting public comments pertaining to this document through April 18, 2023. Comments may be submitted directly to Michael Shipman via email Michael.Shipman@baltimorecity.gov.

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted DPW approval to extend the public comment period for the MCD Phase II Plan Report.

On January 19, 2023, DPW released the Modified Consent Decree Phase II Plan Report, and posted the plan on the Department’s Website for review and comment in accordance with the Modified Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree.

The Modified Consent Decree (MCD) for Baltimore City’s sanitary sewer system was entered on October 6, 2017, and requires additional rehabilitation to address sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from the sanitary sewer system. SSOs may have multiple causes, including infrastructure failure, roots, or clogs in the sewer system.

The rehabilitation effort involves cleaning, repair, and/or replacement of public sewer infrastructure and is being conducted in two separate phases. Phase II will include additional necessary sewer rehabilitation projects that will be designed based on the performance of projects completed in Phase I.

To view the Phase II plan and to sign up to receive notifications related to the MCD Phase II Plan, please visit the following DPW webpage: https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/sewer-consent-decree.