SNOW HILL — After learning that the town of Ocean City has been exempted from a state mandated apartment and condominium recycling program, the Worcester County Commissioners voted not to enforce the new law on the handful of rental and condo owners operating outside of the resort.
The recycling mandate is a provision of House Bill 1-Environment-Recyling-Apartment Buildings and Condominiums, passed by the Maryland General Assembly in April 2012. Property owners affected by the bill, which requires recycling in condos and rentals containing 10 or more units, have until Oct. 1 of this year to comply with the mandate.
The county, however, does not planning on enforcing any penalties associated with the bill, making the legislation effectively moot in Worcester. There are 13 apartment buildings and condos in the county that would fall under the provisions of the bill. There would have been dozens more impacted with the resort considered.
“The Town of Ocean City has been exempted from the law because of space requirements, whatever that might have been,” said Public Works Director John Tustin.
Tustin admitted to the commission that he couldn’t really explain why properties in Ocean City won’t be required to comply. The town was originally included when the bill was passed but subsequently received an exemption. Ocean City currently has no general recycling program, having cut the service in 2010.
With Ocean City out of the equation, the owners of the 13 apartment and condo buildings within Worcester but outside of the resort were asked to meet with county staff to discuss the ramifications of the bill.
“Recycling Manager Ron Taylor scheduled a meeting on July 15, 2014 with the 13 apartment and condo owners to discuss the bill and to give a little background into the bill, its purpose, requirement of the owners, what materials were to be collected and the reporting procedures set forth in the bill as well as any penalties that could be imposed. Unfortunately, none of the owners showed up at the meeting,” wrote Tustin in a memo to the commission.
If the owners do not comply with the mandate to provide recycling for apartment buildings and condos with 10 or more units by the October deadline, they could have been subject to a civil penalty of up to $50 per day for each day a violation exists. But with Ocean City, by far the largest source of condo properties in Worcester, out of the picture, the commissioners decided that it wasn’t fair or proper to hold the few owners outside of the resort up to a much higher level of scrutiny. They voted 6 to 1, with Commissioner Louise Gulyas opposed, not to enforce the fines.
The county isn’t exactly going rogue from the state by choosing to avoid enforcement. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has stated that it’s the county’s call on whether to apply penalties.
“David Mrgich, Waste Diversion Chief, was asked what the ramifications would be if Worcester decided not to enforce the law,” Tustin continued in his memo. “He indicated that it was up to the county to enforce and collect the fines if they wanted to …”
Gulyas, Ocean City’s commissioner, suggested the issue needs to be looked into further before the commission just votes to ignore enforcement. The rest of the commissioners did not share the sentiment, with Commissioner Virgil Shockley pointing out that it would be difficult to require enforcement on a dozen or so property owners when Ocean City has been granted an exemption.