On July 11, 1995 the Montgomery County Council unanimously
designated the upper Paint Branch watershed as a Special Protection Area (SPA).
The upper Paint Branch watershed is defined as the entire watershed north of
Fairland Road, the same area designated in 1980 by the State of Maryland as a
"Special Native Trout Management Area."
The Upper Paint Branch SPA includes additional safeguards to minimize the impacts
of development, and imposes an impervious surface cap of 10 percent for new
development throughout the headwaters area.
Any project, public or private, must meet Montgomery County SPA regulations and
guidelines in order to locate within the SPA (Chapter 19, Section 19-62.C,
Montgomery County Code). A project must demonstrate, through a water quality
plan, that certain site-specific watershed goals are met. The Montgomery County
Department of Permitting Services and Montgomery County Planning Board must
approve the water quality plan before any project can proceed. In the Upper
Paint Branch SPA, meeting watershed protection goals requires that the project
implement measures in four areas:
- Site imperviousness - There is a 10 percent upper limit on
impervious surface area within the site boundaries. Limiting site
imperviousness is considered a best management practice that is implemented in
addition to storm water management and sedimentation and erosion control
measures. Proposed projects must provide alternatives, such as redesign of
layout or site plan to reduce impervious surfaces, purchase off-site land
within the same sub-watershed to protect as "pervious reserve" land,
or change or reduce uses in the project, in order to stay within the limit if
the original project submission exceeds 10 percent. If site imperviousness
still exceeds 10 percent after all feasible options are incorporated, then the
project must request a waiver, on which the Planning Board acts.
- SPA buffers - Buffers around natural features such as streams, wetlands, seeps, springs, and
floodplains are defined and preserved as undisturbed conservation areas. If a
proposed project encroaches within such buffer areas or natural features, the
project must be modified to avoid or minimize encroachments when feasible. If
buffer encroachment cannot be avoided, the project must request a waiver; the
Planning Board acts on the waiver.
- Storm water management measures - Measures must be shown
to meet goals set forth in the water quality plan. Measures are in-series to
better ensure long-term effectiveness. Measures are collectively used to
accomplish such goals as maintaining stream base flow, preventing erosive storm
water runoff, preventing stream temperature impacts, and protecting seeps,
springs, and wetlands.
- Sediment and erosion control measures - Measures must be
shown to meet goals set forth in the water quality plan. Stringent measures are
used to accomplish such goals as minimizing sediment loads to receiving stream
systems.
The SPA law, regulations, and guidelines are found in the following documents:Chapter 19, Article V, Sections 19-60
through 19-68 of the Montgomery County Code; Montgomery County Executive
Regulation 29-95, Regulations for Water Quality Review - Special Protection
Areas; Environmental Guidelines - Guidelines for Environmental Management of
Development in Montgomery County, approved by the Montgomery County Planning
Board, February 1997; Montgomery County Emergency Bill No. 24-00, Real Property
Disclosure, Special Protection Area.
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