The recent outcry about the passage of a “rain tax” was prompted by an ill-informed national media outlet, this according to members of the Calvert Democratic Club.

During the club’s April 24 meeting, member Marie Duffield noted that Fox News started the hype and claims the network has delivered erroneous information to the public. “We’re all hearing about this rain tax,” she said.

Among the errors made by Fox News:

  • This is a tax on households that receive more rainfall. In fact the fees are levied on the owners of impervious surfaces that contribute additional stormwater runoff. “It’s fees to help improve the health of the bay,” said Calvert County Democratic Central Committee Member Beth Swoap. “It’s a matter of perspective.” Bay scientists have identified stormwater runoff as the fastest growing source of water pollution in the state.

  • This is a new tax. In fact, the stormwater runoff fees were approved during the 2012 Session of the Maryland General Assembly. The measure also gives the counties and municipalities the responsibility of establishing fee schedules for homes and businesses. An example cited in a “talking points” paper distributed to the meeting’s attendees points out that “Baltimore County’s plan will require single-family homes to pay $39 annually, town homes $21 and condos $32 per year. Businesses would pay based per square foot of impervious surface. Baltimore County also implemented a percentage reduction of fees for nonprofit groups, addressing one of the concerns of the new fees.” Nine counties and Baltimore City must have the fee structure in place by July 1. Calvert is not one of the affected jurisdictions.

During the presentation portion of the meeting, Central Committee Member Thomas Hausmann, who holds a master’s degree in environmental education, indicated the Chesapeake Bay was a treasure worth protecting. He noted the estuary supports more than 2,700 species of plants and animals, including almost 350 species of finfish and over 170 species of shellfish. The Chesapeake Bay produces about 500 million pounds of seafood a year.

Hausmann urged the meeting-goers to familiarize themselves with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s “excellent education program” and practice measures in their homes and gardens that will help save the Chesapeake Bay. He also exhorted his fellow Democrats to find enough money to help save the Plankton and Nutrient Studies (PLANS) for the Chesapeake Bay Program in Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS). Hausmann said the three-year federal grant that funded the program has expired and CCPS will need $30,000 next year to continue it.

Among other issues discussed at the club’s meeting was a controversial bill sponsored by two local Democratic lawmakers, Maryland Senate