To the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, December 8, 2014
A private organization, Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc., has submitted a proposal to become the “managing entity” of a new Heritage Area that would extend from Daniels to Elkridge, including half the length of the Patapsco River and 5000 acres of Patapsco Valley State Park.
The stated purpose of the Maryland Heritage Area designation is to “increase the economic activity associated with tourism” by “creating opportunities for small business development, job growth, and a stronger tax base”.
The Management Plan proposed by PHG, Inc. describes construction of riverfront parks, trails, trailheads, parking facilities, and an overlook above the Thomas Viaduct. None of these projects have been approved by the Park Service.
The Sierra Club position is that the State Park should be excluded from the boundary of the proposed Heritage Area until the Park Service creates its own plan for the Park with public input.
Our position was submitted as testimony to the counties, and at the same time, the Park Service has begun a planning process with public involvement for PVSP. This planning process has revealed that none of the PHG’s projects for the Park are even being considered by the Park Service.
While the written version of the PHG Management Plan lists numerous projects as “actions” that will be undertaken “in collaboration with” Park management, statements by Park Service employees and PHG representatives characterize these plans as a “wish list”.
This “wish list” has been presented at public hearings in Baltimore and Howard Counties for public comment. Environmental groups, citizens, and county council members discussed and even edited these project proposals word by word. The implication was that the public was evaluating these projects as the basis for certifying PHG to seek funding from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority to carry out these projects.
If this “Management Plan” for the Heritage Area is a work of fiction, with “wishes” instead of actual proposals, then the public has been misled. We actually have no idea what we are certifying PHG to accomplish.
We only know how PHG expects to profit from the certification. The Management Plan is clear about the financial benefits of certification, including management grants to PHG of $100,000 per year, eligibility for state tax credits and loans, and opportunities for “earned income” – that is, commerce. In addition, the PHG, Inc. will be allowed to submit proposals for MHAA grant funding for “capital and non-capital projects”.
The negligible possibility of getting grant funding for the Park is the one and only reason to support the certification of a Heritage Area that includes Patapsco Valley State Park. There is no other benefit to the Park. Marketing, environmental stewardship, “telling the story of the Patapsco Valley” – all of this could be done equally well with a Heritage Area that did not include the state land.
The remote possibility of receiving grant money from MHAA is also contingent on PHG, Inc., a private organization that answers only to its own self-appointed board of directors. There is no independent Board of Trustees, no public or governmental oversight; there will be no public hearings in the future, and no obligation for PHG, Inc. to reveal its corporate plans to the public.
The Park Service will be dependent on a private company to seek funding for unspecified and not-yet-approved Park development projects in the future. This arrangement has the potential to circumvent public scrutiny and allow a private organization to exert undue influence over the development and the funding of development in our State Park.
The Sierra Club position is that the State Park should be excluded from Heritage Area until the current planning process is complete, and that only publicly-approved plans resulting from that process should be considered for funding. That funding should not involve delegating any authority to a private organization.
The State Park and any organization that wants to support the State Park must remain accountable to the public. This requires transparency and the opportunity for public involvement. The Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc. is a private organization with no disclosed plans for the State Park and no obligation to include the public in their plans in the future. The managing entity of the Heritage Area should either be accountable to the public or not playing a management role over State Park land.
Joanne Heckman (joanne.heckman@mdsierra.org)
Team Leader, “Preserve Patapsco Valley State Park”
A Grassroots Network Campaign of the national Sierra Club
Dave O’Leary (dave.oleary@md.sierra.org)
Steering Committee, “Preserve Patapsco Valley State Park”
Conservation Chair, Maryland Sierra Club
Chris Yoder (chris.yoder@mdsierra.org)
Steering Committee, “Preserve Patapsco Valley State Park”
Chair, Greater Baltimore Sierra Club
Ken Clark (ken.clark@mdsierra.org)
Steering Committee, “Preserve Patapsco Valley State Park”
Outings Chair, Howard County Sierra Club