Greg Belcher: Water quality plan may unduly burden county residents

Wicomico County's additional tax burden for implementing just one part of the proposed state water quality improvement scheme, the Watershed Implementation Plan or WIP, is estimated to cost $1.2 billion over the next 12 years for Wicomico County and Salisbury alone.

Other counties would face similar costs if the plan is implemented.

Keep in mind that the fiscal year 2013 Wicomico County operating budget is roughly $116 million, so the compliance costs for this one program would nearly match the current total budget for the county. The source for the cost estimates is the Wicomico County ...