My name is Vera Reiner, and I live at 7410 Greenbank Road, Baltimore, MD 21220. My family have been original waterfront owners in Oliver Beach since 1936 when I was 6 years old. My family of 5 generations regularly use the waters in and around Days Cove. Living on the tidal Gunpowder for 9 decades I intimately know the Gunpowder watershed and have watched it become degraded from numerous upstream pollution sources. As a long time resident, I have diligently performed my citizen duty by being actively engaged with community and watershed groups as well as Commissions and Advisory Boards. As such, I was a member of the Gunpowder State Park Advisory Commission, so I was in the room at DNR in the 1980s and 1990s when acquisition and land use plans were being deliberated with promises that sludge, mining and/or landfill operations would have very limited lifespans, specifically any landfill would be closed by 2000. I am available to provide verbal history and materials from this time. I am deeply gratified to finally hear the words of closure but again I read of an extension. During this short term lease, I strongly urge you to shorten the timeline to closure as well as impress upon MDE that the land and waters of Days Cove deserve stricter regulations for any leachate treatment to drinking water standards in order to not compound the damage that has occurred these past decades and to not add to the groundwater leachate from the unlined landfill. Otherwise, as we know extensions can be requested and granted as well as any extra contaminants impact the beauty and use of the Maryland's State Park lands. The history I recount today is a testament to multiple extensions and discharge permit relaxations, each with future promises of closure. It's time, past time to return this beautiful area of the Gunpowder State Park at Days Cove to DNR. Respectfully, Vera Reiner (Proudly Served with Committee Members: Louise Matzinger, Ronald L. Black, Wilbur G. Brosnan, Clarence E. Clemons, Ajax Eastman, Magdalene B. Fennell, John H. Gontrum, Edwin Gould, Elizabeth Hartline, Martin Larrabee, Martha Lynch, Vera Reiner, C. Robert Schepleng, Dennis A. Yost)

Dear Members of the Board of Public Works, Thank you to the Office of the Comptroller for inviting public input on the initial proposed lease renewal (63-LL), and to the full Board for your continued consideration of this matter. The undersigned community organizations write to share concerns regarding Action 53-LL, the proposed landlord lease between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Days Cove Reclamation for approximately 113.76 acres within Gunpowder Falls State Park in White Marsh, Maryland. We appreciate the Board of Public Works (BPW) decision on December 17 to withdraw the earlier action (63-LL) from the agenda following significant public engagement. In less than 12 hours, over 200 public comments and extensive written correspondence were submitted to BPW, reflecting strong community interest in ensuring that any future action fully addresses compliance, permitting, and environmental impact concerns, as well as a strict closure timeline. We understand from our recent correspondence with DNR, that the rationale for considering a short-term lease will accomplish two goals: “1) to give MDE time to decide on the [pending] permit so we can ensure that the lease extension is consistent with it, and 2) to give all of us more time to better understand each other's concerns and how to best move forward together.” In that context, we respectfully request greater transparency regarding what will be accomplished during this interim period as the below community concerns have not yet been addressed by neither DNR nor MDE. In particular, we encourage close coordination between DNR and MDE to provide clarity on the following issues: Discharge permit renewal: Should include a consent decree for current and future violations and a no discharge condition for treated leachate ensuring that discharges will not negatively impact local waterways Lease duration: Consideration of a shorter operating period than the 5 year operating/3 year remediation term as stated in the 63-LL prior to the initiation of closure activities Escrow: Clarification regarding ownership, sufficiency of funds, and the amount required to fully support full closure Rubble recycling: Leadership from the State to advance sustainable and responsible solutions Closure planning: A comprehensive approach that includes environmental assessment, long-term monitoring, and treatment in perpetuity Addressing these areas would help provide certainty, transparency, and confidence that environmental and community protections are being prioritized. We respectfully urge the Board of Public Works to direct DNR and MDE to work collaboratively to address these concerns and to ensure that any lease action includes clear conditions and a defined path toward safe closure, mitigation, monitoring, and eventual reclamation of the site as public parkland. Thank you for your time, leadership, and consideration. We appreciate the opportunity to engage in this process and look forward to continued dialogue. Sincerely, Gunpowder Riverkeeper Gunpowder Valley Conservancy Mad About Mud

Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2024 (MISC– Chapter 720, Acts of 2024) DGS Item 24-364, (SL-196-240-038) - This Capital Bond Grant would directly support the disability community in Charles County, enhancing the feasibility of our services, and making our services accessible to more individuals who may benefit from our impactful program. We thank you, on behalf of the populations we serve, for your thorough consideration of this application and your dedication to disability services access in our state.