Help Us Protect the Ag Reserve
Challenges to farmland and farming, the environment, and open space in our area require persistent vigilance.
n Data Center Rules. The County Council is considering new rules governing where data centers in Montgomery County could go, and how they would operate. We support a moratorium on approval of the proposed data center campus in Dickerson until the new regulations become law. The campus— five buildings on 110 acres— would be on the site of the decommissioned coal-fired power plant near the Potomac River.
Landscape
Design, Land Planning, and Environmental Consulting
tjaden. design n 301-253-1702 n Laytonsville, MD n The County’ s Garbage. Montgomery County’ s plans to overhaul its waste disposal and recycling systems over the next decade are in limbo. The president of the County Council has asked the county’ s Department of Environmental Protection( DEP) for more details on reducing the volume of trash, closing the incinerator in Dickerson, and hauling trash to wellmanaged landfills outside the county. The incinerator is the county’ s single largest source of pollution and greenhouse gases. A recent dioxin leak at the facility underscores its age and has intensified our advocacy for closure as soon as possible. locals
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Savoring MoCo’ s Agricultural Reserve n Agritourism. Discussions are underway at the state and county level to revisit policies pertaining to non-agricultural activities on farms. One emerging idea is to allow more“ tourism” that may be only weakly or not at all related to agriculture— such as upscale lodging facilities and music. SCA is deeply engaged in these discussions, with the priority of protecting farmland and enhancing actual agriculture.
You can read about these issues and more on SCA’ s website.
Other SCA initiatives
4 Monitoring where solar arrays are sited in the Ag Reserve 4 Promoting regenerative agriculture to improve soil quality 4 Preventing development near Sugarloaf Mountain 4 Tracking energy infrastructure projects that threaten farmland
Help us advocate on behalf of the Ag Reserve. Consider becoming an SCA member and supporter. For more information, visit sugarloafcitizens. org local food. community 19929 Fisher Avenue, Poolesville’ s Historic West End www. LocalsFarmMarket. com
SUGARLOAF CITIZENS ASSOCIATION P. O. BOX 218, DICKERSON, MD 20842