An Eldersburg builder is the first in Carroll County to be cited by the state for illegally burying tree stumps and other construction debris on a subdivision lot.
Michael Reeves, builder of Homedale subdivision on Klee Mill Road, got a violation notice from the Maryland Department of the Environment Monday. He acknowledged yesterday that he had buried stumps and other debris in the subdivision but said he will not take any remedial action until he explores possible appeals.
"We have property rights under the Fifth Amendment to do what we want with our property," he said.
Quentin Banks, MDE spokesman, said the citation requires the builder to "excavate, remove the tree stumps and any other buried debris." He said the MDE acted after being notified of the violation by county grading and sediment control inspectors.
Complaints from county residents who found sinkholes in their front yards five to 10 years after buying their houses prompted the county Environmental Affairs Advisory Board to consider limits on stump burials last year. Water resources staff members traced some of the sinkholes to the decay of buried wood, which caused the ground above it to sink.
County officials learned last fall that burial of construction debris had been barred by the MDE since 1988. James E. Slater Jr., environmental services administrator, advised county staff members to report violations to the state agency.
State regulations give builders the options of taking woody debris to a landfill certified to accept it, grinding the stumps or burning them under Health Department regulations.
Mr. Banks said the dirt covering the buried debris in Homedale has sunk 4 inches since September 1994. He said the builder has 30 days to correct the situation.
Mr. Reeves said he planned to meet this morning with the county commissioners to propose that all builders who have buried tree stumps in subdivisions since 1988 be required to remove them.
"I think the county should be forced to go back and make [developers] dig them up," he said.
The commissioners' staff was able to confirm yesterday only that Commissioner Richard T. Yates planned to meet today with Mr. Reeves.
Commissioner Donald I. Dell, who has met privately with Mr. Reeves in the past to discuss Homedale subdivision, said yesterday that he does not plan to meet with the builder or try to help with Mr. Reeves' appeal.
"There's really nothing I can do. It's in the state's hands," Mr. Dell said.
Mr. Reeves and Henry L. Blevins Inc. won county zoning appeals board permission last year to resume building in 40-year-old Homedale subdivision without upgrading an entrance road that county officials have labeled substandard. Mr. Reeves is chief consultant for the development corporation.