Developers push for runoff bill in Prince George's County

Local developers and city officials are lobbying Prince George's County Council members to come up with a storm-water bill so that development projects in the county can move forward.

The bill will dictate how much of the runoff water from new or redevelopment projects has to be filtered before it flows off a property site. Until such legislation is passed, all development projects that did not have their storm-water plans approved by May 4, 2010 cannot move forward.

One such project affected by the moratorium is the proposed redevelopment of Laurel Mall, which is more than a year behind schedule. Officials from Somera Capital Management and AEW Capital Management, which own the mall, had said the companies were poised to begin construction on the mall's parking lot, but its storm-water plan did not meet the county's cutoff deadline.