Maryland: Conowingo Request for Proposal Released

The Maryland Environmental Service (MES) last week announced the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Conowingo Capacity Recovery and Innovative Reuse and Beneficial Use Pilot Project (Conowingo RFP).

MES is seeking a private sector partner that can accommodate all components of the proposed pilot project.

“The scientific community is now in complete agreement with our assessment of the danger posed by sediment at the Conowingo Dam and it is absolutely vital that we find real solutions to this problem,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “This RFP is a significant and positive step in the right direction and will help us continue to make progress in our efforts to safeguard the Chesapeake Bay.”

“As planned, the Request for Proposal published by MES yesterday opens a path for progress on addressing the critical issue of sediment and nutrient buildup and leakage from the Conowingo Reservoir. We look forward to the innovative responses from potential private sector partners,” added MES Director/CEO Roy McGrath.

MES, at the direction of the Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Council, is managing the 25,000 cubic yard demonstration project to help the State determine a successful path forward for preventing sediments and nutrients from flowing down the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay, and for finding innovative reuses of the material.

Conowingo Dam is a hydroelectric dam built in 1928 that has been trapping sediment from the Susquehanna River that could affect the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. According to a report issued with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the dam has recently reached a point at which, over time, the same amount of pollution and sediment flowing into the Conowingo reservoir is also flowing out.