Recently, county Commissioners Blaine Young, Kirby DeLauter, Paul Smith and Billy Shreve voted to send $25,000 of your money to the Funk and Bolton law firm that will fight to keep our local waters polluted.

Young and his crew claim that most Maryland counties aren’t causing the pollution that enters the Chesapeake Bay, and that the majority of the problem is coming from the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River.

In reality, science tells us that cows standing in creeks, manure piled up next to streams, poorly or untreated sewage leaks, lack of vegetation alongside streams, more paved surfaces, runoff from farm fields and lawns, and sloppy constructions sites are a big part of the problem.

Relaxing efforts to fix Frederick County’s contribution is irresponsible, and fighting local cleanup efforts with county funds is nothing more than a taxpayer subsidy to polluters.

We are making progress in protecting our streams, and we have until 2025 to get it done. There is no long-term economic benefit to pollution. Frederick County has the opportunity to use creative solutions to minimize or stop stream pollution, and it would be prudent to take that tack instead.

Janice Wiles, Friends of Frederick County