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Maryland Considering Flush Fee Hike

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A state task force is considering doubling, and maybe even tripling, the state's flush fee.

The fee for the Bay Restoration Fund is now $30 a year for property owners. The task force is considering recommending a doubling of the fee in 2013, and increasing it to $90 in 2015.

The fund pays for sewage treatment plant and septic system upgrades as well as cover crops that keep pollutants from running off farms into waterways.

The Capital of Annapolis reported Wednesday that the task force is also considering changing how the fund is used, including a proposal to use cover crop funds on programs to reduce storm water runoff. The task force, which met Tuesday in Annapolis, is scheduled to meet twice more before year's end.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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