The legal dispute between the county and Wal-Mart prompted the June 2001 policy. The commissioners were concerned about the authority they had in denying sewer allocation requests once a property had the S-1 classification - meaning it was eligible for public sewer service - on the county's master water and sewer plan. 
 

The plan for Kent Island Commons calls for a Wal-Mart, hotel and conference center, restaurants and offices on a 28-acre property on Pier One Road, near U.S. Route 50 and Maryland Route 8, on western Kent Island. The commissioners approved an amendment to the county water and sewer plan to designate the Kent Island Commons property S-1.
 

The commissioners later denied a request by Petrie Dierman Kughn - the developer of Kent Island Commons - to allocate sewage treatment capacity of 43,000 gallons per day in the county's sewage treatment plant on Kent Island. The developer filed an appeal in Queen Anne's County Circuit Court. Judge W. Sause Jr., citing a case involving the City of Cumberland and public water service, ordered the Queen Anne's County Sanitary Commission to grant the sewer allocation request for the Kent Island Commons project. 
 

The county sanitary commission granted the sewer allocation for Kent Island Commons, but the commissioners also appealed the circuit court ruling to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. The case was scheduled for oral argument Jan. 2, but Wal-Mart and the county agreed to postpone the hearing for four months while Wal-Mart looks for other sites in Queen Anne's County to build a store.
 

When the commissioners approved the policy in June 2001, the sanitary commission took no action on a request for the S-1 designation on the 90-acre Ellendale Farm property on Route 8 where a development of single-family houses is planned. The board's action Tuesday clears the way for the property to get the S-1 designation. 

 
©The Star Democrat 2002