By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 January 31st, 2013 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County News, Garrett County Real Estate, News

The Garrett County Commissioners have adopted a program whereby the County will grant to Deep Creek lakefront property owners a $1600 incentive for new completed shore erosion projects in fiscal year 2013. The program is designed to help property and real estate owners with the costs of construction of shore erosion structures along the lake shoreline. The funding applies to both structural (e.g. rip-rap) and nonstructural (e.g. vegetative) control measures.

DNR estimates that there are 8 to 10 projects that might be eligible for the funds. The project must be completed and inspected by both DNR and MDE in order for the property owner to be eligible for the incentive.

The program is part of a broader package of policies that the county is looking at for the protection of the watershed. This is a pilot year for the program and no decision has been made as to if it will be made available in the next county fiscal year.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 October 5th, 2012 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate, News

DNR Secretary John Griffin has confirmed that he and DNR staff will be presenting a report to the Garrett County, Maryland commissioners on November 14, 2012 on “the state of Deep Creek Lake”. The presentation will be similar to one made last year by DNR. The presentation is open to the public and will be at 4:30 PM at the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church hall, just across 4th street from the county courthouse.

All interested Deep Creek Lake real estate and vacation homeowners are encouraged to attend.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 March 27th, 2011 Category: Deep Creek Lake Events, News

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold an upcoming public hearing to discuss noise levels for boats using Deep Creek Lake. The hearing will be held on Thursday, May 26 at 6:00 pm at the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center at the State Park.

In recent years many real estate and homeowners around Deep Creek Lake have indicated a desire for more stringent noise level requirements for power boats and personal watercraft.

If you can not attend the meeting and still want to voice your opinion you can contact Mike Grant who is the Regulations Coordinator for Boating Services. His e-mail address is mgrant@dnr.state.md.us.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 February 1st, 2011 Category: Garrett County News, News

House Budget Bill 26 would eliminate funding provided by the state to Garrett County through the Deep Creek Lake Recreation Maintenance and Management Fund. This fund includes all of the lake permit/dock fees and was created, in part, to cover the tax revenue lost by the county when the State of Maryland purchased Deep Creek Lake from Penn Electric.

A similar but unsuccessful measure was sponsored in 2008 by Delegate Doyle Niemann. This new bill, however, has been submitted as part of an overall budget bill at the request of the Speaker of the House.

Dock fees collected for boat launching at Deep Creek Lake State Park, all funds collected from lake and buffer use permits, and all contracts, gifts, and grants as a result of the Deep Creek Lake management program will still be collected. However, quarterly payments of 25% of the proceeds will no longer be forwarded on to the Garrett County Commissioners if the bill succeeds.

We will keep you posted on all legislative issues as they affect Deep Creek Lake property owners and local Garrett County real estate.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 September 15th, 2010 Category: Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County News, News

While there is still plenty of water in Deep Creek Lake to safely enjoy boating for the rest of summer and fall, lakefront and lake access property owners should note the current lake level is below normal for this time of year - and in some instances creating a situation where a homeowner must either move their dock out further or take their boat out of the lake for the season. Bill’s Marine Service has reported already taking out approximately 180 boats thus far and it’s only one week after Labor Day.

The lower than normal lake level is mostly due to a very hot, dry summer experienced in Garrett County which actually created ideal weather conditions most weekends for Deep Creek vacation home owners and tourists. The Deep Creek Lake Policy and Review Board (PRB) met last Friday to discuss this issue and about what can be done in the future if hot, dry conditions happen again next year. At the meeting were representatives of the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) along with the  Deep Creek Lake POA in attendance. While Brookfield Power manages and actually administers the water releases from Deep Creek Lake, MDE is in charge of monitoring that permit to make sure they keep the lake level within the allowed guidelines - also known as the rule bands.  The current lake level is currently below the lower rule band allowed for this time of year.

If you are a lakefront property owner and haven’t been to your house in the past few weeks you should check on your boat and dock sometime soon to see what the water level is at the end of your dock.  Most boats need at least 24 inches of water to sit safely in the water.

Overall the health of Deep Creek Lake is still very good according to DNR. Different types of sub-aquatic vegetation are still growing and can be seen with the eye which most say is the sign of a healthy lake. DNR also reports that the fish kill earlier this summer was mostly the result of higher than normal water temperatures. While certainly unofficial, the water temperature gauge on my boat read about 84 degrees the second week in July. In all my years of living on the lake and and waterskiing on Deep Creek, I’ve never seen the water temp higher than 80. Different groups are currently working together with DNR and the Property Owners Association to make sure the health of the lake is monitored in the future.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 September 3rd, 2010 Category: Garrett County News, News

Deep Creek Lake manager Carolyn Mathews is reporting that DNR will proceed forward with the previously proposed changes in the PWC (personal watercraft) docking regulations.  However, there was one major change - the proposal will not require the $100 permit fee for PWCs as was originally proposed.

This new regulation will essentially ban all PWC stands that currently exist along the shoreline of Deep Creek Lake. Once approved through the permit process lakefront homeowners will now have to moor their PWCs to their dock. Lake access homeowners will have to moor their PWCs to the community boat dock.

The proposal and public comments can be found at this link;

http://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/western/deepcreeknrma.asp

If you are a dock permit holder you can probably expect to receive notice in the mail from DNR sometime in the near future.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 2nd, 2010 Category: Garrett County News, News

There is no new progress to report on the proposed changes to the lake regulations dealing with how many personal watercraft may be moored at private Type A and common boat docks. This proposed regulation would essentially get rid of all the PWCs stands that can found along the shoreline. Deep Creek Lake Manager Carolyn Mathews has stated that during the public comment period the DNR received several very detailed comments and concerns against the proposed changes to the lake regulations

Ms. Mathews also reported that the Superintendent of the Park Service, Nita Settina, found the comments to be of merit and is giving them due consideration before moving forward with any changes. Ms. Settina plans to visit Deep Creek Lake this summer and will weigh the points brought forth in the comments against the proposed regulation changes and may suggest an alternative to the proposal.

The public comments on the changes are posted on the Deep Creek Lake website at…

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/deepcreeknrma.asp

Updates will be posted on this website as they are made available. This is the new DNR website for information about the lake. This site is separate from the state park website and will have more lake specific information posted over time.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 5th, 2010 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, News

Last fall the Deep Creek Lake Management office sent a letter to all dock permit holders outlining proposed changes concerning the way PWCs (personal watercrafts) will be docked/stored at lakefront sites. These changes to the regulations will essentially get rid of all current PWC racks/stands on the shoreline. The public comment period ended a few months ago and the proposed changes to the regulations are expected to be approved by the State of Maryland in the very near future.

As usual, and until notified otherwise, all Type A dock permit holders will be allowed to dock two (2) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel (most likely a sailboat) at their dock.  If you posses a Special Permit you WILL be allowed to place a PWC that weighs LESS than 500 pounds on a shoreline rack/stand for the meantime - but you will also receive a letter notifying you of forthcoming changes.  Under current regulations, any PWC that weighs MORE than 500 pounds is NOT permitted on a shoreline rack/stand. Nearly all PWCs manufactured in the last 10 years weigh more than 500 pounds. Most lakefront homeowners currently store their 500 (+) plus pound PWCs on manufactured stands and racks on the shoreline and not tied up to their boat dock.

Early this summer, DNR is expected to take applications from dock permit holders that will allow them to have 1 PWC permitted at their boat dock.  (PWCs are permitted at docks now but since they are more than 500 pounds they are considered a power vessel by definition). If approved, the new permit will then be valid for two (2) power vessels, one (1) PWC, and one (1) non-power vessel. This application will cost an additional $100 on top of the normal $200 paid in the spring. DNR expects to issue these new buffer strip permits for one (1) additional PWC at docks starting sometime later this summer.

It appears that all Type A permits will now have the ability to be granted three (3) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel at their lakefront home - however, one of the three power vessels will have to be a PWC. This new regulation will benefit the lakefront homeowners who only have 1 power boat at their dock now and 2 PWCs on shoreline stands/racks - or the homeowners who have 2 boats now at their dock and 1 PWC on a stand. This new regulation will basically allow all 3 to be tied up their dock.

However, this new regulation appears to hurt the lakefront homeowner who already has 2 power boats at their dock now -for example, a Cobalt and a pontoon boat - and who also has 2 PWCs stored on shoreline stands/racks. This new regulation is going to force these homeowners to get rid of one of their PWCs - or get rid of one of their power boats. This situation of 2 boats and 2 PWCs is very common around Deep Creek Lake.

Homeowners in lake access communities with common docks may also suffer a bit with these new regulations. For common docks, DNR is going to permit 3 PWCs per every 10 approved boat slips. Therefore, the homeowner who has a power boat in one of the slips in the common dock and a PWC on a shoreline stand may be forced to get rid of either the boat or PWC if there are numerous PWCs in that particular community.

The intent of this change is to get rid of all PWC racks/stands on the shoreline - as DNR viewed these stands as an abuse of the number of power vessels docked/stored at these homeowner sites.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 August 28th, 2009 Category: News

Recently, DNR’s Deep Creek Lake Manager, Carolyn Matthews, released proposed changes to the current lake regulations that deal with the docking and mooring of personal watercrafts (PWCs) at permitted Type A boat docks and common docks.

It is proposed that lakefront property owners with private Type A dock permits (also known as Buffer Strip Use Permits) may keep up to 4 boats (current regulations only allow for 3 boats) on the lake - 3 of which may be a combination of power boats and personal watercraft provided the permit holder pays an additional $100 permit fee. These property owners may also keep beached boats on the shoreline provided they weigh less than 500 lbs.  The current regulations only allow for 2 power boats and 1 non power boat (a sailboat for example) - but many lakefront property owners also keep either one or two PWCs at their docks in addition to the 2 power and 1 non power boats.  When PWCs were smaller and could be beached on the shoreline this wasn’t such a big deal - but now that most PWCs weigh more than 500 lbs and need to be moored at a dock this has become a much bigger issue for DNR.

It is also proposed that the Lake Manager will be given authority to monitor and approve the number of PWCs that can be moored at a common dock for the various lake access communities around Deep Creek Lake. The proposal states that the amount of PWCs moored at these types of docks will not exceed 1/3rd of the allocated number of slips already approved. This proposal does not say whether the PWC must be moored to the dock in the water or if it can be moored on an individual PWC stand on the shoreline. Most lake access property owners are allocated one (1)  boat slip in a community or neighborhood association’s common dock. However, some owners in these communities also own PWCs in addition to a boat and have kept the PWC on a shoreline stand near the common dock. This proposal may very well eliminate the PWCs stands you see near these common docks.

Public comment on this issue will probably run from October 9th, 2009 thru November 9th, 2009. You can make Public Comment on DNR’s website about the proposed PWC docking changes by clicking here.

These proposals will affect many property and real estate owners around Deep Creek Lake so stay tuned for further updates. When we get additional details we’ll post the information on this blog. To stay updated please sign up for updates via e-mail or RSS a little ways down the right hand side of our main blog page.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 August 12th, 2009 Category: Garrett County News, News

Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 22. The Property Owners Association of Deep Creek Lake is having their usual end of summer general membership meeting at 8:30 a.m. at the Garrett 8 Cinemas in Thayerville. The public is invited - you do not need to own property or real estate at Deep Creek Lake to attend!

A very interesting topic will be discussed at this meeting. John Wilson, MD DNR associate director of stewardship, will present the first report of the Deep Creek Lake Water Quality Study. This is a presentation that any stakeholder in the lake will surely want to hear.