Gratifying news!

We are grateful to report that Reflection Park has received conditional use approval from the county Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings! This is a major milestone for Reflection Park. It means that we have secured the right to build a cemetery in the zoning category where our property is located.

What has happened since the last update?

As reported in our last (and first) newsletter, we returned for a second public hearing on April 12. This hearing focused specifically on whether Reflection Park would pose a risk to the water quality of neighboring wells or the Rocky Gorge Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to parts of Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.

Among the most important pieces of testimony was a thorough hydrogeological analysis of the property, which concluded that “contaminant release from burial sites at the proposed Reflection Park cemetery will not pose a health and safety risk to adjacent private properties, nearby streams or to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir”, and “any health and safety risks potentially associated with the proposed Reflection Park cemetery are no greater, and likely to be less, than the health and safety risks associated with contamination from nearby private septic systems.”

The Hearing Examiner referred all testimony that was presented during the hearing to the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC), which manages the Rocky Gorge Reservoir, and Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP). Both agencies were asked to provide official comments in response to questions posed by the Hearing Examiner.

MCDEP provided this response:

“The information provided by the applicant used sound engineering and scientific principles to draw their conclusions that were site specific. Based on the soil testing, test pits, and perc test results, DEP does not anticipate any offsite impacts to surface water quality or groundwater quality (private drinking water wells) from the cemetery, and thus do not think any additional conditions be imposed on the conditional use. We also do not see the need for additional monitoring of surface water or ground water in the area in proximity to the cemetery.”

WSSC’s response included these conclusions:

“WSSC Water does not expect that the green burial ground proposed in CU 21-06 [the application number] will render the Rocky Gorge reservoir unsafe as a drinking water supply, now or in the future.”

“WSSC Water does not expect that the green burial site will result in microbial contamination of the Duckett Reservoir.” [Duckett is another name for Rocky Gorge Reservoir.]

"WSSC Water does not recommend any additional conditions or monitoring requirements.”

What’s Next?

We still have a few important milestones to cross before opening. Construction and all the steps necessary to get to that point are the next major activities. We plan to develop Reflection Park in three main phases over the course of many years or decades. You can see an approximate rendition of the master plan.

We expect to open after completing most of the construction in phase 1, which could occur by mid-2023. However, we are working on the possibility of placing temporary structures on site for offices and equipment storage. If this works out, then we may be able to open as soon as the end of this year or early 2023.

Once we open, we will be in a position to provide at-need burials and take reservations (pre-need offerings). We intend to keep you posted through this newsletter and our website.

Your Questions Answered

With each newsletter, we hope to answer one or more questions about Reflection Park, green burials, or anything else related to natural death care. Our growing FAQs page also has answers to many common questions.

How do attitudes toward death change with age?

Various studies have described how people feel about death across the lifespan. Fear of death emerges early in life, somewhere between the ages of 3 and 6. This fear continues and may be among the most common fears starting as early as age 7 and continuing through adolescence into early and mid adulthood. As people get older, however, the fear of death seems to wane as other concerns, such as loss of independence or function, take greater prominence. This may occur because, as time horizons contract with older age, greater value is placed on present-oriented goals. (This idea is known as socioemotional selectivity theory, which was first proposed by Stanford University psychologist Laura Carstensen.)

Individuals vary and these findings do not describe everyone. Some younger people may be relatively comfortable with the idea of death, and some older adults may find death quite unsettling. In addition, younger people facing a life-threatening illness or situation may “look” like older people and shift away from future-looking objectives toward more present-oriented goals.

One of Reflection Park’s overarching goals is to help us get a little more comfortable with death. Not that anyone wants to promote it or hasten it, but rather to develop a more natural relationship with it. We actually experience death on a massive scale every single day and are completely oblivious to it. Over a hundred billion red blood cells die and are replaced each day. Our skin cells die at a rate of up to 500 million per day. You could say that our bodies are dying and being renewed literally every second. And what’s more, this is absolutely necessary for us to live healthy lives.

Green burial is the embodiment of this natural cycle of life, death, and renewal. The bodies of our loved ones continue to give back to the earth through the natural beauty that they give rise to. It truly is a gift that keeps giving.

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