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Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., recently touted his Administration's
achievements during the legislation session that concluded April 22. The
majority of the Governor's legislative package, including some key environmental
provisions, has been signed into law, and the vast majority of the Governor's
budget priorities won bipartisan support in the legislature.
"The
Ehrlich Administration achieved real results for the citizens of Maryland," said
Governor Ehrlich. "The majority of my legislative package will be signed into
law, benefiting children, families and commuters while promoting economic
growth. Despite these successes, the legislature killed a bipartisan plan to
provide tax relief to 46,000 veterans when our nation is at war. I want to thank
those lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who defied partisan politics to work
with the Ehrlich Administration to make Maryland a better place to live, work
and raise a family."
The Governor's budget included $39 million
for his landmark Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund to reduce harmful nutrient
pollution in the Bay. More than $7.1 million was collected in the first quarter
of 2005, representing revenue collections from 175 owners of wastewater
treatment facilities towards the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, according to
figures from the state Comptroller’s Office.
The Bay Restoration
Fund, administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), is the
most innovative environmental legislation in the past two and a half decades and
has the potential to improve nitrogen removal from wastewater treatment plant
effluent to state-of-the-art levels. When all 66 of the state's major wastewater
plants are upgraded with use of the fund, the impact will be a 7.5 million pound
annual reduction in nitrogen. Excess nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus,
lead to degraded water quality, which negatively impact the ecology of the Bay
and its tributaries.
Collected in $7.50 per quarter increments
from wastewater system customers, the fund is estimated to generate $60 million
per year to help finance approximately $750 million in capital improvements.
Beginning October 1, 2005, septic system or other on-site sewage disposal owners
will begin paying their $30 annual fee to the fund, which is projected to bring
in another $12 million per year to upgrade septic systems and provide funding
for cover crops.
The General Assembly also adopted the governor’s plan to end lead paint
poisoning in Maryland's children by the year 2010. House Bill 251 passed both
houses unanimously. It does 4 things:
- reduces the blood lead level that triggers lead hazard reduction treatments
for a rental property from 15 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to 10 µg/dL and
initiates medical care and safe housing for children pursuant to a qualified
offer from 20 to 15 µg/dL.
- strengthens MDE’s enforcement authority against non-compliant landlords by
eliminating the 20-day grace period for outstanding violations and authorizing
MDE to seek immediate administrative penalties.
- amends Maryland’s law to include exterior structures to be consistent with
federal laws and regulations.
- clarifies that once a rental property owner obtains a risk reduction
certificate, that certificate satisfies any prior notice of defect or elevated
blood lead level.
MDE did oppose two bills that ultimately failed. Senate Bill 744 required
affected facilities to impose specific annual emission rate limits for nitrogen
oxides, sulfur dioxide, and specified percentage reductions of annual emissions
of mercury and carbon dioxide (CO2). More stringent CO2 reductions would have
been required by 2021. The bill would have allowed facilities to meet the CO2
cap by trading emission credits under specified conditions.
Maryland’s air quality is significantly affected by pollutants from
out-of-state sources, particularly coal-fired power plants. The process, known
as air pollution transport, causes 70 percent of Maryland’s air quality
problems. Much of that pollution transport comes from Midwestern power plants.
Maryland needs to focus first on regional, and preferably, national solutions to
our pollution transport problem, rather than adopt a Maryland only program that
addresses only the minor local part of our pollution problem.
Senate Bill 366, the Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2005 was also opposed by the
agency. The bill would have had MDE and the Motor Vehicle Administration adopt
regulations implementing California’s motor vehicle emissions standards in the
state by June 1, 2006. MDE feels that industry initiatives to develop advanced
technologies—like battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, super
low-emitting gasoline vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles--along with
consumer interest and demand will ensure nationwide availability of the cleanest
and most fuel-efficient vehicles when the market is ready for them.
Additionally, all of this will come with a relatively low cost should Maryland
continue in the federal program. A California style program, in contrast, could
raise the price of a vehicle nearly $400, in the short term, to as much as
$1,200 to $1,350 by 2016. And such a complex program could not be implemented in
the time allotted and would provide little incremental air quality benefit for
Maryland to meet federal clean air deadlines.
Other actions
House Bill 710 - Ballast Water Management—repealed specified ballast water
management provisions that require the reporting of vessel ballast water
management activities by specified ships entering Maryland waters. The bill
passed both chambers unanimously. Maryland’s current law duplicates recently
passed U.S. Coast Guard regulations, making our law unnecessary.
Two other environmental bills were returned to committee effectively killing
them during the session. HB 612 - Water Appropriation Permits - was recommitted
to committee in the Senate after passing the House 135-0. The bill would have
created an exemption from the existing water appropriation and use permit
process for minimal groundwater users (under 5,000 gallons per day on an annual
average), requiring users to file a letter of exempt use with the department. It
also would have established civil penalties to provide an incentive for
compliance with existing law, increasing the existing criminal penalty fine and
eliminating the existing criminal penalty cap of $25,000.
HB 154 - Wetlands and Waterways Program Fees - was sent back to committee on
the final day of session after enjoying broad bipartisan legislative support,
passing Environmental Matters by a vote of 20-0, passing the House of Delegates
by a vote of 134-1, and passing Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs by
a vote of 9-2. It would have established specified application fees for
applications related to activities in wetlands and waterways. MDE’s Wetlands and
Waterway Program has seen a 40 percent decline in staff over the last 14 years.
The bill would have provide the department with much needed funds to restore the
program to historical staffing levels improving customer service and ensuring
better protection of Maryland’s wetlands.
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