ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 5, 1998) -- Maryland citizens will have a better opportunity to obtain environmental information from the State thanks to a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s One Stop Reporting Program. The grant will fund enhancement of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)'s integrated environmental permitting and compliance information system.

"This grant will help improve user-friendly access to environmental information," said Governor Parris N. Glendening. "Improved management of our data will enable us to determine our environmental priorities in the most cost-effective manner in order to protect Maryland's air, water and land-based resources."

Through the project, the public will have access to information about their environment and the performance of both industry and regulators through the world wide web. Maryland and the federal government are working together to reduce reporting burdens on the regulated community as well as provide information to support community-based solutions to environmental problems. This will be accomplished by using technology such as the geographic information system, electronic reporting technology and on-line environmental permit applications. The project is expected to take three years to complete.

The One Stop Reporting Program is a key element in President Clinton's program to reinvent environmental regulations. Maryland, along with Arizona, Florida, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma and Wisconsin were selected by EPA to receive grants in a highly competitive process involving applications from 24 states.

W. Michael McCabe, EPA's mid-Atlantic regional administrator, said: "This is a very competitive process in which only the most qualified projects win out. Maryland showed that it is a leader in developing information that satisfies the public's right to know. This project will provide easy-to-understand, up-to-date information about the environment to the people of Maryland."

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