Featured Articles
New Emergency Stormwater Regulations Are Now in Effect
As Maryland continues to take action to reduce nutrient pollution from many sources -- wastewater treatment plants, power plants, vehicles, and agriculture - reducing polluted stormwater runoff is critical.
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Living Shoreline Leader, Elementary Students, MDE Inspector Receive Environmental Awards
On May 12, 2010, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Petroleum Council presented the 33rd annual Tawes Awards for a Clean Environment and the 5th annual James B. Coulter Award. More>
MDE Protects Citizens and Workers Exposed to Radiation in Day-to-Day Life
When you receive a dental or chest x-ray, undergo radiation therapy, or fly at 30,000 feet in an airplane, you are being exposed to radiation at a level slightly above normal. Do you ever wonder about this radiation? Is there a difference between natural and human-made? More>
Protecting Maryland’s High-Quality Waters
If you walk along a stream with clean water, lush plants, mossy rocks, and an abundant fish stock, you would probably want someone to keep it that way. That’s where MDE’s program to protect high-quality waterways comes into play. More>
MDE Partners to Improve the Youghiogheny River Watershed
The Maryland Department of the Environment celebrated the installation of a lime doser on Laurel Run near Crellin, Garrett County. The doser significantly reduces the effects of acid mine drainage to improve water quality for aquatic life. More >
High-elevation Air Monitoring Stations Reveal the “Ozone Reservoir”
A layer of ozone hangs high above Maryland on summer nights but drops to become part of the air we breathe the following day, MDE testing shows. More>
Working toward a Healthier Harbor
A bold plan for Baltimore’s Harbor envisions a sustainable urban park fronting water so clean that people can fish and even swim. More>
A Trash Diet to Clean the Anacostia
The Anacostia River, which suffers the environmental woes that come with too much trash, is going on a diet. More>
Help Form a Plan to Restore the Bay
Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Phase I Watershed Implementation Plan is being developed to restore and protect a healthy Bay for future generations. The six Chesapeake Bay watershed states and the District of Columbia are to submit draft Phase One Plan reports by September 1, 2010, in support of the development of the draft and final Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). A TMDL sets a pollution “diet” for a waterway.
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Students Plant Idea that Trees Restore Former Mine Sites
In celebration of Arbor Day 2010, the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Bureau of Mines hosted a tree planting event at a previously mined 4-acre site near Frostburg. The event showed the value of proper soil preparation and promoted the reforestation of non-productive mine land with high-value hardwood trees native to the Appalachian forest. More>
Managing Salts in Maryland Waters
While we may enjoy salt on our fries, and throw salt on our sidewalks to melt snow, certain human activities can increase the amount of salts in waterways to levels that are toxic to aquatic life. The impact of these pollutants is becoming more and more apparent as our population continues to grow, resulting in more sidewalks and highways that need to be salted in inclement weather. More>
MDE Employees Bike to Work
Nineteen MDE employees participated in Bike to Work Day on May 21, 2010, eliminating an estimated 120 miles driven and reducing 102 pounds of air pollutants. Bike to Work Day provides support and encouragement to current bike commuters and those new to bike commuting. More >
Swann Park Reopens
A South Baltimore park closed after its soil was found to be contaminated with arsenic reopened last month following a successful cleanup overseen by the Maryland Department of the Environment. More> | 