The 2014 General Assembly session ended April 7th exactly at midnight. As is typical during an election year, legislators sidestepped much of the environmental communities’ priority legislation to fight climate change, clean up our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay, or protect the health of our families from fracking and pesticides.
Given the outcome of this legislative session and the significant issues we still face, it is clear that the 2014 elections matter. We look forward to fighting with you to bring more environmental champions to the Maryland General Assembly on June 24th and November 4th.
Download the 2014 Environmental Legislative Wrap-Up
Thank you for making your voice heard in Annapolis and read the full story here. It’s more important than ever, and we’re glad to have you on our side.
Defending the Contaminated Runoff Fee Program
In developed areas, water can’t soak into the ground like it normally would, so it washes off of hard surfaces like roads, roofs, and parking lots and carries contaminants like oil, antifreeze, and sediment into local streams and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. This contaminated runoff is the only source of Bay pollution that is still increasing, and yet some politicians want to repeal the state law passed to address this problem. They mock the contaminated runoff programs as a “rain tax,” deliberately obscuring how the programs work and the seriousness of the pollution they are designed to fix. We intend to uphold the law already passed and educate Marylanders on how the program works to improve the quality of the Bay.
Other Bills of Interest
- ProhibitTreatment of Fracking Wastewater in Maryland
- Pesticide Reporting and Information Act
- Reduce Disposable Bag Litter
- The Bottle Bill Works
- Expand Access to Clean Energy
- Keeping Track of Maryland’s Fresh Water Supply
- Protect Rural Residential Drinking Water
Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas
Fracking is a dangerous drilling method used to extract natural gas from shale rock. Around the country, natural gas fracking has attracted widespread attention as surrounding communities have been subjected to drinking and ground water contamination, climate pollution, and land scarring. Due to the threat of these consequences in Maryland, it is imperative that the General Assembly hold off on fracking until careful, independent analyses are completed to determine whether the risky drilling practice makes sense for Maryland.
Clean Energy
Global warming is accelerating faster than scientists predicted even five years ago. Now it’s even more critical that we shift away from fossil fuels, and yet nearly half of Maryland’s greenhouse gas emissions still come from burning coal, oil and gas for electricity. The good news is Maryland has a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires electricity suppliers to buy a growing share of their power from renewable sources. The current goal is to reach 20% clean power by 2022 and make sure the right types of energy are being incentivized but we need a bold new goal of 40% by 2025 to achieve clean energy faster.