Thursday, February 05, 2009
Hearing Held for Bay Restoration Act of 2009
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce submitted written testimony yesterday against the Bay Restoration Act of 2009 (HB 176), to the Environmental Matters Committee.
The legislation prohibits the installation of an on-site sewage disposal system unless the system utilizes nitrogen removal technology. While the Maryland Chamber supports the Bay Restoration Fund and believes the legislation is good from the perspective of requiring nitrogen removal, the fiscal impact of the bill is concerning. The portion of the fund collected and designated for septic system upgrades would only allow about 720 systems to be upgraded each year, while thousands new systems and replacement systems are installed annually. The legislation is unclear on how much money will be reimbursed for each system and, if passed, has the potential to bankrupt the fund.
Testimony was also submitted yesterday against HB 128, a bill requiring a permit to install, materially alter or materially extend a coal combustion byproduct disposal facility, and HB 135, legislation prohibiting the Maryland Department of the Environment from issuing a sewage sludge utilization permit to sites that don’t meet all county zoning and land use requirements, and sites that are on land adjacent to municipalities.
For more information about these and other environmental and energy issues, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs Allyson Black at .
