Some hits, but mostly environmental inaction in Annapolis
Looking back on the General Assembly session that ended at midnight last night, lawmakers seemed bent on studying environmental issues more than acting on them. The results of the 90-day session left environmental activists frustrated and in one case blaming the news media for their frustration.
A bid by Gov. Martin O'Malley to boost offshore wind energy development got sidelined for further study by lawmakers nervous about the potential cost to consumers. O'Malley's other major environmental initiative, to limit development on septic systems, got similar treatment amid worries about how it would impact rural economies.
On the other hand, an effort to mandate an industry-financed study of potential harm from drilling for natural gas in western Maryland failed in the final day, despite administration support, amid bickering over terms of the proposed two-year study. industry was willing to put up $1 million plus to pay for the study but wanted to be able to start producing gas while it was still going on. And while agreeing to ban the use of plastic bisphenol A in baby formula containers, legislators balked at barring arsenic in chicken feed.
Other measures environmentalists hoped for didn't even get out of the starting gate. A bill to clean up trash in urban waterways like Baltimore harbor by leving a fee on disposable store bags never emerged from committee. Likewise for legislation that would have required Maryland's communities to raise funds for controlling storm-water pollution, or that required commercial building owners to disclose their structures' energy use to potential buyers.
There were some bills that passed over environmentalists' objections, most notably the one Monday night that gives added financial incentives to facilities that produce electricity by burning trash.
Green groups did score some successes. Maryland joined Virginia in adopting new curbs on Chesapeake Bay pollution from lawn fertilizers. Bills toughening penalties for poaching sailed through the Assembly on news of widespread illegal netting of rockfish this winter. And lawmakers mostly retained funding for buying open space and keeping farmland from developers, though they did trim $10 million from the Rural Legacy preservation program.
But overall, the outcome was disappointing to activists. The Maryland League of Conservation Voters, which got only one of its top five legislative priorities, issued a statement last night saying the session was "leaving citizens and those who care for the environment exasperated." "Short-sightedness prevailed," said Environment Maryland's Tommy Landers.
Mike Tidwell of Chesapeake Climate Action Network wouldn't settle for legislative myopia as an explanation for the offshore wind bill's failure. He ticked off a few "villains," blaming outspoken opposition by Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, and Bruce Bereano, lobbyist for Safeway food stores. He also faulted what he called "negative" news coverage and editorial opining on the issue by the Washington Post.
Bitterness aside, activists vowed to press on in the "study hall" where legislative leaders consigned most of their pet causes. Whether controversial bills got sent there to be improved over the summer or die remains to be seen.
"I hope we learn more than we did in study hall," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat and leading environmental ally in the legislature.
