Chesapeake Bay health improves to C+ for first time in over 20 years

BALTIMORE, MD—The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) released its annual report card this week with the overall Chesapeake Bay earning a grade of C+ (55%), the highest grade since 2002. The 2023/2024 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card is the 17th annual ecosystem report card. Overall, the health of the Chesapeake Bay is improving slightly, with 11 […]

Baltimore City, County to host public meetings to update residents on process to report water service line material

TOWSON, MD—The Baltimore Service Line Partnership has announced two public meetings for Baltimore City and County residents to learn what water customers need to do to identify and report their water service line material. The Baltimore Service Line Partnership is a collaboration between the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) and the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and […]

NOW YOU KNOW: Year-end highlights – part 2

The following is a legislative update from Delegates Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki. As we prepare for a new year filled with resolutions and growth, we took some time to review the highlights of what has taken place between the 2023 and upcoming 2024 legislative sessions. Once we return to Baltimore County after Sine Die, the work does not end. […]

Governor Moore announces new Chesapeake, Atlantic Coastal Bays improvement strategy

ANNAPOLIS, MD—During an Eastern Shore “Bay Day” tour, Governor Wes Moore last week announced a major policy shift in how Maryland will deploy state resources to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways to restore the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. At points throughout the day, the governor was joined by Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, U.S. Environmental […]

Gunpowder Riverkeeper reaches proposed settlement with EPA on PCBs in the Gunpowder River, Bush River

NOTTINGHAM, MD—In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator’s March 18, 2022, memorandum regarding “Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements to resolve Environmental Claims Against the Agency,” a proposed settlement has been reached that would resolve Gunpowder Riverkeeper v. Regan, et al., No. 1:20–cv–02063 (D.D.C.). On July 29, 2020, Gunpowder Riverkeeper filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the […]

Attorney General Frosh calls on EPA to strengthen protections against childhood lead poisoning

BALTIMORE, MD – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh this week joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in calling on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen protections against lead poisoning. In comments on the EPA‘s “Draft Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities,” the coalition called the draft strategy a “strong starting […]

EPA waives volatility requirements in Maryland in response to Colonial Pipeline ransomware hack, shutdown

UPDATE: Some gas stations in southern Maryland and a few stations in the Pikesville area of Baltimore County are now out of gas. Original story below… —— NOTTINGHAM, MD—The Environmental Protection Agency is temporarily lifting some environmental restrictions as a ransomware attack threatens the gasoline supply chain in the southeastern U.S. The EPA said it was waiving volatility requirements governing […]

Frosh, other Attorneys General, file suit against EPA

UPDATE: Governor Larry Hogan has issued a statement in response to Attorney General Frosh’s legal action against the EPA: “Earlier this year, I directed the Attorney General to take this legal action in keeping with our generational responsibility and shared obligation to enhance, protect, and restore the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay is a national treasure, and our administration has committed […]