An April 10 Capital article discusses the success of the environmental community during the 2012 Session. While several key pieces of environmental legislation failed, particularly the Administration’s wind bill and a proposed 5-cent charge on plastic bags (aka “the bag bill”) , several significant measures passed on the last day of Session, including a bill to limit development on septic systems and legislation requiring urban counties to enact a stormwater fee bill. The stormwater fee bill was approved in the final minutes of the Session.
“With stormwater passing, I have no problem declaring this is the session for the bay,” said Alison Prost, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. …
Also on the session’s last day, lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that further regulates when and where developments with septic systems can be built. …
Environmentalists also scored a victory over the weekend, when lawmakers approved a doubling of the “flush fee” for most Marylanders, from $30 to $60 per year. …
Lawmakers also approved a ban on using arsenic as an additive in chicken feed.
And the Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund — another source of money for battling pollution — got $25 million this year, considered a healthy amount by environmentalists.
