A February 3 Capital-Gazette article discusses legislation (HB 44 / SB 575) proposed by two Anne Arundel County lawmakers that requires water pollution fines collected under the Maryland Clean Water Fund to go towards waterway restoration and pollution reduction projects. From the article:
State Sen. Bryan Simonaire and Del. Cathy Vitale said they were motivated to pursue legislation following a report in The Capital last summer that found the majority of money in the Maryland Clean Water Fund goes to salaries and overhead at the Maryland Department of the Environment.
“Those funds should go back to restoring or improving the area that was affected,” said Simonaire, R-Pasadena, who is particularly perturbed by repeated sewage spills in the Patapsco River. …“I found it completely nonsensical that the department would be utilizing such a large percentage of what I always believed was going back into the impaired waterway for salaries and overhead,” said Vitale, R-Severna Park.
