On March 12, 2024, Associate Policy Director Dominic Butchko submitted written testimony to the House Environment and Transportation Committee in support of HB 1512- Bay Restoration Fund- Use of Funds- Municipal Wastewater Facilities- Sunset Repeal. This bill repeals the sunset on the use of the Bay Restoration Fund (BRF) for costs associated with with the connection of a property using an on-site sewage disposal system to an existing municipal wastewater facility.
This bill would continue the important work started in 2020 of ensuring more buildings are serviced by environmentally friendly sewer systems, instead of septic systems.
Several counties have wastewater facilities that are in the process of upgrading but do not have the funds to complete the project due to lack of connections. HB 1512 would provide needed support for connections to facilities intending to upgrade. The result is a preferable one for environmental outcomes, as in virtually all cases a connection to upgraded municipal facilities yields better pollution reductions than upgraded on-site septic systems.
HB 1512 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, on April 2. MACo submitted testimony in support.
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