Businesses that violate environmental laws and permits damage our air, land, and water, sometimes irreparably. Yet too often, these polluters aren't held accountable for harming the environment and public health. In Maryland, state officials don't respond to all violations, and, when they do, they aren't always successful. Even when they are successful, fines and other penalties don't necessarily result in behavior change. As a result, Maryland polluters are largely off the hook for the "externalities" of doing business.
To deter pollution, we need true accountability. We must ensure polluters pay for all harm done, whether to the environment, humans, and other species and habitats. Unfortunately, Maryland, like most other states, is a long way from achieving this goal. At CPR, we're tracking bills in the Maryland legislature that, if passed, would set the state on a path to greater compliance with environmental laws. These bills would:
Enforce data transparency
Environmental enforcement and compliance rates in Maryland have fallen to record lows over the last decade. The Maryland Department of the Environment's (MDE) 2020 Enforcement & Compliance Report reflects that downward enforcement trend. Some top findings:
Part of the problem is that MDE has lost over 13 percent of its staff over the last 20 years. Given the Herculean task of overseeing close to 209,000 permitted and regulated entities, the agency lacks capacity to ensure appropriate inspection, compliance, and enforcement measures.
Maryland Senate Bill 324 and House Bill 204 would provide greater access to environmental enforcement data, which the public needs to be an informed ally in the enforcement of our environmental laws. These bills would also help the public understand compliance trends and cumulative harms to the environment due to violations and know whether the state has taken action against suspected polluters. If enacted, these bills would enable Maryland residents and advocates to watchdog the state's environmental efforts, which is especially important given inadequate staffing and enforcement at the state level. Both bills are awaiting votes in their respective committees.
Expand 'citizen intervention' in Clean Water Act cases
Private citizens play a key role in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Two important mechanisms that enable them to do so include their ability to file suit against a polluter and to join a government lawsuit against a polluter (aka "citizen intervention").
But since a 2010 Maryland appellate court decision, residents and environmental organizations have lacked access to the courts through citizen intervention. Maryland Senate Bill 334 and House Bill 76 would reinstate citizens' right to intervene in state court proceedings in Maryland, a right enjoyed by residents of virtually every other state. The House of Delegates has approved the bill (92-40), and the Senate version is awaiting committee action.
Increase equitable access to public information
Residents and organizations often face challenges that prevent equitable access to public records. Some can't access requested information in a timely manner, and some are charged exorbitant fees for public information. Likewise, fee waiver requests are often denied to organizations that merit them.
A few years ago, Maryland created a Public Information Act (PIA) ombudsman to oversee disputes between government agencies and information requestors. While the ombudsman plays an important role in ensuring fair outcomes, Maryland's PIA law should be modernized to address ongoing challenges.
Senate Bill 449 and House Bill 183 would increase equitable access to public information housed in state and local agencies. It would give the PIA Compliance Board — an independent state agency — broader authority over fee disputes, including denials of fee waivers. These bills would also codify an integrated PIA complaint resolution process with the PIA ombudsman and require agencies to streamline and publish PIA disclosure policies, among other things. Both bills are awaiting votes in their respective committees.
Establish a constitutional right to a healthy and healthful environment
Maryland's patchwork of "environmental standing" laws — which determine who has the right to sue to protect the environment —grant standing to Marylanders only in limited situations. Standing is often limited to people who are directly impacted by government decisions and actions and those who experience specific harms to property or finances or who have been denied permits. For those who don't live next to impacted areas or operations, standing is often difficult, if not impossible, to establish.
Senate Bill 151 and House Bill 82 would create a constitutional right to a healthy and healthful environment and grant Marylanders the legal power to act on it. If passed, this legislation would make environmental protection mandatory — not just an aspirational goal that can be amended at any point in time.
Under these bills, Maryland officials would be constitutionally obligated to protect the environment and its impact on public health and legally prevented from permitting egregious harm to public natural resources. Ultimately, they would give Marylanders another important tool to hold polluters accountable. Both bills are awaiting votes in their respective committees.
CPR is following these important bills as they move through the Maryland state legislature this session, which concludes on April 12. For updates, check back here, subscribe to our blog digests, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Showing 2,921 results
Katlyn Schmitt | March 1, 2021
Businesses that violate environmental laws and permits damage our air, land, and water, sometimes irreparably. Yet too often, these polluters aren't held accountable for harming the environment and public health. In Maryland, state officials don't respond to all violations, and, when they do, they aren't always successful. Even when they are successful, fines and other penalties don't necessarily result in behavior change. As a result, Maryland polluters are largely off the hook for the "externalities" of doing business.
Daniel Farber | February 26, 2021
In the wake of the Texas blackouts, we're seeing a number of familiar moves to deflect blame by the usual suspects -- politicians, regulators, and CEOs. These evasive tactics all begin with a core truth: Eliminating all risk is impossible and would be too expensive even if it weren't. But then they spin that truth in various ways. The result is to obscure responsibility for the disaster and the steps that should be taken going forward.
Allison Stevens | February 25, 2021
Seven years ago, public officials in cash-strapped Flint, Michigan, cut city costs by tapping the Flint River as a source of public drinking water. So began the most egregious example of environmental injustice in recent U.S. history, according to Paul Mohai, a founder of the movement for environmental justice and a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.
Robert Verchick | February 24, 2021
Since I began serving on Louisiana’s Climate Initiatives Task Force, charged with finding a way to zero out net greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, there is one question I get from people more than any other: "C'mon, are you serious?" It's not that Louisianans don't see the need. Sea-level rise could soon swallow our coast, and hurricanes souped up by climate change are now the new normal. The problem is how we see ourselves. Louisiana, I'm reminded, is an oil-and-gas state. Whatever were we thinking? My quick response is Louisiana is really an energy state, with more sun and offshore wind than most of our peers.
Richard E. Levy, Robert L. Glicksman | February 23, 2021
Since taking office, President Biden has pursued an active agenda to address many urgent matters that require his prompt attention. We hope one important initiative does not get lost in transition: restoring the norms of good governance.
Alexandra Klass | February 22, 2021
It is now a week out from the start of the massive Texas grid failure that has resulted in numerous deaths; millions of people plunged into darkness; scores of communities without clean water or heat in record cold temperatures; and billions of dollars in catastrophic damage to homes, businesses and the physical infrastructure that supports them. Critical questions surround the causes of this massive disaster and how to plan for the future so that a tragedy of this scale does not happen again.
Dan Rohlf | February 22, 2021
As the U.S. Senate considers President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees, one stands out as much for the position he was appointed to as for his impressive qualifications. Two days before his inauguration, Biden announced that he planned to elevate the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), often referred to as the president’s science advisor, to Cabinet rank. The move underlines Biden’s break with the previous administration’s de-emphasis and politicization of science, which downplayed climate change, sought to slash climate-related research spending, and crafted rules designed to limit the influence of science in agency decisionmaking. Biden tapped geneticist Eric Lander, who holds a doctorate in mathematics, to lead OSTP into new prominence.
Maggie Dewane | February 19, 2021
Intersectional environmentalism is a relatively new phrase that refers to a more inclusive form of environmentalism, one that ties anti-racist principles into sectors that have long profited from overlooking or ignoring historically disenfranchised populations.
Minor Sinclair | February 18, 2021
As many of you know, I started as the Center for Progressive Reform's new executive director this month. I am thrilled to join CPR in this historic moment, to commit the next stage of my life to fight for the integrity and strength of our democracy, and to establish, as FDR said 90 years ago, "the purpose of government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved."