The dispute over Maryland's new storm-water pollution limits finally gets its day in Annapolis - or will it get two?
Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, the Prince George's County Democrat who presides over a joint legislative committee that reviews regulations, has relented and scheduled a hearing Tuesday on changes to the storm-water curbs that have been sought by developers and local officials.
Pinsky had refused to act on emergency changes to the storm-water regulations proposed by the state Department of the Environment unless he had a chance to "tweak" them. The changes had been hammered out in closed-door negotiations among builders, local officials and representatives of a couple environmental groups. They would "grandfather" an unknown number of development projects from having to meet the stringent new runoff controls and allow local officials to grant waivers from some requirements for redevelopment projects. Developers had argued it was costly and unfair to change the requirements on projects already in the works, while local officials said they feared redevelopment would dry up if expected to curb runoff as much as the new rules required.
Representatives of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and 1000 Friends of Maryland agreed to those changes, after managing to limit their sweep. But the deal riled other environmentalists, who oppose any weakening of the state's requirements. Storm-water runoff from developed land is a significant and growing source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, they point out.
If the joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review fails to approve the emergency regulations by Thursday, the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee stands ready to go ahead at 1 p.m. that day with a hearing on a bill, HB1125, that would make similar changes via legislation. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill after Pinsky stalled action on the rules changes.
The Tuesday hearing will begin at 4 p.m. in the joint committee hearing room. Unlike the House hearing on the storm-water bill, proponents and opponents alike will get a chance to testify. What happens after that will determine whether the dispute is settled with regulatory changes -- or it carries on into the General Assembly's final days, as proponents seek to force action in the Senate.
(Baltimore Sun file photo)