environmental politics

Maryland's candidates for governor must either defend the 'rain tax' or explain why a major source of water pollution should be ignored

Demonstration held after EPA called for more information Friday

Plans for redeveloping a former chromium factory site in Fells Point hit a new snag Friday, as federal and state regulators called for changes in the Harbor Point developer's plans for protecting the public from toxic contaminants in the ground during construction of an office building there for Exelon Corp.

Climate change is a looming problem that will affect developed and developing countries.

A public meeting on environmental safeguards for redeveloping a Fells Point former factory site has been reset for Nov. 14, Baltimore City Council member James B. Kraft announced.

A federal judge has denied - for now, at least -the environmental group Blue Water Baltimore's bid to intervene in the city's effort to delay its court-decreed deadline for fixing the sewage leaks that routinely foul local streams and Baltimore's harbor.

The Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort got a $9.2 million injection of funds Wednesday, as the Environmental Protection Agency and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced grants to 40 projects to reduce storm-water and farm pollution, rebuild oyster reefs and restore trout streams and other habitats across the six-state watershed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $30,000 to help educate Baltimore families about the risks to young children of lead poisoning, which despite progress made in reducing exposure over the years still affects nearly 3,000 youngsters across Maryland.

In a northern city like Baltimore, the energy savings from an 'eco-roof' may not pan out.

Kittleman senator and Republican county executive candidate Allan Kittleman has prefiled legislation to repeal the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, he announced Monday

A new analysis of the nation's farm animal industry finds almost no reforms have been made in the five years since a broad-based commission called for sweeping changes to address concerns about food safety, animal welfare and the environmental impacts of modern poultry and livestock production.

As the late budget agreement cleared the way for federal workers across Maryland to go back to work and government offices to reopen Thursday, attention in Washington shifted to the next fiscal deadline: Jan. 15, when funding is set to run out again.

Latest report from UN panel shows the threat of man-made climate change is real and should not be ignored

Harford County Executive David R. Craig describes himself as a moderate by temperament but he is staking out positions on critical issues that seem certain to appeal to the Republican party's hard-core conservative base as he seeks the 2014 gubernatorial nomination.

Even as some Fells Point residents worry that building over toxic soil at Harbor Point could endanger their health, records show elevated levels of cancer-causing chromium in groundwater just beyond the site targeted for an upscale development.

Farming and building groups are appealing a federal judge's ruling recently that upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's "pollution diet" for the Chesapeake Bay.

A meeting to address residents' concerns over environmental hazards on the site of the proposed Harbor Point development has been delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

Richard Clark, an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration, has been declared an "essential" federal worker. That means Clark can preside over previously scheduled disability benefits hearings — but he won't be able to deliver decisions because the support staff has been furloughed. Throughout the federal bureaucracy, some workers are puzzled over who's still working and who was sent home.

Effects of the partial federal government shutdown Tuesday were felt across Maryland, home to 300,000 federal workers, more government contractors, and several agencies.

A victory for the Chesapeake Bay

BGE must work with the city and other stakeholders to find the least environmentally damaging route for a new gas pipeline through the area

Del. Maggie McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat who chairs the House Environmental Matters Committee, expects a "very strong push" to repeal Maryland's storm-water fee law when lawmakers return to Annapolis in January, but vows to fight any rollback.

Extremist ideologies are not the answer

Finishing the job of restoring the Bay will create more jobs, revive the seafood industry, and stimulate tourism, recreation fishing and even real estate values.

EPA rules governing carbon emissions from new power plants give U.S. a chance to make real progress on global warming

Maryland's Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin joined environmentalists in praising the Obama administration's announcement Friday that it is moving to curb carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants.

Scientists and others dealing with polluted runoff are rising to the defense of Maryland's storm-water management laws in the wake of Harford County Executive David Craig's call for their repeal.

Just as there's good reason to be skeptical about the Maryland Stormwater Remediation Fee, often referred to as the "rain tax," there's reason to be skeptical about Harford County Executive David R. Craig's vow to introduce legislation to repeal the county's version of the tax.

With their lawsuit to upend EPA regulations failed, farmers should now jump on the bay clean up bandwagon

Harford County Executive David R. Craig, a leading Republican candidate for governor, called Tuesday for a sweeping rollback of Maryland's environmental laws, saying measures passed by the state's leaders have failed to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

Harford County Executive and gubernatorial hopeful David Craig said he wants to repeal the state's storm water remediation fee, known as the "rain tax," and challenged state officials to prove that the mandate actually makes sense.

Craig event to highlight 'rain tax' impact

A federal judge on Friday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's right to impose a pollution "diet" for the Chesapeake Bay, rejecting a legal challenge to the restoration effort from farmers' and builders' groups.

Plans for developing a former Baltimore chemical plant now known as Harbor Point will be aired Wednesday as the developer and government regulators explain safeguards planned to prevent release of contaminated soil and ground water beneath the site.

Federal regulators have reached a tentative deal with Carnival Corp. on a plan to reduce air pollution from nearly a third of its cruise ships, but the accord comes too late to reverse at least a temporary loss of lucrative cruise business for Baltimore.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman and the head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation sparred Tuesday at a congressional field hearing over the stormwater fees forced this year on homeowners and businesses in Maryland's most populous localities.

BGE customers are collectively saving nearly 1.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year through energy-efficiency incentive programs. It's enough energy to power 156,000 homes for a year, or the equivalent of a year's worth of greenhouse gas emissions from 230,000 cars.

Baltimore's Elijah Cummings is the voice of reason on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the chief restraint on chairman Darrell Issa

State leaders like Martin O'Malley are pushing the nation to address carbon pollution, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner says.