environmental politics

University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic must be held accountable for Eastern Shore lawsuit

Maryland shifts cost of cleanup from farms to taxpayers

James Richardson, director of the Harford County Office of Economic Development, was present at the luncheon event, presenting information about Harford's accomplishments and challenges.

Offering farmers a 10-year exemption from water pollution regulations in exchange for voluntary cooperation is a risky idea

The new pope can have a profound influence on world affairs if he focuses on social, economic and environmental justice.

Requiring those who sell or apply registered pesticides in Maryland to share information on their use is a prudent step toward protecting public health

Pennsylvania's headlong plunge into drilling for natural gas from Marcellus shale formations has produced winners and losers. Businesses catering to the energy industry have opened or expanded, and some landowners who signed leases allowing wells to be drilled on their property have profited. But critics say fracking has polluted wells and threatens the environment.

Cal Thomas offers a musical theater-inspired tribute to Washington dysfunction

Maryland residents who fear the winter storm will cut their power supply might appreciate CDS Logistics President Roy Cranford¿s vision of stationary generators one day becoming as commonplace as air conditioners.

During a mandatory public hearing Thursday night that drew little community interest, Aberdeen Proving Ground officials explained their proposal not to do any remedial action in an area where 17 small radioactive devices were found between 2009 and 2011.

Health officials haven't determined how hot water became contaminated at the Johns Hopkins at Keswick complex Monday, sickening nearly two dozen people. But one acknowledged that the case may be similar to past cases involving faulty water-heating systems that let chemicals mix into potable water.

Bay Program director sees progress toward cleanup but warns it's too soon to declare victory

Third time's the charm as Governor O'Malley's ambitious plan to encourage offshore wind power in Maryland moves forward

A Perry Hall man was sentenced Friday to 12.5 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $42 million in restitution after being convicted of selling $9 million worth of fake biodiesel fuel credits.

The Army will hold a public information meeting in Edgewood next week to go over its findings in connection with a former salvage site on Aberdeen Proving Ground where a small amount of radioactive material was found beginning in 2009.

Baltimore water officials have been dogged in the last year by a series of extremely public problems. But behind the scenes, they have also been making progress on the city's aged and long-deteriorating water system.

Gay Lynn Diffenderffer had no idea that her husband was growing marijuana at their Baltimore County home, her attorney says, until state police investigating his mysterious disappearance discovered about 100 plants in a locked basement.

Though a federal judge recently cleared poultry producer Perdue and one of its Eastern Shore growers of allegations that they fouled a Chesapeake Bay tributary, environmentalists say they believe their failed lawsuit still succeeded in spotlighting flaws in Maryland's enforcement of farm pollution laws and regulations.

The Chesapeake Bay is showing increased resilience in the face of natural and man-made abuses, though it's still seriously impaired, according to the latest official report on the regional restoration effort.

A trio of environmental groups warned Monday they would sue the operator of three coal-fired power plants in Maryland for allegedly discharging excessive amounts of nutrient pollution into Chesapeake Bay rivers and trying to mask their violations by transferring pollution "credits" among facilities.

Harford County government is holding a public informational meeting next week to discuss impact of new state and federal stormwater control mandates that some officials say will force the county to collect a new and more costly version of the reviled flush tax.

Climate change earns a prominent mention in Inaugural Address as President Obama wisely plots a pragmatic, incremental approach to the problem

Departing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson says one of the "prouder moments" of her tenure was President Obama's agreement to have the federal government take the lead in trying to ramp up the lagging Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. She says the estuary is improving, though challenges remain.

A new federal report finds toxic contamination remains widespread in the Chesapeake Bay, with severe impacts in some places, which health and environmental advocates say lends support to their push in Annapolis for legislative action on pesticides and other hazardous chemicals.

How hard is it to breathe in Beijing? So bad that the government is finally recognizing the truth as people demand cleaner air

In a nod to a small but vocal opposition, Maryland utility regulators say they will give energy customers an option on smart meters — but they haven't decided yet whether that option will be an opt-out. If so, it won't be free.

There's no evidence fracking contaminates groundwater

Lisa Jackson has been a courageous EPA administrator

State-funded programs should not go on ideologically driven environmental adventures like the Hudson farm case

The president can't rely on GOP cooperation, so he must make use of executive orders to make progress on environment, health and safety

Volunteerism isn't enough and leadership is lacking, but accountability has improved

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Waterkeeper Alliance failed to prove that an Eastern Shore farm's chicken houses were polluting a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

County leaders are using the Susquehanna issue to divert attention from their responsibility to protect the Chesapeake

Nutrient-trading can be an effective strategy for reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay

A pioneering regional compact to fight climate change stands at a crossroads, as officials from Maryland and eight other Northeast states meet Tuesday in New York to weigh new limits on their power plants' carbon dioxide emissions.

More active enforcement of the law is the better approach

AAA wants sale of E15 blocked for now

The Tiber Hudson branch of the Patapsco River will be the subject of a consultant's study beginning in December as a local preservation group pursues ways to improve the waterway that ultimately feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.

State rules requiring "offsets" for water pollution from new development have been delayed until next year, Maryland's top environmental regulator told lawmakers Wednesday.

Elevated levels of a toxic industrial solvent have been found in three more residential wells near Salisbury, the Maryland Department of the Environment reported Wednesday.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is downplaying the impact of major storms, even though they could undo the effect of the EPA's expensive pollution diet requirements.

Chesapeake Compost Works, a new firm in Curtis Bay, is processing food waste from area restaurants, markets and institutions into compost, seeking to profit while helping the environment.