Pretty Ducks but No Seaweed for Them to Eat or Forage Around In

Tornado Rumbles Through Maryland

4-20-2008

Damaged churches, schools and traffic accidents are the results of a tornado that hit Maryland on Sunday afternoon. The church Glyndon United Methodist Church in Butler lost its steeple and a school in Chellum loses its roof. Traffic accidents on the beltway. Part of the roof of the George E. Peters Seventh Day Adventist school was torn apart.

Polluters Contaminate Maryland's Waterways after 35 Years of Clean Water Act 10-17-2007

More than 37% percent of industrial and municipal facilities across Maryland discharged more pollution into our waterways than their Clean Water Act permits allow in 2005, according to Troubled Waters: An analysis of Clean Water Act compliance, a new report released today by Environment Maryland.

“As the Clean Water Act turns 35, polluters continue to foul our rivers, lakes and streams,” said Josh Bell, policy associate at Environment Maryland.  “With so many facilities dumping so much pollution, no one should be surprised that nearly half of America’s waterways are unsafe for swimming and fishing.  But we should be outraged.”  

The goals of the 1972 Clean Water Act are to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into waterways and make all U.S. waterways swimmable and fishable.  Over the last three and a half decades, this landmark environmental law has made significant improvements in water quality, but the original goals have yet to be met. 

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Environment Maryland obtained data on facilities’ compliance with the Clean Water Act between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005.  Environment Maryland researchers found that:

Fifty seven percent of all major U.S. industrial and municipal facilities discharged more pollution into U.S. waterways than allowed by law at least once during 2005.

The average facility exceeded its pollution permit limit by 263 percent, discharging close to four times the legal limit.

• 37.1 percent of Maryland’s industrial and municipal facilities exceeded their Clean Water Act permits at least once in 2005. 
• 36 facilities in Maryland reported more than 150 exceedances of their Clean Water Act permits in 2005.
• On average, Maryland facilities exceeding their Clean Water Act permits did so by 84.1%.

“Facilities in Maryland and across the country continue to dump more pollution into our waterways than is allowed by law,” said Bell
Bell noted that the findings are likely just the tip of the polluted iceberg, since the data that Environment Maryland analyzed includes only “major” facilities and does not include pollution discharged into waters by the thousands of minor facilities across the country. 

Over the last six years, the Bush administration has proposed or enacted numerous policies that weaken the Clean Water Act.  These include: two separate policies that eliminate Clean Water Act protections for streams and wetlands that feed and clean treasured lakes, rivers and bays; funding cuts to EPA’s budget, including significant cuts to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund; and policies that allow more sewage pollution into waterways.

Environment Maryland called on the Bush administration to end its efforts to weaken federal clean water safeguards and for Congress to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act, legislation to ensure all U.S. waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act.
Bell was joined by Kathy Phillips, of Assateague Coastal Trust, who is the Assateague Coastkeeper and a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance.  Speaking on behalf of the Atlantic coastal bays watershed she commented, “The Clean Water Restoration Act goes a long way to rectify many of these issues.  It is important that the Restoration Act, as written, be supported and passed so that our wetlands, small streams, creeks, and any body of water regardless of whether it is navigable or not, are protected under the law.”
Environment Maryland urged Representative Wayne Gilchrest to mark the anniversary of the Clean Water Act by joining the 172 cosponsors of the Clean Water Restoration Act. 

“Instead of holding polluters accountable, the Bush administration is allowing more—not less-- pollution to enter our waterways.  Now more than ever, Congress should step in to protect all of America’s waters,” concluded Bell.

Infants and Young Children of Baltimore 8-28-2007

Infants and young children living in Baltimore’s inner-city homes are at risk for serious perils, including fires, falls and poisoning, according to a small but revealing study from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. A survey of 32 urban homes and their residents found that many lacked functioning fire alarms, staircase gates and safe storage for medications, researchers report in the August issue of Pediatrics. Fires, falls and poisonings are the top causes of childhood home injuries in Baltimore.

The study found that:
• 97 percent of homes had smoke detectors but only half had a working one on each level of the home.
• None of the homes had staircases blocked correctly.
• Only 17 percent of homes had adult medications stored safely in a locked place.
• Nearly two-thirds of the homes had staircases too narrow and banister design that wouldn’t allow a gate to be fitted across the top of the stairs; one-third would not accommodate a gate at the bottom of the stairs.
• Nearly 20 percent had recognized environmental hazards such as using a gas stove to heat the home.
• Two of the 32 homes had exposed wires in the walls.
• Two homes had broken banisters or railings.
Not using home-safety devices such as stair-blocking gates, fire detectors and medicine-cabinet locks makes these homes dangerous for youngsters, researchers said. Barriers include poverty and the structural design of older urban homes that often doesn’t allow for proper installation of such devices, they point out.

“There are many factors that come into play here, and parental knowledge and financial situation are just part of the problem,” said study lead author Kimberly Stone, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatrician at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. “Clearly, the design of older urban homes and the lack of uniform measures to ensure home safety also play a role.”

Study participants—32 low-income, mostly unemployed pregnant women or mothers of children younger than 1 year from inner-city Baltimore—received information on safety products and practices and were given coupons to buy fire alarms, stair gates and medicine-cabinet locks. Researchers then interviewed the mothers about their home-safety practices and visited their homes to observe first-hand the use of safety products. Researchers found that parents tended to over-report their use of fire and smoke alarms, stair gates and cabinet locks, and many failed to use or install these products correctly. The study, albeit small, probably reflects patterns typical of Baltimore City’s impoverished urban pockets, researchers suspect.

“The take-home message for us as primary-care pediatricians is that we can’t simply ask parents if their homes are child-proof,” Stone said. “We need to be probing and ask specific questions about stair gates, fire alarms, medication storage, as well as about the state of repair and design of the home.”
The problem should be addressed on a macro level as well.

“We need to do more than hand out a free fire alarm and a pamphlet,” Stone added. “We need legislators, housing authorities, landlords and manufacturers of safety products to step up to the plate and help ensure compliance.”
For example, laws should require landlords to provide medication lock boxes and install and maintain smoke alarms with lifelong lithium batteries, which may improve safety. Also, requiring manufacturers to design gates that fit narrow stairs cases in urban homes may help reduce falls.

Past research indicates that more than 90 percent of fatal injuries of children younger than 1 year happen in the home.
The study was funded in part by the Thomas Wilson Sanitarium of Baltimore and by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Rape Laws

"For sure, this is not the last word on this," said Andrew D. Levy, a University of Maryland law professor, said that "to say once there has been penetration, all bets are off ... is an extremely dicey proposition." Alaska, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota and South Dakota have ruled that a woman may turn her "yes" to "no" at any time during a sexual encounter.

Shoreline Protection, Clean Energy Policies Top the List of Victories

Annapolis – The 2008 Maryland General Assembly adjourned at midnight on April 7.  This was a legislative session full of important steps forward for the environment.  In partnership with Gov. O’Malley and a statewide coalition of partners, Environment Maryland helped win key victories to protect the Chesapeake Bay, improve our energy policies, and take steps forward on other environmental issues. 

One of our top priorities this session was controlling development along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay, to protect a buffer of vegetation that limits pollution entering the waterways.  We were able to make this a reality by passing strong reforms to the Critical Area Act.  Introduced by the O’Malley administration, this bill will give the Critical Area Commission the authority it needs to administer and enforce protections against overdevelopment in the most environmentally sensitive land in the state.

The Maryland General Assembly also passed sweeping legislation during this year’s legislative session to increase renewable energy and energy efficiency. One bill more than doubles the state’s renewable energy standard to 20 percent by 2022.
Other clean energy bills will increase energy efficiency programs. The EmPower Maryland initiative requires utilities to manage programs that reduce per capita electricity consumption by 10 percent by 2015. Another bill, the Strategic Energy Investment Program, is an outcome from the Healthy Air Act, which we helped pass two years ago. The new bill implements the funding provisions of the 2006 law. It will create at least $40 million per year for clean energy.

The General Assembly failed to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act, which would have required the state to reduce global warming pollution 25 percent by 2020.

Despite being held harmless from the legislation, the United Steelworkers played into the hands of lobbyists opposing the bill. Three other unions endorsed the bill, since it would have created thousands of “green jobs,” but legislative leaders backed down in the face of the dispute.

Environment Maryland will continue to press for a statewide cap on global warming pollution, in addition to implementing specific clean energy policies. 

Energy Giant Gives in a Little 4-9-2008

BALTIMORE, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) today released the following statement regarding the Maryland Legislature's approval of legislation that will, upon Governor O'Malley's signature, finalize a pending settlement agreement between the company and the State of Maryland.

"Bringing closure to prior political and regulatory disputes in Maryland is important for our company."

Settlement highlights include:
• Constellation Energy will contribute $187 million in the form of a one- time $170 rate credit for BGE's residential electric customers.
• BGE customers will be relieved of the potential future liability for decommissioning Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 and Unit 2, scheduled to occur no earlier than 2034 and 2036, respectively.
• Constellation Energy will, through 2016, continue to collect $18.7 million per year in nuclear decommissioning costs for Calvert Cliffs and rebate this amount to residential customers as previously authorized by Senate Bill 1, approved in 2006.
• Reaffirmation of the validity of agreements signed with BGE, Constellation Energy's regulated utility, and other parties related to Maryland's 1999 restructuring law.
• Amendments to Maryland law governing investments in companies that own and operate regulated utilities. An investor will now be permitted to acquire up to 20 percent of the voting securities of a company such as Constellation Energy without prior PSC approval.
• BGE will resume collection of the residential return portion of the Provider of Last Resort revenue - eliminated at the beginning of 2007 under Senate Bill 1 - from June 1, 2008, through May 31, 2010. Additionally, the utility will implement revised depreciation accruals.

About the company:
Constellation Energy (http://www.constellation.com), a FORTUNE 125 company with 2007 revenues of $21 billion, is the nation's largest competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller. Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy-intensive industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 78 generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 8,700 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland.

Fly Ash Found in Dust at Homes Near Gambrills Dump 2-4-2008

Gambrills, Maryland – Laboratory technicians found toxic ash residue everywhere they looked as part of a study on exposure to airborne fly ash near a coal ash disposal facility in Anne Arundel County. The report released today by Environment Maryland documents the presence of fly ash in dust samples taken in and around homes near the BBSS ash dump.

“We’ve heard a lot about contaminated drinking water wells in this area, but people have not been informed about the ash particles that are drifting through the air,” said Brad Heavner, state director of Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center.

Eastmount Environmental Services, a Massachusetts-based air quality consulting firm, coordinated the collection and analysis in conjunction with EMLab P&K. They analyzed twelve dust samples taken from three clusters of homes around the dump. Fly ash was detected in all twelve samples.

Concentrations of the soot particles containing fly ash ranged from less than one percent to five percent of the dust.

“The dust results in this study are disturbing because the samples were taken a month after Constellation’s dumping was temporarily stopped. It seems like it’s everywhere in the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Tim Berkoff, of Crofton First, a local community organization. “This issue is ongoing since more fly ash dumping could occur at this site.”

Fly ash, the residue captured in the smokestacks of coal-burning power plants, contains heavy metals such as cadmium, thallium and beryllium. When exposure occurs over long periods of time, these metals can cause cancer and nervous system disorders.

Constellation Energy has dumped approximately four million tons of fly ash from its Brandon Shores and Wagner power plants at BBSS since 1995.

In response to publicity surrounding contamination of drinking water wells near the site, Constellation has stopped dumping at BBSS and entered a consent agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment to clean up the site and pay a million dollar fine.
Advocates called on the state to include protections against air pollution in new regulations to ensure future fly ash disposal facilities do not create as much contamination as the BBSS site in Gambrills. They also called for the permanent closure of the Gambrills facility.

“For far too long, companies have been using loopholes in the law to dispose of toxic waste in an irresponsible manner,” said Heavner. “As MDE moves to correct that, they should truly protect people who live near ash dumps by including air pollution protections.”

Glen Burnie Emergency Physician Larry Linder, MD, Recognized by the American College of Emergency Physicians as a "Hero of Emergency Medicine"

Washington, D.C. - The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) today announced it has recognized Larry Linder, MD, FACEP, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Baltimore Washington Medical Center, as a "Hero of Emergency Medicine." The campaign, which is part of ACEP's 40th anniversary, recognizes emergency physicians who have made significant contributions to emergency medicine, their communities and their patients.

"Emergency physicians are on the front lines of America's health care system, providing the essential community service of emergency care," says ACEP President Linda L. Lawrence, MD. "The dedication, passion and commitment Dr. Linder has shown embodies the vision of ACEP's founders and the ideals of our specialty."

Dr. Linder, who also serves as chair of the emergency department at Baltimore Washington Medical Center, is a visionary with practicality and execution, an outstanding leader, and an exceptional emergency physician. He champions legislative issues, and along with Dr. David Davis, helped write and pass the Prudent Layperson Definition, making Maryland the first state in the nation to enact it. During his four years as Maryland ACEP president, he instituted the pre-hospital provider award and developed the chapters Administrative Resident Mentor program. He has headed the Maryland ACEP Education Committee for the past seven years. He developed the "Legal Jeopardy Game" to familiarize emergency medicine personnel with Maryland's health laws, and he is involved with Maryland ACEP's public policy and advocacy programs.

At Baltimore Washington Medical Center, he has worked tirelessly to solve on-call specialty challenges and the "ED back door" issue, mentor leaders throughout the hospital, address reimbursement problems, and remain a model of fairness in his dealings with all members of his hospital community.

"The American College of Emergency Physicians is celebrating 40 years of advancing emergency care, and the nation's emergency physicians are dedicated to saving even more lives and to improving emergency care for the next 40 years," said Dr. Lawrence. "Tens of thousands of lives are saved each year by emergency physicians and 115 million patients are treated in the nation's emergency departments. Emergency physicians are medical specialists who are experts in their field."

ACEP is a national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine with more than 25,000 members. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.

Critical Need for Land Conservation Funding in Maryland 12-23-2007

Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center released its new report, “Our Natural Heritage at Risk: Threats Facing Seven of Maryland’s Most Special Places.”  The report highlights seven places across Maryland that are at risk from development, and the environmental importance of preserving those places before they are lost forever.

“This report demonstrates the critical need for a renewed focus on preserving our open spaces in every region of the state,” said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, staff attorney for Environment Maryland.  “Our forests, farms, and parks are essential, whether to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, to sustain our drinking water supplies, or to protect natural habitat.”

The seven locations include the Prettyboy Reservoir, a key source of drinking water for the Baltimore region; the Annapolis Neck, which helps protect the Chesapeake Bay; Assawoman Bay and Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, both critical sources of habitat; Terrapin Run, which flows through one of Maryland’s largest forests; and Cayots Corner and the Patuxent River Rural Legacy Area, both farming districts of historic and environmental significance.  All seven of these areas are threatened by development.

“Development is one of the most significant threats facing the Chesapeake Bay,” said Terry Cummings, Manager of Advocacy for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.  Poorly planned growth paves over our open spaces, creating polluted runoff and destroying natural filters that help clean the Bay.  We must do more to better manage development and protect our open spaces.”

These programs protect not just forests and farms, but help create public parks and recreation centers as well. “Program Open Space is an essential tool in preserving and protecting park and recreational opportunities for future generations of Marylanders.  Our quality of life is directly tied to our parks, our recreation, and our natural and cultural heritage,” said Tom Ross, Director of the Maryland Recreation and Parks Association.

Program Open Space and the real estate transfer tax were created in 1969 to provide a dedicated funding source for the state and counties to preserve land.  Until recently, the program was so successful that land preservation actually kept pace with development.  However, from 2002 – 2006 the Governor and the legislature raided over $480 million from this dedicated fund.  The uncertainty caused by this funding shortfall has meant uncertainty for land preservation efforts across the state.

“At risk is 62% of Maryland’s lands, which are currently in private ownership and are neither developed nor preserved.  This land is up for grabs,” said Marcia Verploegen Lewis, Director of Partners for Open Space. “We must decide now what we want Maryland's future landscape to look like."

Advocates called on Governor-Elect Martin O’Malley and the incoming legislature to end the pattern of raids on open space funding in this year’s budget, and to control sprawling development.  "In November, voters who care about our environment supported Governor-Elect O'Malley and conservation candidates in the legislature, in part because of their strong commitment to land conservation and smart growth. Maryland's new and returning environmental leaders hold the keys to protecting our lands and our way of life, and we look forward to working on these issues with our partners in the State House," said Cindy Schwartz, Executive Director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

Earlier this summer, O’Malley pledged to fully fund Program Open Space for the next four years.  The pledge was part of a campaign organized by Environment Maryland to raise awareness of the importance of land conservation.  Roughly a third of the incoming Delegates and Senators also signed this pledge.

Funding for Seniors Innovations for Aging Program 10-23-07

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Senate considers the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) spending bill, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) received a promise from LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) that they would do their best to secure funding for the Community Innovations for Aging in Place program, which Senator Mikulski created last year. In a conversation for the Senate record, Senators Harkin and Specter said they will fight to secure funding for the program when the bill goes to a conference committee between the Senate and House of Representatives to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill.

“As our nation anticipates the retirement of 78 million baby boomers, it is becoming more and more important to support programs that help keep seniors at home and independent,” said Senator Mikulski. “Seniors should be able to stay in the communities they know for as long as possible.”
Senator Mikulski, Chairman of the Retirement and Aging Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, created the Community Innovations for Aging in Place program in the Older American Act Amendments of 2006 to promote the development and growth of community-based health and human services to assist older Americans in maintaining their independence and quality of life as they age. The funding for this new program will allow the Administration on Aging to support aging in place programs in communities across the country. For more information, go to: http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=264262.

American Public and Supreme Court Wins Against Power Plant Pollutors