Baltimore County bill would exempt waterfront businesses from Maryland environmental rules

Submitted by Ritaontherocksnosalt t3_zwhb98 in baltimore

An attorney with a nonprofit that’s focused on restoring the Chesapeake Bay’s health says the proposed bill flouts Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection law, designed to prevent additional runoff — and other pollution — from flowing into the nation’s largest estuary.

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/baltimore-county/baltimore-county-council-bill-would-exempt-waterfront-eateries-from-state-environmental-protection-laws-N3JIOFDL5ZGCXBXI7OJUDBPIBI/?

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megalomike t1_j1upeue wrote

this story is from 4 months ago, this bill went nowhere, it was introduced by a retiring councilmember for completely inscrutable reasons, maybe as a stunt.

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DemonDeke t1_j1wlcg4 wrote

Good thing OP posted this old story and potentially confused people in the process.

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Paral3lC0smos t1_j1vs457 wrote

This was DOA and pretty much just a last “idgaf about anyone but my political sponsors and myself” FU from Cathy Bevins. No one will miss her 🙄

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moderndukes t1_j1unrwk wrote

> Exempting some waterfront property owners from setback and mitigation requirements entirely would make Baltimore County unique among the state’s 24 jurisdictions.

> Under current law, developers who can’t meet critical area mitigation requirements are charged a fee that is used on waterway restoration initiatives. It’s unclear if the proposed bill would waive those fees.

> “I’m scratching my head over how they think they’re gonna do this,” said Jon Mueller, vice president of litigation at the Annapolis-based Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

> “It violates state law,” Mueller said, adding that he can’t recall any other Maryland jurisdiction attempting to circumvent critical area laws with such exemptions.

That was my biggest question: if this was something unique to Baltimore County or if other counties had something similar. Seems like it would be the former, in which case fuck this.

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