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.
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.