Governor O’Malley signed into law this morning the Stormwater Management Act, HB 786/SB784. The bill sets higher standards for new development to reduce the polluted runoff that washes off our parking lots, roofs, and roads and damages our streams and pollutes the Chesapeake Bay. Environmental organizations also held an event to thank the bill sponsors, Del. Jane Lawton and Sen. James Rosapepe, for their hard work on this legislation.
“It is imperative to clean up
the Chesapeake Bay now,” said Delegate Jane
Lawton (D-18), the House sponsor. “We’ve passed the strongest stormwater
management legislation in the country and hope that the other states in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed will follow suit.”
Runoff from development, also
called stormwater runoff, is the fastest growing source of nitrogen and
phosphorous pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater runoff also carries chemicals and
other toxins into Maryland’s
rivers and the bay. Scientists suspect
stormwater runoff was responsible for the cancerous lesions found on fish in
the South River last summer.
“This is a bill whose time
has come,” said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, staff attorney for Environment
Maryland. “For a long time we have
permitted development to pollute our streams and the bay, encouraging but not
requiring smarter, cleaner development practices that could have protected our
waters from that pollution. It is time
to require cleaner development in Maryland.”
Environment Maryland presented the sponsors with
certificates naming them “Stormwater Champions”.
"Controlling storm water
is isn't sexy,” said Senator James Rosapepe (D-21), the Senate sponsor. “But it's critical to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Once again, Maryland has decided to lead the nation
in protecting our environment. Together with strong regulations, this law can
make a significant difference in saving the Bay and its tributaries."
Cindy Schwartz, Executive
Director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, said: “You know you’re
doing something right when you’ve got environmentalists, home builders,
counties, and local residents working together to solve a serious problem. From
an economic standpoint, it’s a no-brainer -- these standards are cheaper for
developers to implement and cheaper for taxpayers because they prevent
pollution in the first place. This will be a big step forward for the Bay.”
The Stormwater Management Act
is a fiscally neutral bill that applies to all new major development. The bill:
· Requires
developers to use environmental site design as the primary method for managing
stormwater, and requires no net increase in runoff from a development site.
· Requires cities
and counties to update archaic local zoning codes to allow for low impact
design techniques.
· Directs the
Maryland Department of the Environment to study and recommend the implementation
of an appropriate fee schedule to increase enforcement of stormwater laws and
to create a comprehensive process for permitting development that will protect
our waters from the first ground-breaking to the final stages of development
and beyond.
