Issue Position: Environment

Issue Position

Making sure that the air we breathe and the water we drink is clean is vital to ensuring the health of our children and our community. Protecting our environment is not some abstract idea that can be continually discussed but not acted upon. Failing to protect our environment now will have drastic negative impacts on our children and grandchildren. We need to take concrete steps immediately to ensure that we give future generations a better planet than we inherited.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Do Our Part to Limit Climate Change

Maryland has the potential to become a leading state in the reduction of dangerous greenhouse gases by increasing the workload and coordination of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The RGGI is the first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This joint venture is a cooperative project among Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector. If successful, we can provide a pioneering model to reduce greenhouse gases around the country.

Continue to Implement the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP)

Maryland developed a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to protect our waterways and reduce pollution going into the Chesapeake Bay. The WIP is being implemented in many phases, and we've got to make sure that it's properly and adequately planned so that we can protect our environment and continue harnessing the economic engine that is the Chesapeake Bay. To do this, we've got to employ what's known as Total Daily Maximum Loads (TDML's). TDML's basically create a pollution diet for the Bay and Maryland's watershed by limiting the amount of harmful nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediments that flow into the Bay.

Protect our Open Spaces and Environmental Treasures

We've got to work to preserve funding for Program Open Space, a long-term commitment to conserving our natural resources and providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities for our citizens. More than 5,800 conservation projects have been assisted through Program Open Space. One idea to fully preserve funding for the critical conservation program would be to create a lockbox for Program Open Space funds. This would mean that funds dedicated to preserving our environment can't be taken away to provide stopgaps for budgetary gimmicks.

Crack Down on Pesticide Usage to Protect our Water

We've got to crack down on the application of restricted-use pesticides, which the EPA says pose a great risk to our drinking water and environment. Right now, farmers aren't required to report when and how much pesticide they use. These chemicals then run off into our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. Because the farmers aren't required to report their pesticide usage, we can't tell how much damage it's causing to the environment. Maryland's farmers are already required to record their pesticide usage -- all we need them to do now is report it. Our communities and families have a right to know and a right to act with regard to the chemicals going into our drinking water.

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