Today, the House Environment and Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on HB589, a bill to help build Maryland's compost industry by phasing in a requirement that large food waste producers (restaurants, cafeterias, schools, and large institutions) keep that food waste out of the trash if there is a compost facility that could take it. We submitted this joint testimony signed by 28 organizations in Maryland.
The estimated number of Californians affected by water contaminated by toxic PFAS chemicals is rising. Data released just last week confirms that California has cause for worry, and underscores that the state should act now to protect its residents. One way to do that is to pass laws that stop unnecessary use and release of these harmful chemicals and that provide for better testing for them.
In a very memorable episode of Seinfeld, Kramer and Newman take off in Newman’s mail truck loaded down with empty pop cans to return in Michigan for a tidy profit of 10 cents per can. The scheme was hatched in Jerry’s apartment, and their initial run was to be a sort of test to see whether or not a massive operation of muling pop cans into Michigan to defraud our bottle bill program was feasible.
In the first weeks of the legislative session, 60 organizations signed on to this testimony in support of a suite of bills to end artificial incentives the state of Maryland gives to trash incineration, and support the development of zero waste alternatives.
To the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Larry Hogan,
It is clear to everyone that it’s time for bold, ambitious climate action and the Massachusetts Legislature has a lot of options to choose from.
Did you know that septic systems inspectors in Maryland don't have to be licensed? That's right - the person who paints your home has to go through more training, paperwork, and ongoing requirements than the person who checks that your poop will be processed properly. We're working on a bill to change that system; check out our testimony this week on SB254 below.
If you live in Massachusetts, I'm almost 100% certain you or someone you know has asthma. See, our state holds the dubious distinction of being the worst in the Northeast with regards to asthma. The prevalence of asthma in both children and adults—and related deaths—is amongst the highest in the nation.
As I watched a February 11 hearing about regulating lead at the tap, I experienced one of those “Opposite Day” episodes where two objective realities collide. I listened to 7 witnesses talk to the U.S. Congress about the proposed revisions to the Safe Drinking Water Act Lead and Copper Rule. My colleague Kim Gaddy, who lives in Newark, talked about what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should do to improve the proposal.
Yesterday, we testified in favor of House Bill 279, which would reduce the barriers that prevent people who want to reduce polluted stormwater runoff from installing green infrastructure on their own property. As we work to improve our local waterways, local governments should be making that easier, not harder! Here's what we had to say:
HB 279: Real Property - Restrictions on Use - Low-Impact Landscaping
House Environment and Transportation Committee
February 11, 2020
These cuts won’t just mean that EPA is doing less to protect our water, they also hit state and local governments and drinking water systems hard. States where Clean Water Action works would lose out on federal funding, leaving taxpayers and ratepayers holding the bag.