Environmental Justice in Maryland

On September 30, 2019, the Maryland Department of Environment held a meeting on the growing concerns surrounding the effectiveness of the “Baltimore City Building Backup Expedited Reimbursement Pilot Program”. Albeit the name of the program is long, the issues that this program remedies are concise. In general, the program is meant to compensate for the cost of the flooding of sewage within the basements of Baltimore City residents.

For almost a year, our team has been knocking on doors, visiting community association, and speaking at community festivals in Baltimore City about a subject nobody really wants to talk about: sewage backing up into people's basements. According to 311 call records, this happens to more than 4,500 times in Baltimore City every year, and the results can be severe: thousands of dollars in financial damages, panic and disruption to daily life, exposure to dangerous pathogens, and long-term health risks from mold and mildew in damp, bacteria-infested walls.

On Tuesday, August 6, the Baltimore City Council's Judiciary Committee held its first public hearing on the Plastic Bag Reduction Bill. This important legislation bans plastic bags in stores in Baltimore, with exceptions for bags used for products like fresh meats, unpackaged fruits, or ice, and locations like farmers' markets and pharmacies. It also puts a 5-cent fee on paper bags - part of which will help the store meet the extra cost of buying and storing paper bags, and part of which can help the city distribute free reusable bags.