Bill Positions

Bill Number: HB 614

Bill Title: Environment - Coal Combustion By-Products - Permits

Bill Sponsor(s): Delegate Love, et al

Subject: Environment & Energy

Committee: ENV

Bill Summary: This bill would have required MDE to hold an informational meeting on any permit application to dispose of coal combustion by-products (CCBs). It would have required that the informational meeting be within 5 mile radius of the location of the facility. Additionally, it would have required MDE to hold a public hearing on the permit and provide written notice of the public hearing to the county in which the facility is located and any County within a 5 mile radius of the facility.

History: This bill received an UNF report in the House Environmental Matters Committee.

Chamber Position: Support W/ Amend

Position Summary: The Chamber believed extending the current 1-mile radius to a 5-mile radius for the provision of written public hearing notices was too broad, and would have included persons unaffected by the site location. The current 1- mile radius was sufficient, and there are existing protections to ensure that people truly impacted receive sufficient notice. Therefore, the Maryland Chamber suggested an amendment to strike (B)(2)(II) in the bill that states "any county within a 5-mile radius o the landfill or landfill.

Position Statement: To view the Chamber's complete position statement, click here (pdf).

Chamber Staff: Allyson Black

General Assembly: Click here to view the bill on the Maryland General Assembly's website.