.jpg)
The end of this week marks the official half-way point to our 90-day sesion, but the 69th day, or Crossover on March 17th, is our next big milestone on the calendar. Each Chamber must send bills it intends to pass favorably to the opposite Chamber by this date. This means that the next few weeks will be jam packed with bill hearings and subcommittee meetings. Our priorities for the session remain focused on septic legislation, environmental resiliency and restoration legislation, and safeguarding vital funding in our state budget.
Here are some specific bills Arundel Rivers is supporting:
HB131/SB117 & HB747 Septic System Upgrade Program and Requirements for Inspections and Pumping:
These bills will better address nitrogen pollution coming from septic systems by expanding the priority of Bay Restoration Funding to include addressing failing systems within nitrogen-impaired watersheds and flood prone areas and by requiring inspection and pump outs during certain property transfers.
The Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) report has highlighted the need to address non-point source pollution in our waterways. A conventional septic system does not remove much nitrogen, instead delivering about 23.2 pounds of nitrogen per year to groundwater. Even Best Available Technology (BAT) systems, only reduce nitrogen loading to about half that of a conventional system. Comparatively, wastewater treatment plants with enhanced nutrient removal can discharge effluent containing only 3milligrams per liter of nitrogen. Pollution from septic systems now exceeds nitrogen pollution from our wastewater treatment plants in 17 counties. Even in counties where wastewater treatment plants are contributing more nitrogen, septic systems are still having a large impact at the local subwatershed level. For example, 16% of Anne Arundel County’s nitrogen loading is coming from septic systems. This is likely higher in waterways such as the South, West, and Rhode River where there are no large wastewater treatment plants discharging.
Now that we have addressed the larger wastewater treatment plants through Bay Restoration Funds (BRF), it is time we begin addressing septic systems as part of the battle to address nitrogen pollution to meet our water quality goals. According to MDE, Maryland has approximately 420,000 septic systems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 52,000 of which are located in the critical area. HB131/SB117 bill will expand the BRF priority funding area beyond critical areas, additionally prioritizing failing systems in nitrogen-impaired watersheds and failing systems within 500-year floodplains.
HB747 will ensure that septic systems are properly inspected and pumped out prior to property transfer or when a new tenant occupies the property. Inspecting and pumping out septic systems is crucial for maintaining their functionality, preventing environmental hazards, and avoiding costly repairs. Inspections and regular pump outs will prevent system failures, protect public health, better protect our local environment, save costs and extend the lifespan of the septic system, and maintain property values. This bill takes a reasonable, inexpensive, and proactive step towards identifying problem systems and properly maintaining systems to prevent future problems.
HB506/SB428 Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act:
Arundel Rivers applauds the Moore Administration for The Bay Legacy Act and supports the intent of HB506/SB428. As we are currently facing the 2025 targeted deadlines outlined in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and uncertain environmental priorities set by the new administration at the Federal level, we are at a pivotal point in considering the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays. Senate Bill 428 takes a comprehensive step towards accelerating Maryland towards meeting water quality goals. The bill will create the Maryland Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming (LEEF) pilot program, to further incentivize best management practices being installed on agricultural land. The bill will also update the Maryland Department of Natural Resources water quality monitoring program and modernize Fishery Management Plans among other new initiatives.
HB232/SB346 Maryland Bottle Bill:
Bottle trash, particularly plastic, is a pervasive blight in our waterways, posing a serious threat to the environment and aquatic life. As plastic breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics, it further contaminates the environment, creating long-term ecological damage. This pollution doesn’t just affect wildlife - it enters the human food chain through the consumption of contaminated seafood, and bioaccumulates in our brains at an alarming rate. Enacting a bottle deposit bill is crucial to reducing plastic waste and protecting both our environment and public health. The Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program will create a statewide deposit refund program for single use beverage containers similar to successful programs that already exist in other states, resulting in less trash in our streets and streams.
HB386/SB345 & HB909/SB732 PFAS Chemicals in Pesticides and PFAS in Sewage Sludge Permits:
We can no longer deny the negative impacts PFAs pose to human and environmental health. PFAs applied to fields may runoff into our local waterways, spreading forever chemical contamination to soil and surface waters. Arundel Rivers and fellow Waterkeepers within the Chesapeake recently sampled for PFA chemicals in 12 locations in Maryland waterways, including the South River in Annapolis. PFAs were present in every sample, some at alarmingly high rates. Piscataway Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, found PFAs more than 68,000 times higher than the EPA’s interim health advisory in drinking water. These two legislative bills take a step towards better managing PFAS applied to agricultural fields in pesticides or within biosolids.
Additional bills that Arundel Rivers has weighed in on cover topics including ecological restoration, fisheries, nutrient management, energy, environmental permits, and more. A particular highlight of the session thus far was having our Director of Restoration, Jennifer Carr join our Riverkeeper in the halls to testify on Senate Bill 73: Chesapeake Conservation Corps Program Renaming . Jennifer was a member of the very first Conservation Corp class– today she’s a leader in her field and a true testament to the program. In fact, FIVE of our staff members have participated in this incredible Chesapeake Bay Trust program.
Stay tuned for a full report back on the 2025 session and what bills Arundel Rivers supported or opposed after Sine Die in April.