Environment

General (from Environmental questionnaire, 2022)

1. What would be your main environmental goals as a member of the General Assembly?

Gashouse reduction, electrification, maintaining the grid. I am active with the Sierra Club and Jews United for Justice and support HB 880 SB Climate Equity,  HB88, SB525 RPS Clean Up, HB 729, and  SB 471 FUTURE Act.

Climate Change

Climate change poses an existential threat to our environment, public health, and the economy and disproportionately impacts many Black and Brown communities. With more than 3,000 miles of shoreline, and approximately 265,000 acres of land that is less than 5 feet above sea level, Maryland’s coastal communities are among the most vulnerable in the country. In Maryland, greenhouse emissions come from several sources, including (but not limited to) use of electricity generated from fossil fuels, use of gas in buildings, and use of fossil fuels in the  transportation sector. Maryland has taken several actions to combat climate change, climate justice and promote adaptation, however further significant action is needed. 

2. What specific actions should the General Assembly take to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state and support climate change adaptation?  We need 100% reduction of gas by 2030.

Do you agree that climate change is an existential threat?  Absolutely.

 Do you agree that communities of color are particularly at risk from climate change? 

Absolutely. Among the actions the General Assembly should take, what actions require immediate adoption by the General Assembly as being vital and urgent? Reducing gashouse emissions, electrifying all vehicles, transiting from fossil fuels to solar, wind, etc.

3. In particular and to the extent you are able, please indicate your views on the following (including any guidelines or considerations that you feel are necessary in developing these policies): A. Should Maryland establish a date certain by which the state will achieve net zero Greenhouse Gas emissions?  If so, what date or date range do you favor and why? We are out of habitable time if we go beyond 2030 to save future existence.  We owe it to the children who will be responsible after we pass on.  Under the Maryland Climate Solutions Act, 40% would remain until 2045. Clearly not acceptable.

B. Which of these programs should Maryland expand or amend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings:

1. Mandating all new buildings be solar-ready – Expand
2. Mandating all new state-funded buildings (including schools) include solar roofs – Expand
3. Incentives to convert the fuel source for existing buildings from fracked-gas to electric – Expand
4. Incentivizing community solar and other programs to improve access to clean energy for low-and-moderate income Marylanders – Expand
5. Mandating all state-funded buildings include energy-efficient, ‘bird safe’ elements – Expand

C. Should combustion-based polluting energy sources, including waste incineration (e.g. burning trash) and biomass (e.g. burning chicken litter or wood), be removed from the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard?  Yes, recyclables should be reusable not burned. More composting is needed to produce less “trash”. No more toxins polluting our environment.

D. Should a price be placed on carbon (fossil fuels used in energy production and/or transportation)? We should be profiting off renewable energy and lives that we save rather than corporatize dirty energy.

E. Should the state establish standards or guidelines for locating utility-scale solar fields? Yes.

F. What measures should Maryland take to increase support for vulnerable communities,  including communities of color, affected by climate change?   Make the quality of life in those communities equal to affluent ones.

Chesapeake Bay, Inland Water Resources, and Agriculture

The multi-state, bipartisan partnership to restore the Bay is improving the health of the Bay, benefiting our environment and our economy.  For example, adult crabs have tripled since 2014, oyster harvests have reached a 30-year high, and underwater grasses have been observed at record numbers.  Still, we will not meet our 2025 clean-up goals.  The agricultural sector is the largest source of pollution to the Bay and local waterways, and urban and suburban stormwater sources and rural septic systems also are growing pollution sources and impact local water quality.

Pollution from septic systems drains into our ground and surface water, leading to environmental degradation and dirty drinking water from excess nitrogen and bacteria.  Conventional septic systems do not prevent nitrogen from entering groundwater.  Currently, septic systems and wells are only inspected at the point of a home sale, allowing systems to fail and/or pollute drinking water for years. 

Agriculture is a major economic driver in Maryland, but also has significant environmental impacts.  Large chicken houses are expanding on the Eastern Shore when Maryland is trying to manage the amount of manure spread on farm fields to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff (that harms the Bay).  Increasing sustainable farming practices (organic farming, cover crops, crop rotation, etc.) could significantly improve the health of communities and the Bay.

4. What changes should the General Assembly make in the state’s current policies and programs to clean up the Bay, protect our inland water sources, and improve agricultural practices? Test for PFAS and other substances, protect it from litter.

5. In particular and to the extent you are able, please indicate your views on the following: A. In order to reduce agricultural pollution in the Bay and protect air quality, should the state limit the expansion of industrial-size poultry farms and/or regulate air pollution from these farms? Yes.

B.Should the state take further actions relating to failing or inadequate septic systems in order to protect our drinking water sources, freshwater streams and rivers, and the Bay from septic-system pollution? Yes.

C. How should the state manage private wells to protect public health? Require the EPA to help regulate them.

D. Should the state mitigate pollution from new development, and act to further improve stormwater management? Absolutely.

E. Should the state support a transition to sustainable farming practices, like helping small farmers access markets, through cost-sharing, or decentralized processing? Yes

F. Should the state act to improve working conditions in seafood and poultry processing plants and on large farms, including:

1. Improving worker conditions such as overcrowded and under-ventilated worker housing and transportation, access to clean water, washing, and bathing facilities? Yes
2. Mandating improved workplace protections such as assuring adequate PPE, protection from exposure to food-borne contamination, pesticides and other toxins? Yes.
3. Requiring language-translation and education on worker rights, and published access to data and workplace/industry cases of infections, hospitalization, and death in case of health emergency? Yes.

Reducing Trash and Waste and Waste-Generated Pollution

The world is facing a plastic pollution crisis.  In addition, more than two-thirds of municipal solid waste is compostable or recyclable, and the amount could be reduced through better policy.  Trash incineration at the Dickerson incinerator in Montgomery County and BRESCO in Baltimore City emits greenhouse gasses and toxic pollutants, and is a source of environmental injustice

11. Please indicate your views on the following: A. Limiting the use of plastic products (such as limiting or prohibiting use of plastic shopping bags, plasticware and plastic straws in restaurants, and/or sample-size bottles in hotels and motels) Yes B. Establishing producer-responsibility waste-management programs – Yes C. Establishing a bottle-return program – Yes D. Expanding composting programs or resources – Yes E. Regulating the disposal of artificial turf and artificial play surfaces – Yes F. Ending trash incineration Absolutely

12. Are there other strategies or policies you would support to address the challenges of waste reduction? No
13. Forests and Land Use
14. Forests play a critical role in providing wildlife habitat, holding soil, filtering pollution out of water, flood mitigation, and improved quality of life associated with green spaces. Their health and quantity is critical for healthy, clean streams and rivers in Maryland.  Despite state goals for “no net loss,” Maryland’s forest acreage is declining. The state Forest Conservation Act requires planting only a quarter acre of new trees for every acre of trees cleared for development.
15. Should the General Assembly amend the Forest Conservation Act to strengthen protections for Maryland’s forests?  Yes 
16. Alternatively, do you believe that current law appropriately takes into account forest protection and development interests?   Needs amending.  The current law was enacted in 1991.
17. In particular and to the extent you are able, please indicate your views on the following:
18. Should the General Assembly increase the replacement ratio for trees cut down as part of development projects? Yes
19. Should forest conservation thresholds be increased? Yes
20. Should specific measures be taken to protect animal habitats? Yes
21. Should higher protection be given to priority forests?  Yes
22. Program Open Space uses funding from the real estate transfer tax to protect the best of Maryland’s open spaces. Despite broad public support, the program funds have often been raided to support other budget priorities. Thanks to legislation passed in 2016, FY2019 was the first time these programs were returned to full cash funding in over a decade; however, the funding for the program will remain vulnerable as long as it is not placed in a designated lock-box.  

Toxics

Conventional pesticides pose significant risk to agricultural workers, our food, and waterways.  Historically, the state regulator – the Maryland Department of Agriculture – has not supported close monitoring and regulation of pesticides, and there are no statewide programs to encourage a transition to organic practices for pest and land care management.

PFAS chemicals are a class of more than 9,000 chemicals used in consumer products, food packaging, and industrial processes. Exposure to PFAS chemicals has been linked to harmful health effects including cancer, hormone disruption, immune suppression, reproductive problems, and developmental issues. A pesticide used in Maryland’s 2020 mosquito control program was found to contain PFAS and was replaced with two untested, similar products in 2021.

16.  Do you support moving pesticide oversight from the Maryland Department of Agriculture to the Department of Environment or Department of Health and Mental Hygiene who have greater expertise on public health and environmental impact? Yes

17. Do you support reducing conventional pesticide use and exposures in our state and improving monitoring of pesticide use?
    1. Do you have specific policy ideas to advance this goal? Working closely with the FDA and EPA.

18. In particular and to the extent you are able, please indicate your views on the following:

1. Stopping the use of “non-essential” PFAS, such as in food packaging, consumer products, and fire fighting foam. Yes
2. Ending the mass disposal of PFAS chemicals by incineration, landfilling, or shipping out of state. Yes
3. Establishing testing for PFAS contamination in our drinking water and waterways Yes
4. Holding polluters accountable for the environmental and public health impacts of PFAS. Yes
5. Ensuring that pesticides registered in the state are PFAS-free. Yes