House Bill 1588 - Patuxent River
Water Pollution Control - Patuxent River Watershed
March 13, 2006 -- Delegate Sue Kullen and Patuxent Riverkeeper Fred Tutman today announced the introduction of new legislation in the Maryland General Assembly aimed at creating regulatory limits on Nitrogen for the Patuxent River.
Studies conducted by several researchers have concluded that excess nitrogen flowing into area waterways from wastewater treatment plants is a significant cause of the decline in overall water quality. The proposed new legislation (HB-1588) would require that the State of Maryland regulate waste water utility plants that discharge into the Patuxent, to ensure that the levels of nitrogen are maintained at levels calculated to prevent continued decline and restore the associated ecosystem. Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Labs in Solomon’s Maryland have studied the effects of Nitrogen and other pollutants in regional waters and have determined that the watershed could conceivably be greatly enhanced if Nitrogen is controlled. According to Delegate Kullen, “As Bernie Fowler’s Delegate, I have a special obligation to carry on the tradition of saving the Patuxent River. This bill is a collaborative attempt to do that.”
Delegate Kullen introduced this landmark legislation which is co-sponsored by Delegate John C. Bohanan (District 29-B) of St. Mary’s County. St. Mary’s and Calvert County are just two of the seven Maryland County jurisdictions that comprise the Patuxent Watershed. Hearings and testimony related to HB-1588 are scheduled for March 17, 2006 in the House Committee on Environmental Matters. Meanwhile, Senators Thomas Middleton (District 28), Roy Dyson (District 29) and Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. (District 27); all legislators from Southern Maryland (Patuxent) electoral districts have also sponsored a separate Senate Bill (SB-379) that would elevate the priority for cleaning Patuxent wastewater plants in accordance with previously mandated State aims. (Read the Entire Press Release - clicking the link will open the full text as a pdf)
Delegate Sue Kullen & Patuxent Riverkeeper Fred Tutman present HB1588
Kullen For Calvert, Guffrie M. Smith, Jr., Treasurer
