SM April 2022 News: SB14 passes House & Senate

SB14 Sustainable Maryland Program Fund - Establishment would provide the program with the crucial support it needs in order to continue to properly assist Maryland's municipalities in reaching their individual, and the State's, ambitious sustainability, climate and equity goals.

SB14 was initially passed by the Senate Economy, Health and Environmental Affairs committee unanimously (11-0) and without amendments on March 9. It then had a final reading on the Senate floor and was passed unanimously and without amendments on March 17.

April Update:

On April 4, the House Appropriations committee passed the bill.

On April 11, the last day of the legislative session, the bill was passed on both the House and Senate floors. This is a historic milestone for the SM program!

Thank you so much to our bill sponsors, Senator Sarah Elfreth and Delegate Jared Solomon, for getting the bill across the finish line. And thank you to all of the UMD staff, municipal elected officials and staff, Green Team members, non-profit organizations and others who lent their support to this effort to provide stable funding for the Sustainable Maryland program!

ROUTE ONE GREEN TEAM CONVENINGS AND SUMMIT YIELD STORMWATER AND POLLINATOR ACTION PLANS

SM recently convened staff, elected officials and Green Team members from 14 municipalities along the Route One Corridor in Prince George's County to discuss how they could advance projects and collaborate with each other on a regional basis to address stormwater and flooding issues and the creation of a pollinator corridor. Three virtual convenings on each of these two topics were held over the last 6 months. The discussions and feedback generated by these gatherings were the basis for the creation of two Action Plans, which will serve a guide to these municipalities as they move forward on stormwater and pollinator projects, plans, and events.

Route One Stormwater/Flooding Action Plan

Route One Pollinator Corridor Action Plan

The Action Plans were reviewed and finalized at the (virtual) 3rd Annual Route One Corridor Green Team Summit last month. Stay tuned for multi-municipal initiatives coming soon!

EARTH MONTH EVENTS ACROSS MARYLAND

Check out one of these Earth Month/Earth Day events in April

Gaithersburg Green Month
Havre de Grace Earth Day Planting, April 22
Middletown Green Fest, April 23
Montgomery County Green Fest, April 23
North Beach Earth Day Celebration, April 23
Earth Day Arts Extravanganza, Easton, April 23
Earth Day Cleanup, Laurel, April 23
EVs at Rockville Science Day, April 24
Arbor Day Food Forest Planting, Hyattsville, April 30

QUOTE

"Why are we building our communities the same way we built them 100 years ago when we know Mother Nature isn’t operating the same way she did 100 years ago? It makes no sense. We’ve got to be re-imagining and designing our communities differently."

-Lewis Lawrence, Executive Director, Middle Peninsula Planning District (VA), commenting on how climate change is wreaking havoc on septic systems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

‌

Sustainable Maryland is an initiative of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland. It is a free and voluntary program designed to help Maryland communities choose a direction for their sustainability efforts, improve access to resources needed to implement action, and recognize their accomplishments. Our sponsors include the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Municipal League. Sustainable Maryland is a proud founding member of the national Sustainable States Network.

For more information about how your municipality can register in the Sustainable Maryland program, plus customized Green Team training and access to student resources that are available to provide consultancy services for municipal planning, please contact 301-405-7956 or mikeh75@umd.edu

Mike Hunninghake

Program Manager

Sustainable Maryland

Like Us on Facebook