An Update on Maryland Stormwater Issues
Efforts to grandfather certain development projects and to redefine the scope of "redevelopment" projects under the Maryland stormwater regulations have been diverged into two channels: one via emergency legislation (HB 1125), and the other via emergency regulations promulgated by MDE that must be reviewed by the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review.
Emergency Legislation:
House Bill 1125 passed the House of Delegates (127-13) on March 24, 2010, and is now scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on April 8, 2010 at 1:00. This emergency bill defines "redevelopment" as it pertains to the State’s stormwater management regulatory program and establishes specific stormwater standards that redevelopment projects must meet. The bill also grandfathers “development projects” that receive “preliminary plan approval” before May 4, 2010, from complying with stormwater regulations recently adopted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE); for such projects, stormwater management plans are subject to the laws and regulations in effect at the time preliminary plan approval was received. The emergency legislation essentially incorporates the provisions of the Consensus Agreement reached among shareholders as discussed in this prior post.
Emergency Regulations:
On March 12, 2010, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) submitted to the State Legislative Committee on Administration, Executive, and Legislation Review draft Emergency Regulations to address the application of new State stormwater management ("SWM") regulations. The Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) is charged, in part, with reviewing State agency regulations with regard to the legislative prerogative and procedural due process. The Committee is composed of ten senators and ten delegates who are appointed by the Senate President and the House Speaker at the beginning of each regular session. Members serve for one year. The Committee has scheduled a hearing on the emergency regulations set for Tuesday, April 6 at 4:00 pm.
I will continue to monitor the status of HB 1125 and the emergency regulations - these are both very important measures to address major industry concerns.
