Bill Positions

Bill Number: SB 432

Bill Title: Environment - Sewage Sludge Utilization - Zoning and Lane Use Requirements

Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Jacobs, et al

Subject: Environment & Energy

Committee: EHE

Bill Summary: This bill would have prohibited the Department of the Environment from issuing a sewage sludge utilization permit for a site unless the site meet all land use requirements or ordinances of the county where the site is located.

History: This bill received an unfavorable report by the Education Health & Environmental Affairs Committee.

Chamber Position: Oppose

Position Summary: The utilization of sludge by land applying it is a beneficial reuse of this byproduct of sewerage treatment. Maryland has been one of the leaders, perhaps the pre-eminent one, in utilizing sludge in this fashion. Right now, the State pre-empts local jurisdictions in its regulation, and the State controls it very vigorously. Permits are required; there are application limits, restrictions on its use on certain crops, requirements on how it is diced in, how many times a site can receive land application, etc. The way the sludge is applied, when it can be applied, and how it is treated prior to being land applied are all part of the permit. For these reasons, the Maryland Chamber opposed this bill.

Position Statement: Coming Soon

Chamber Staff: Allyson Black

General Assembly: Click here to view the bill on the Maryland General Assembly's website.