I support the Maryland Pipeline and Water Protection Act. This legislation will require the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to better protect our critical water resources by fully utilizing its authority under the federal Clean Water Act to conduct independent reviews of new, proposed interstate gas pipelines and other fracked-gas infrastructure.
Even though Maryland banned fracking in 2017, the state is still facing expansion of fracked-gas infrastructure in Maryland. New fracked-gas pipelines pose significant risks to our state’s water resources and threaten communities and our climate.
Under the Clean Water Act, states have broad authority to review new proposed interstate gas pipelines. In 2018, however, MDE granted a Clean Water Act permit for a gas pipeline underneath the Potomac River, risking the drinking water of over six million people, without conducting the full, independent review it was authorized to undertake.
I support this legislation to ensure that MDE fully and properly exercises its important authority to protect our state’s water resources.
