ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On Thursday, March 29 at 9 a.m., Maryland lawmakers will announce the first legislative attempt to curb Governor Larry Hogan’s major plan to expand fracked-gas pipelines across Maryland.
Legislators will unveil emergency legislation that would require his Administration to go through a thorough and necessary review process for proposed fracked-gas pipelines that travel through fragile karst geology in Maryland to protect drinking water and other water resources. This legislation could also affect TransCanada’s proposed Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, known as the “Potomac Pipeline,” which would cut through this fragile geology and threatens the drinking water of 6 million people.
During a press conference in Room 142 of the Lowe House Building, legislators and advocates will detail the recently introduced House Bill 1826. This bill would prevent the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) from continuing to cede to the Trump Administration its authority to review and regulate potential impacts on Maryland’s water resources from fracked-gas pipelines. Earlier this month, the Hogan Administration waived its authority to review and regulate the controversial “Potomac Pipeline” that would cross Maryland and tunnel under the Potomac River.
This emergency bill would require careful state review of any future pipeline impacts on water quality in Maryland and potentially require the Hogan Administration to reconsider TransCanada’s controversial Potomac Pipeline and its effects on water. This careful review would be done under the “401 Certification” authority given to all states under the Clean Water Act. This process looks cumulatively at the impacts to Maryland’s water from a proposed pipeline and gives MDE the authority to reject the pipeline if it were found to threaten water quality.
Advocates expect a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate before Thursday.