Baltimore City, Prince George’s and Montgomery County Councils Unite in Call for Clean Air Action
Local Governments Tell Hogan its Time to Unblock Key Protections
BALTIMORE, MD – The Baltimore City Council joined the Prince George’s and Montgomery County Councils this week by passing a resolution supporting clean air action for Maryland, specifically by cleaning up the state’s coal plants. The unanimous vote by the city council comes in response to controversial actions by Gov. Hogan to block clean air protections that had been finalized by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The move by the City Council, combined with similar support from Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, creates a strong coalition of local elected officials that support a plan that features a common-sense approach to limiting smog-forming Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) from our state’s coal plants. Together, these three jurisdictions constitute over 42% of the state’s population, who live in some of the areas worst affected by smog on the East Coast.
Baltimore City is part of a region in the state that currently has the worst federal smog designation east of the Mississippi River. Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore City together produced shocking asthma data in 2009, when the state performed an extensive study on the disease’s prevalence and consequences in Maryland. According to that study, asthma resulted in over 20 thousand emergency room visits and over 5 thousand hospitalizations, accounting for over 40 million dollars in healthcare costs across Prince Georges County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore City combined.
“On his first day in office, Governor Hogan blocked critical clean air protections that would have finally helped clean up our air” said Sierra Club Maryland Organizer Seth Bush, who worked closely with city and county councils across Maryland to highlight the importance of these resolutions.
“When they found out about the ways in which our coal plants fail to safeguard our health by cleaning up their pollution, the Baltimore City, Prince George’s and Montgomery County councils were all anxious to make their support for clean air known, and are now united with one voice in their message to Governor Hogan. Their message is this: it’s time to unblock these critical protections, so we can all breath a little easier” said Bush.