Prince George’s Sierra Club
Year in Review, 2019 

During 2019, the Prince George’s Sierra Club Group attracted at least 164 different participants in its 2019 outings and events.  We achieved a number of organizational goals – to become involved in events in District 2 (recycling at the Hispanic Festival); participate in four tabling events (actual was seven); selected and presented the Maloney Award to Nancy Meyer; and conducted 11 monthly nature walks.   We also held three major member meetings (holiday social, annual picnic, and fall meeting), as well as a legislative briefing on state priority bills.  

In terms of our conservation program we: conducted a shopper survey in Prince George’s County; monitored recycling at four special events; supported passage of a County bill to ban non-compostable straws; engaged on land use issues in Brandywine, Laurel, and against a text amendment that would allow townhouses at Freeway Airport; and increased engagement on the Transportation Committee.  We also sponsored tours of the county’s waste facilities and its new community solar array. 

General Member Meetings/Socials

Legislative Briefing on Priority Bills in the 2019 General Assembly, February 7^th, South Bowie Library.

Holiday Potluck Social on Climate Change, February 24^th, Watkins Regional Park Nature Center, with guest speaker Astrid Caldas, Union of Concerned Scientists

Annual Picnic and Environmental Awards, June 8^th, Watkins Regional Park:  Unusual Animal Presentation by a park ranger and Maloney Award to Nancy Meyer, Community Forklift

Environmental Justice in Prince George’s County, August 24^th, Greenbelt, with speaker Dr. Sacoby Wilson (co-sponsored with Prince George’s County Peace and Justice Coalition, Greenbelt Climate Action Networks, and Greenbelt Racial Equity Alliance) 

Fall Meeting:  “What to do about plastic bags?” with guest speaker Leslie Wilcox, Montgomery Department of Environmental Protection, responsible for outreach on the bag tax, September 29^th , Bladensburg Waterfront Park, with a pontoon boat cruise on the Anacostia.

Conservation Program

Zero Waste

Educational Tours of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), March 29^th; Organics Composting Facility, May 17^th; Brown Station Road Sanitary Landfill, August 23^rd

Community Service:  Recycling at Special Events

• Prince George’s Proud (Watkins Regional Park, May 4^th), Kettering
• Bowiefest (June 1^st), Bowie
• Hispanic Festival (September 15^th), Adelph 

Field Work on Plastic Bags:  2019 Shopper Survey of Prince George’s County

• Training on August 15^th, Bowie Town Center Safeway
• Fieldwork conducted from 8/17-9/22 on 48 stores from 7 grocery chains (Food Lion, Giant, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Shoppers, Wegmans, Weis Markets) and 6 international stores.   Supplemented by fieldwork from 10/26-11/10 at 13 Aldi and Lidl grocery stores.
• Total of 67 stores and 9,986 shoppers surveyed by 25 trained enumerators.
• 88% of shoppers in the main survey at stores that hand out free carryout bags are using exclusively single-use plastic bags; 6% each are using reusable bags or no bag at all.

Legislation

• Written and oral testimony in support of CB-52-2019, Non-Compostable Straw & Stirrer Ban.  The Group’s proposed amendments on the inclusion of retail sales and the definition of compostable (as home compostable) were accepted in the final bill.
• Written and oral testimony in support of General Assembly “local” bill PG 401-20, Prince George’s County: Authorization to Impost a Fee on Disposable Bags.   Lobbying prior to introduction of the bill ensured inclusion of both plastic and paper bags.

Technical comments:

• Comments on the Department of Environment, “Resource Recovery Master Plan,” February 15, 2019, briefing for DOE Director Joe Gill and Resource Recovery Director Marilyn Ryback
• Comments on Department of Environment’s draft “Prince George’s County Recycling Plan and Report for Commercial, Industrial, and Multifamily Projects,” the on-line form to be completed by businesses to comply with the new business recycling law, June 19, 2019
• Comments on DOE’s draft letter to businesses to inform them of the specifics of the new business recycling law

Land Use

• Oxon Cove: Engaged the Chapter ExCom to oppose the proposed swap with Department of the Interior of Oxon Cove for Maryland parkland near South Mountain, conducted research, produced handout, met with representatives of other interested groups on site, and participated in February trash pick-up.
• Patuxent Greens:  Sent letter to MDE opposing approval of a non-tidal wetlands permit for Patuxent Greens, a proposed residential development in Laurel to be built on floodplain on a golf course, April 26^th
• Brandywine:  Facilitated involvement of Senior Sierra Club attorney Josh Berman in drafting a letter to MDE requesting it invalidate the existing air quality permit for the Panda Mattawoman gas-fired power plant that was approved in 2015 but is still unbuilt.  A condition on the Public Service Commission’s CPCN was that construction had to take place within 18 months and there couldn’t be a lapse of more than 18 months in construction. This was in collaboration with activists in Brandywine.
• Sprawl Enabled by Text Amendments:   Provided written testimony to the PHED Committee and oral testimony at two hearings in opposition to CB-17-2019, a text amendment written for a single property (Freeway Airport, along Church Road in rural Mitchellville), to allow townhouse development in the residential-agricultural zone.   The legislation circumvents the rezoning process and enables sprawl in an area far from transit, schools, shopping, jobs.  It constitutes illegal spot zoning for a single property, was opposed by the Planning Board, the Office of Law, and the cities of Bowie & Greenbelt.   However, the bill passed 7-4. 

Transportation

• Extensive research and position paper in opposition to the Maglev high-speed train between DC and Baltimore that was likely to be expensive and not divert any drivers from the roads submitted to the Chapter.
• Testified at the MDOT “Road Show” hearing in Prince George’s County about the importance of considering greenhouse gas emissions in transportation decisions and building better transit options, not highway expansion.
• Interacted with State Highway Administration (SHA) officials at SHA’s workshops and provided handouts to public about highway expansion.
• Group leaders participated in and engaged with the Chapter’s transportation committee, and spoke on behalf of Sierra Club with County officials

Other 

• Testified on May 7^th and provided written comments on May 16^th on the 2020 capital and recurrent budgets of the Department of the Environment and MNCPPC/Prince George’s Parks Department
• Tour of the Panorama Community Solar Project in Fort Washington, November 1^st

 Getting Outdoors

Under the stewardship of Janet Gingold, Outings Chair, PGSC offered monthly hikes and nature walks throughout the year within the County, bringing in 54 different participants in outdoor activities.  She also mentored two Prince George’s County outings leader trainees.

Organizational Achievements

Awards

• The Prince George’s Sierra Club Group won a “Waste Diversion and Recycling Award” from the Prince George’s Department of the Environment and Keep Prince George’s Beautiful, November 18, in appreciation of volunteer efforts to:  educate businesses about and monitor compliance with the County foam ban; monitor recycling at special events, and conduct shopper surveys to measure shopping bag choices.
• PGSC presented its Environmental Service Award to Nancy Meyer, CEO of Community Forklift, in Edmonston, at the annual picnic in June

Establishing relationships with the new Administration & Council

• Briefing of the County Executive’s staff (at their request) on expansion of solar in PGC; incentives for clean businesses (and opposition to subsidies for power plants); expansion of curbside food scrap composting; and waste policies in support of the beautification campaign (October 1)
• Second briefing of County Executive and DOE staff on bag bill options and preliminary results of the Shopper Survey (October 8).
• Meetings with Council members Dernoga, Taveras, Glaros, Streeter, Harrison, Hawkins
• Participation in the DOE’s Environment Advisory Council bi-monthly meetings
• Distributed Sierra Club wall calendars to all 11 County Council members, DOE leadership, guides for the Zero Waste tours, and guest speakers

Tabling

• District 9 Town Hall, March 27^th
• District 1 Town Hall, April 3^rd
• Riderwood Earth Day, April 24^th
• Green Man Festival, May 12^th, Greenbelt
• Beltsville Day, May 19^th
• Bowiefest, June 1^st
• Forest Heights Day, August 3^rd

Communications

• Sent at least 27 HELEN messages via email to members and lapsed members
• Two postcard mailings to members without email to advertise events
• Events all posted in Campfire displayed on website
• Facebook page and website maintained
• Press release on the Maloney Award on front page of Prince George’s Post

 Equipment

• Purchased 10’x10’ canopy with PGSC insignia and an easel for tabling at community events
• Purchased 80 cloth napkins to use at our potluck socials, at which we aim for zero waste

ExCom Orientation

• Prepared and distributed to all ExCom members at the first meeting of the year a notebook with key Sierra Club policy and administrative documents:  Group bylaws & standing rules; minimum standards for Groups; speaking for the Sierra Club; signing onto letters; conflicts of interest; standards of conduct; handling disruptive volunteer behavior.  In addition, a list of all County Council members, committee assignments, contact numbers was provided.

Support to Maryland Chapter Activities

• Legislative Briefing.  The February briefing informed Prince George’s members about the Chapter’s legislative priorities for the 2019 General Assembly
• Lobby Night participation.   23 PGSC members and supporters participated in lobby night for Sierra Club Chapter’s priority bills in Annapolis, February. (12 others registered)
• State-wide Foam Ban leadership.  The PGSC ExCom Chair and Delegate to the Chapter ExCom co-led the successful enactment of the first state-wide ban on expanded polystyrene foam food containers.   Fieldwork conducted by the Group’s members that documented the high compliance rate by businesses was critical evidence in support of the bill.
• Outings Leader Training.  The Prince George’s Group Outings Chair co-led three face-to-face OLT 101 training sessions for new outings leaders in the Maryland Chapter, led a continuing education workshop for outings leaders at the Jamboree, including a hike (10/13/2019 Cardio walk in the woods, Shepherd’s Spring)
• State-wide ExCom Election Committee Support.  The PGSC ExCom Chair, formerly the Chapter Election Committee Chair, provided technical support for the transition to a new Chapter Election Committee Chair.
• State-wide conservation leadership.  The PGSC Delegate to the Chapter ExCom served half the year as Chair of the Zero Waste Committee, then stepped up to co-lead and reinvigorate the Chapter Conservation Committee.
• Leadership and support for fieldwork for local and state-wide bag legislation.  The PGSC Group Chair developed the methodology and trained enumerators in Baltimore City, Frederick County, Howard County, and Montgomery County (in addition to Prince George’s) for an observational survey of shoppers in those counties documenting the level of plastic bag use, measuring a baseline in all jurisdictions, and measuring trends in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, where surveys were conducted in 2014.  To date, nearly 30,000 shoppers have been observed, involving more than 90 volunteers across those jurisdictions.  The data are being used to support local bag legislation in all five jurisdictions and state-wide in the 2020 General Assembly.
• Jamboree:   PGSC ExCom member Susan Stewart was one of the main organizers of the Jamboree.  PGSC Outings Chair Janet Gingold conducted Outings Leader Training.  PGSC Chair Martha Ainsworth led a session on zero waste.

Report submitted by 2019 PGSC Executive Committee & leadership:  Martha Ainsworth, Chair; Sade Dada, Vice-Chair; Sydney Jacobs, Delegate to the Chapter ExCom; Susan Stewart, Secretary; Ken Healy, Treasurer; Janet Gingold, Outings Chair; Na’ilah Dawkins, Barbara Sollner-Webb, and Anne Riley, ExCom members; Janis Oppelt, Communications Chair; Nick Orrick, Political Chair; and John Straub, Webmaster.