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Landscaping Your Septic System!
You have to have a septic field, but how do you make it a beautiful feature of your yard? How can you make it a native landscape supporting pollinators?
Whether it's a sound mound drainfield or the maintenance access ports to a septic tank or BAT unit, homeowners often wish they could camouflage these to make their yards more aesthetically pleasing. This webinar will cover considerations, options, and specific plants and practices to use with an emphasis on low-impact, native choices.
Slides available here: CWF - UME Landscaping Septic Systems.pdf
Maryland's Organic Waste Diversion Mandate: Making it Work
Last year, we worked hard to pass HB264/SB483, which moves Maryland toward Zero Waste by making sure the the biggest producers of food waste are composting it if they can. And this year, it's time for those new rules to be put into action!
One of the first steps is for the Maryland Department of the Environment to publish draft regulations and invite the public to comment. Those draft regulations will help move Maryland toward zero waste, but there are ways they could be made even better. Read our comments on the draft regulations with 20 organizations, and contact us to get involved. Next
2022 Maryland Endorsements
Clean Water Action has endorsed candidates in legislative races before the primary this year. More endorsements will be rolled for the general election. For the primary, Clean Water Actions endorsed candidates who have championed our priority issues as sponsors, in committee, or on the Floor.
For the Senate, Clean Water Action decided to only endorse senators who championed our priority issues who also voted to remove trash incinerator subsidies when given the opportunity on the Senate Floor in 2021. In previous years, a wide majority of senators voted to remove subsidies for burning trash
HB1765: Septic Stewardship Plans
Pollution from septic systems is an ongoing issue in local Maryland streams and rivers, the Chesapeake Bay, and in wells. Last summer, we participated in a summer working group to identify the problems and possible solutions for moving forward. HB1765 is a result of collaboration among stakeholders and has passed the House of Delegates. This bill has passed both the House and Senate!
The Problem:
There are two types of pollution associated with septic systems: nitrogen and bacteria.
Nitrogen is a nutrient pollutant - a fertilizer for plants that can cause algae blooms and deadzones in our
Baltimore City and basement sewage back-ups
Two years ago, as Baltimore City renegotiated its agreement with the EPA to repair faults and design flaws in its sewage system, residents spoke out and organized because their neighborhoods had a chronic sewage problem: at times the system designed to collect and pipe sewage to treatment plants would fail, causing raw sewage to overflow into their homes. As a result of these protests and comments submitted by advocacy groups, the final consent decree was revised to include requirements that Baltimore develop programs for basement backups caused by problems in city-owned infrastructure. Under