Prince George’s and Howard counties are among the jurisdictions statewide that are exploring following in Montgomery County's footsteps and imposing a tax on plastic bags used at retail establishments....

Prince George’s County officials are actively pursuing the tax. State Sen. Paul Pinskey and Del. Barbara Frush, both Democrats from Prince George’s, have said they plan to seek legislative approval to allow county officials to levy the tax.

Would you support a tax on plastic bags in Maryland?

 

Many people made resolutions to live better, save money and be kinder to the earth in the year 2012. In that vein, there's a farm in Prince George's County that just might help you live up to your New Year's resolution. It's called ECO City Farms, located in Edmonston, Md.

Established in 2010 on County park land, ECO City Farms provides healthy produce, eggs, and honey to the Port Towns communities, and offers many hands-on educational and vocational training opportunities, including the first-ever urban agriculture certificate program with Prince George's Community College.

In just two years, the nonprofit organization not only built the first urban farm in the county, but grew and sold vegetables year-round, engaged more than 1, 000 volunteers, held the first ever Chesapeake region urban farming summit with 400 attendees.

In addition, produce from ECO-City is available for sale at the Riverdale Farmers Market.

Many local organizations are offering to pick up and recycle Christmas trees.

It may be time to take down the tinsel, ut some officials in Maryland's Prince George's County say the second biggest holiday for Christmas trees is still on the horizon.

Beginning Tuesday, residents can place their trees, completely undecorated and unbagged at curbside and they will be collected on residents' regularly scheduled collection day, which is a yard waste day.

Instead of merely throwing the trees away, however, workers scoop up used Christmas trees, take them to the county's composting facility, and turn them into mulch. The county then turns around and distributes the mulch to residents for Earth Day on April 20.

"We're giving our trees back to our residents, but we're also taking that natural product and giving it another natural use," says Denice Curry is an environmental planner with Department of Environmental Resources in Prince George's County.

A federal district court judge has ruled Prince George's County must once again consider the application of Reaching Hearts International for sewer service on the church's West Laurel property, saying the County Council's decision in September to grant service on only a portion of the property did not comply with an earlier court ruling.

Judge Roger Titus's opinion, handed down today, is the latest victory for the church in a long line of litigation with the county over the property, which the county has said is environmentally sensitive, where the church wants to build new facilities and a school.

Titus wrote that the county's reasons for denying a portion of the church's application were based on similar environmental arguments that were "found utterly wanting by a jury" in a 2008 case for which Titus also served as judge, in which the jury determined the county's stance constituted religious discrimination.

The Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources’ (DER) Waste Management Division (WMD) will provide County residents with Christmas tree collection and drop-off services for recycling of their live Christmas trees, at no charge beginning December 27.

“This is a perfect way to “go green” after the holidays,” says DER Director Samuel E. Wynkoop, Jr. “Recycling your Christmas tree helps ensure the sustainability of our community by saving valuable landfill space.” Every tree collected will be shredded and cured into mulch for DER’s annual spring Mulch Giveaway event. Last year, more than 26 tons of Christmas trees were collected.

Regarding the Dec. 1 editorial “The wrong message,” on Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s attack on the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic:

We have fought since 2004 against efforts to build a concrete plant adjacent to the residential neighborhoods where we live. Without the dedicated work of the Environmental Law Clinic, one more small, moderate-income African American community would have fallen victim to a system concerned too little with the quality of the air we breathe.

The Cedar Heights Civic Association rallied the support of nearby communities, but we were still no match for the lawyers and the complexities of land-use law as practiced in Prince George’s County. By securing the free help of the law clinic, we were at least able to stave off for a while further damage to our health and communities caused by air, water and noise pollution. Although we are not sure of the final disposition, the legal help, which we could not otherwise afford, was a godsend.

For county consumers, a proposed 5- cent plastic bags tax could make shopping at retail stores a bit more expensive.

Prince George's County will look to join both Montgomery County and Washington in promoting sustainable consumer practices, as both state and county officials push for legislation that would encourage the use of reusable shopping bags in the county. The state legislature, led by the efforts of Del. Barbara Frush (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's) and Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George's), will present a bill in the next legislative session to allow the county council to impose mandatory fees on customers when using disposable bags at retail stores.

The legislation will encourage customers to bring reusable shopping bags to stores, which would cut down on the use of plastic bags, according to District 1 Councilwoman Mary Lehman. Plastic bags have proven to be a significant pollutant in the area, specifically the Anacostia River, according to Brent Bolin, director of advocacy at the Anacostia Watershed Society, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to restoring the river.

Prince George's County ranks 17th among the 24 Maryland counties in health outcomes, according to data compiled by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released in a report today by Maryland Nonprofits.

Prince George's highest ranking was 12th in the state for healthy behaviors, with lower than average rates of adult smoking and drinking. However, Prince George's ranked 23rd out of 24 counties in its environment, with high levels of air pollution and fewer recreational facilities than other counties.

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Prince George's County could cost roughly $800 million over the next decade -- possibly triggering new fees for already cash-strapped residents and businesses.

Local and state environmental officials are drafting proposals to implement the Environmental Protection Agency's plans for reducing pollution into the Bay, a "pollution diet" designed to restore the once vibrant Bay over the next 15 years.

Few if any issues are as important to the future health, economic sustainability and quality of life of communities around the world than climate change and clean energy. And as we’ve seen at two separate town hall events in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County these past two weeks, Marylanders know it.

Send this inspiring video on MD Offshore Wind to your friends in Prince George's County:

And don't forget to attend the Offshore Wind Town Hall Meeting THIS WEDNESDAY at 6pm at Hillcrest Community Center!!!

In 1971, the first group of students visited the William S. Schmidt Outdoor Education Center in Brandywine, sleeping in pup tents and washing their hands with water trucked to the site from a nearby school.

Forty years later — and with 15 buildings now on site — Prince George’s County high school students planted a tree as part of a celebration commemorating the center’s decades of teaching children about water pollution, reusable fuels, compasses and animal habitats outside of a classroom setting.

“More students now don’t get an opportunity to experience the outdoors,” said Sylvester Conyers, the center’s supervisor. “I think it’s critical we equip these students with these experiences so they feel comfortable in the environment and they can make decisions in their communities.”

More than a month after the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee left much of downtown Upper Marlboro underwater, Frank Kline is still afraid his business might drown.

When Kline's business, Marlboro Blueprint and Office Supplies, flooded from Sept. 7 to 9, his blueprint-making equipment was destroyed, leaving him with a $1.25 million loss and forcing him to send all of his blueprint orders to his other branches in Waldorf and Lexington Park.

“It's taken its toll on me,” Kline said. “If you look at the money coming in versus the money going out; it was already bad enough because of the economy, and this really put a pinch on it.”

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Marylanders that archery hunting for deer is open now through January 31, 2012. Last season hunters took a total of 27,286 deer (9,996 antlered and 17,290 antlerless) with archery equipment.

“Archery hunting is often the most practical deer management strategy for many of urban and suburban areas,” said Brian Eyler, DNR’s Deer Project Leader. “Archery hunters using both vertical bows and crossbows now account for over 25 percent of the total annual deer harvest.”

Deer hunting regulations vary between the two Deer Management Regions in Maryland....

Archers in the Suburban Deer Archery Zone (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties), may take an unlimited number of antlerless deer.

Skire, Inc. ( www.skire.com ), the leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for managing capital projects, facilities and real estate, today announced that The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (Commission) has chosen Skire Unifier as its new Enterprise Asset Management System. The Unifier solution will provide a web-based platform for Inventory Management, Asset Management, Work Order Processing and Project Management. Skire was selected after a formal procurement process considering a variety of asset management systems.

A bi-county agency created by the State of Maryland in 1927, the Commission plans for orderly development and protection of the natural resources in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the two suburban Maryland counties bordering the District of Columbia. The population of the area it serves has increased to more than 1.6 million residents of great economic, racial, ethnic and geographic diversity. The Commission acquires, develops, maintains and administers a regional, 55,000-acre system of parks within the two counties. These include stream valley parks, large regional parks, neighborhood parks and park-school recreation areas.

In addition, the Commission operates public recreation programs and facilities in Prince George's County, and has won five National Gold Medal awards for excellence in parks and recreation management. The Commission is responsible for continuously improving service delivery, providing customer focused programs, incorporating contemporary technologies and focusing on mission-driven core services.

Prince George's County officials, meanwhile, offered no such drama, though Evans emphasized that the Bowie plan is far from sealed.

"We've got nothing but open arms from Prince George's County," Evans said. "They want the jobs. They want to put a hotel there where the parents can stay."

State Sen. Douglas Peters, D-Bowie, has a teenage son who plays lacrosse for DeMatha High School. The family will spend about $1,500 to attend a tournament in Florida this month, which may or may not involve a hassle.

"We've literally had to drive from one school to another school, and then back to the other school, depending on whether or not you lose," Peters said. The Legends proposal would concentrate those games in a single spot in Bowie, surrounded by existing hotels and restaurants.

"The idea would be to get those kinds of tournaments to come to Maryland, and then we could get the economic spin-off," Peters said.

Cleanup of a federal Superfund site at Joint Base Andrews will proceed with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – ending a years-long stalemate over contamination at the military facility that is home to Air Force One, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin said Wednesday.

An agreement signed by the Department of Defense and the EPA lists 13 contaminated sites to be addressed at the base, formerly known as Andrews Air Force base, as well as six additional munitions sites that require investigation and cleanup, Cardin’s office said.

State and federal environmental agencies have been working on the remediation effort since the site was placed on the federal Superfund list of contaminated sites in 1999. But attempts to make the cleanup mandatory have stalled for years.

Some Prince George’s County employees in the county administration building in Upper Marlboro were complaining Tuesday about air quality, when the building reopened five days after flooding.

County Council administrator Robert Williams notified council employees via e-mail that they are permitted to leave but must remain in contact with their supervisors, as well as take any needed files with them.

Because of the flooding, the council already had planned to meet at a county building in Riverdale Tuesday for its regularly scheduled session that ordinarily is held in the county administration building. Many council staff members, as well as the nine-member council, are at the Riverdale site.

Prince George's County invites you to attend the third of three forums on the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and the Watershed Implementation Plan Process to protect local streams and the Bay. The third forum will be held on October 18, 2011 at the Prince George's County Sports and Learning Complex located at 8001 Sheriff Road Landover, MD. The first hour will be an open house where attendees will have the opportunity to view exhibits, ask questions, and provide feedback. At 5:30 PM, Mr. Wynkoop, Director of the Department of Environmental Services will provide a brief overview of the WIP followed by a question and answer session. Representatives of all four sectors, Urban, Wastewater, Septic Systems, and Agriculture will be there to take questions.

The excessive rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee has caused sanitary sewer overflows at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission's wastewater facilities in Upper Marlboro and Fort Washington, according to WSSC information.

The Western Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Upper Marlboro, began overflowing this morning and the water levels at the plant are still rising, officials wrote in a press release.

In addition to storm-related brush and tree debris, the landfill will accept other storm debris, free of charge, on Sunday.

Residents may enter the facility at 11611 White House Road in Upper Marlboro. Residential vehicles allowed to dispose of their storm-related yard waste include pick-up trucks, passenger vans, SUVs, sedans and other passenger vehicles.

A Maryland state senator says he has paid a $100 fine after being arrested outside the White House with other protesters while rallying against a plan to pipe oil from western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George's, on Friday joined environmental activists who have been gathering outside the White House for the past two weeks to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Pinsky says he was charged with failure to obey a lawful order, a misdemeanor.

Diluted sewage overflows due to Hurricane Irene-related power loss and heavy rains have been stopped at three wastewater-treatment plants in Prince George’s County.

Power has been restored to the Western Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Upper Marlboro, as well as the Broad Creek Wastewater Pumping Station in Fort Washington and Piscataway Wastewater Treatment Plant in Accokeek, according to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, Prince George's County Council took an important step forward by unanimously passing a new stormwater ordinance (CB-15-2011).

Our biggest champions were Transportation, Housing and Environment (THE) committee chair Eric Olson (District 3) and THE member Mary Lehman (District 1); both worked hard to improve the bill after the original draft of CB-15 handed down by County Executive Rushern Baker was a disappointment to environmental and community organizations.

The acting director for the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources came under heavy fire from the council, who expressed doubt that he will resolve longstanding code enforcement and permit problems.

“I don’t envy your job,” Councilman Will Campos told Samuel Wynkoop during a tense confirmation hearing Tuesday. “But what you’re hearing is the frustration from our residents.”

Prince George’s County officials said proposed laws forcing builders to reduce water pollution on their properties is a step forward, despite criticism from county environmental groups.

“This is the best legislation so far to date that Prince George’s County could come up with,” said Haitham Hijazi, the county Public Works director.

Hijazi and other officials trying to draft new stormwater management laws faced criticism from environmentalists and some County Council members at a June 9 hearing.

“This is the floor,” said Councilwoman Mary Lehman (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel, who said the laws meet minimum state standards. “We should do better than the floor in Prince George’s County.”

In June, Pepco will begin installing advanced digital electric meters, also referred to as smart meters, throughout its Maryland service area. The meter exchange program is the first step in the utility’s long-term investment to build a smart power grid that will help customers better manage their energy use and costs and improve customer service and reliability.

Crews will continue with the installation process through December 2012 until all of Pepco’s Maryland customers receive a new meter. Prior to installation, customers will receive a letter and fact sheet from Pepco which, among other things, introduces them to the contractor, Scope Services Inc., who will perform the meter installation.

When - if ever - can citizens go to court if they believe a new factory or development is going to degrade the environment?

That's the question now before the Maryland Court of Appeals. The state's highest court heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine what rights Marylanders have to challenge a regulatory agency's approval of a project or activity they are convinced will cause unwarranted pollution or harm to natural resources.

The Patuxent Riverkeeper challenged a permit the state Department of the Environment granted to a developer to build a road across a stream near the Washington Beltway. The river watchdog group contended that destruction of 3/4 acre of wetlands along the stream would increase nutrient and sediment pollution downstream.

Curious about environmental issues, historic preservation, outreach, or marketing? Excited about the promise of a green economy?

Then check out our unusual internship!

Community Forklift is part of a young and growing industry, so it's an exciting time to get your foot in the door! You will help our staff with outreach and publicity - representing us at festivals and events, networking with other green businesses, conducting internet outreach, helping with media relations, and expanding our list of customers and donors. This is an unpaid internship, but a travel stipend is available. You also earn store credit, which you can spend, convert to a gift certificate, or donate to your favorite charity.

Prince George’s County Soil Conservation District and University of Maryland Extension Hosts County Executive and Economic Development Team

Today, the Prince George’s County Soil Conservation District and University of Maryland Extension gave a tour of County farms to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III and his Economic Development Team. The tour consisted of three rural farms and one development site around the County.

“Prince George’s County has over 62,000 acres of farmland. That is more than Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, and Alleghany Counties” said Baker. “This land and the conservation of it is a critical part of our history and future development of the County.  I want to thank the Soil Conservation District’s for their hard work to protect and promote one of our most vital resources, our land.”

“This is the first time in 30 years that the Prince George’s County Executive himself has toured our farms to understand firsthand what we do and how we work with the farmers and development projects in the County," explained David Bourdon, Executive Director, Prince George's County Soil Conservation District. ”We greatly appreciate County Executive Baker and his Economic Development Team’s time and attention to this critical part of the Prince George’s County economy.”

 

This past legislative session, Maryland clean-energy advocates accomplished something truly amazing. We made clean, offshore-wind energy a marquee issue for the state in just a few short months. Imagine what we can accomplish in the coming months with nearly a year until the next session!

As always, grassroots activists with their energy and enthusiasm will lead the way to victory in this process. That's why on the weekend of May 21-22, CCAN will hold three separate strategy sessions in three areas of the state that will be vital to victory next year – Baltimore, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County. Another training will take place in Charles County in mid-July.

The passage of a Maryland offshore-wind bill will be a huge victory for the clean-energy movement. The May strategy sessions are your opportunity as an activist to offer your ideas and insights to help steer us down the path to victory and to become an integral part of this historic campaign. In addition to crafting a plan we'll also review and practice some basic community-outreach skills for putting those plans into action!

Come reforest the banks of the Northeast Branch to help clean the Anacostia River and fight climate change.

We will be planting approximately 200 native trees and shrubs (holes will be pre-dug).

Gain community service hours!

No experience necessary.

Dress for getting dirty!

The case, Patuxent Riverkeeper v. Maryland Department of the Environment, turns on whether the plaintiff has the right to challenge a wetlands permit that allowed construction of a bridge over a stream as part of a commercial development in Prince George’s County. The claim is that its construction harmed the Patuxent River and that runoff from the site continues to cause damage downstream.

The Prince George’s County Planning Department, in partnership with Forestry for the Bay, the Bay Bank, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, will host a workshop for residents with woodland on their property. The workshop takes place Saturday, May 21, 8:45 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the William Schmidt Center, 18715 Aquasco Road in Brandywine, MD 20613. For more information call, 301-953-5402.

Thwarted in his bid for legislation to curb development relying on septic systems, Gov. Martin O'Malley is scheduled this morning (April 18) to announce the formation of a task force to study how much the systems pollute the Chesapeake Bay.

More than 700 vehicles lined up in the pouring rain to receive free mulch at the Mulch Giveaway held on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at the Prince George's County Yard Waste Composting Facility in Upper Marlboro. The one-day event hosted by the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources' (DER) Waste Management Group distributed 1,460 yards of free mulch to the residents who braved the tough weather elements to pick up this valuable resource.

"The County's free mulch giveaway is a first-hand example of the innovative recycling program and service our Department of Environmental Resources offers to residents," said Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker. "I want to thank Acting Director Wynkoop and the staff of DER for working in horrible weather conditions to serve so many residents this past weekend."

A so-called Sanitary Sewer Overflow occurred yesterday near 7000 Groveton Drive in Clinton yesterday, according to information released Friday by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

According to WSSC, roughly 25,000 gallons of untreated wastewater overflowed into a tributary of Piscataway Creek at 2:36 p.m., Thursday. The overflow ended at 8:10 p.m., according to the commission. WSSC crews worked on site to clear the area and signs have been posted.

A bill sought by the Prince George's County Council to charge shoppers who use plastic bags failed to clear the General Assembly, lawmakers said.

Senate Bill 721, which would have given the county permission to levy a five-cent "bag tax" on disposable bags at convenience and grocery stores, died after only 12 of 23 county delegates supported the measure in a vote April 5. Sixteen votes were needed for the measure to go for a full House vote.

"It's very disappointing to me, personally," said County Councilwoman Mary A. Lehman (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel, who had requested the legislation as a way to cut down on litter and encourage the use of reusable bags. "But good bills rarely pass the first time out."

Nicola Taveres enjoyed walking to stores and restaurants in her neighborhood in Arlington County. But when she began a search for a house in Northern Virginia, she was priced out of the market, so she bought a townhouse near a Metro station in Prince George's County....

More than 200 residents, planners and government officials met at the Maryland Forward forum on "smart growth," an urban planning philosophy that focuses on creating walkable neighborhoods where people can live, work, shop and play. It was one in a series of meetings established by O'Malley to gather public comment about such issues as the economy, education, public safety and smart growth.

Governor Martin O'Malley joined Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker today at the "Maryland Forward" policy forum on smart growth. Today's forum served to solicit input from local residents, developers, advocates, and community officials on how best to further smarter, more sustainable growth in Maryland. Discussions focused on the environmental impact of development, the need for greater focus on transit-oriented development, and community revitalization.

"Smart growth combines the best of public and private investment and the long term vision to protect our shared natural resources," said Governor O'Malley. "By concentrating new development and redevelopment in areas that have existing or planned infrastructure, we can create jobs, avoid sprawl, expand transportation, and protect our environment. I want to thank the participants in today's forum for their thoughts and valuable input."

Prince George's County could create a Green Business Advisory Board to help promote environmentally conscious commerce through tax credits if a plan introduced Tuesday is approved.

The advisory board would be composed of appointees by the county council and county executive. Its main purpose would be to provide advice regarding the implementation of the county's tax credit program as it relates to green businesses.

University Park residents were alarmed to see Wells Run Creek turn an unusual shade of neon green Wednesday afternoon, but Prince George's County officials say the substance is not dangerous.

As I was reading the Saturday paper, I came across an article that made me very sad. The outdoor environmental education center in Prince George's County, Maryland, commonly known as Camp Schmidt will likely close this summer. This school year may be the last time that fifth graders from across the county will participate in the environmental education activities at Camp Schmidt.

The building also is expected to achieve gold certification in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program and features one of the Air Force's first planted roofs. Pitchford added the building uses 30 percent recycled content and that 90 percent of the construction waste was recycled. More than 20 percent of the building materials were manufactured locally.

As one environmental education center for students in southern Prince George's County fights for its life this budget cycle, the county is slated to funnel $3 million toward building another center.

Although the two facilities are not competing in the same funding pool, the situation has officials at the struggling William S. Schmidt Outdoor Education Center in Brandywine, affectionately known as "Camp Schmidt," feeling betrayed.

I am deeply upset about what appears to be an unavoidable collision course brewing between Chesapeake Bay advocates and a relatively small segment of the agricultural community that has a big footprint in Maryland and in the Chesapeake Bay. It is a confrontation that is causing huge rifts between champions for water quality and advocates for the future of "true" agriculture in the state. It is a fight that is fast making enemies of those who really should be allies.

I was raised on a Maryland farm. And living off land is deeply embedded in my psyche. Some of my formative memories of growing up include planting and harvesting tobacco and other crops, or playing hide and seek in the rows of wheat and corn, heaving dust cloud grenades at my playmates fighting mock battles on sandy dry soil. My early years often found me riding down country lanes on the buckboard of a farm cart with the warm sun on face. I remember the briny smell from a string of fresh-caught yellow perch riding next to me.

As you may have heard, the Schmidt Center, commonly referred to as Camp Schmidt, in Prince George's County, is in danger of being cut out of the budget next school year. This budget was proposed by Superintendent Hite, approved by the school board, and is currently in the hands of the Prince George's County Council. The Schmidt Center is a close partner of AFF, and as a partner outdoor education organization, we are deeply concerned about the ramifications of their closure for the students of Prince George's County and the precedent this sets for outdoor education throughout the state of Maryland. There has recently been a groundswell of media attention being given to this situation, so we hold out hope that with enough attention and concern, the tides can be reversed.

The March 5 Metro article "An endangered environment" should have been on the front page.

Environmental education has a long and well-established history in Maryland. For nearly half a century, the state's advances in regard to environmental issues can be traced directly to educational programs such as those in Prince George's, Montgomery, Carroll and Anne Arundel counties. Educators have long recognized that for real change to occur, students need to be involved in meaningful, authentic lessons. Each year we are presented with the dismal report card on the state of the Chesapeake Bay and the slow, painful efforts to clean it up. I believe that without outdoor environmental education programs, there would have been little progress at all.

School officials said they can no longer afford to fund Camp Schmidt, especially when faced with a $155 million gap in the school system's $1.6 billion budget. Officials are also cutting 400 teachers and 92 librarians, among other personnel. Barring a last-minute influx of cash, the camp will close June 30, officials said.

The possibility of closing the camp - which has hosted, on average, 7,000 students a year for nearly four decades - has sparked an outcry from politicians, parents and Camp Schmidt alumni. Bowie resident Rachael Dickey has started a Save Camp Schmidt group on Facebook. As of Friday, there were a little more than 200 people who had joined.

It's not every day that you get to drive on a highway that is only nine days old.

But in the spirit of adventure, Patch editor Brian Hooks and I took a cruise on the smooth, newly poured pavement of the Intercounty Connector, the first section of the toll road expected to substantially slice the amount of time some suburban Washington and Baltimore commuters spend on the road.

O'Malley, a Democrat, has backed a bill to have homebuilders install top-grade septic systems in new developments as part of an effort to control rural growth and pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. He expressed his support for the proposal during his State of the State speech last month. The announcement surprised many lawmakers, and angered Republicans from rural counties.

The overnight trip she took last week at the William S. Schmidt Outdoor Education Center in Brandywine was the first time camping for Oxon Hill Elementary fifth-grader Aimy Hernandez.

After a day of trust-building exercises and observing insects as part of a program on stream ecology, among other activities, Aimy, 10, and her classmates were preparing for a campfire that evening.

"It's been really great. My parents work very late, so I don't get to go outside very much," she said. A self-described "bookworm," Aimy has read about bugs and other environmental topics, but said that "to come out here, it's different than what you imagine."

When the first segment of a controversial new highway that will connect Montgomery and Prince George's counties opens Tuesday, Maryland will have built what was once considered impossible in Washington's congested suburbs: a six-lane, multibillion-dollar toll road across fragile streams, a stone's throw from hundreds of homes.

The full cost of the Intercounty Connector - the exchange of woodlands for asphalt; the effects on residents along its path; debt payments that could require raising tolls throughout the state - will be analyzed for years. The immediate question is how opening the first 7.2 miles will affect traffic.

The full cost of the Intercounty Connector - the exchange of woodlands for asphalt; the effects on residents along its path; debt payments that could require raising tolls throughout the state - will be analyzed for years. The immediate question is how opening the first 7.2 miles will affect traffic.

More than 2,600 solar panels will be installed on a University of Maryland building this summer, resulting in one of the largest rooftop solar power systems in Maryland.

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) was selected as a Maryland Energy Administration Project Sunburst Initiative Partner and awarded a grant aimed at promoting the installation of renewable energy systems on public buildings in Maryland. As a result of a competitive bid process, Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. (WGES) will finance the remainder of the project cost and UMD will purchase the electricity generated by the solar panels under a 20-year agreement with WGES.

Prince George's County will receive $2.88 million from Maryland's Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund to address stormwater runoff and stream channel erosion problems in the lower Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River basin.

Local developers and city officials are lobbying Prince George's County Council members to come up with a storm-water bill so that development projects in the county can move forward.

The bill will dictate how much of the runoff water from new or redevelopment projects has to be filtered before it flows off a property site. Until such legislation is passed, all development projects that did not have their storm-water plans approved by May 4, 2010 cannot move forward.

One such project affected by the moratorium is the proposed redevelopment of Laurel Mall, which is more than a year behind schedule. Officials from Somera Capital Management and AEW Capital Management, which own the mall, had said the companies were poised to begin construction on the mall's parking lot, but its storm-water plan did not meet the county's cutoff deadline.

The federal government's ambitious plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay could cost Virginia, Maryland and the District billions of dollars each and add hundreds of dollars to the annual property tax bill of local homeowners, state and local officials said.

A new study on the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to reduce pollution flowing to the Bay shows that it could cost each affected city and county between $259 million and $386 million a year for the next 15 years.

The study done by the Virginia Municipal Stormwater Association, a group of Virginia localities that operate storm sewer systems, represents the worst-case scenario for Virginia's cities and counties. But even states that are able to develop alternative cleanup plans of their own could still be forced to raise billions in tax dollars to pay the bill, officials said.

A massive water main break in Prince George's County shut down the inner loop of the Capital Beltway for hours Monday morning, forced the closure of a federal agency and required Maryland's suburban water utility to issue a boil-water order for 400,000 customers.

The 17-degree reading was the lowest at the airport since Feb. 7.

A few hours after the mercury fell to 17 on Saturday morning, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network was conducting a "polar bear plunge."

This was an immersion in the Potomac, in swim gear, at the National Harbor development in Prince George's County.

Sponsors billed the plunge as an effort intended to call attention to climate change. One of the event's slogans was "Keep Winter Cold!"

Their politics may be red hot, but their core temperatures were not.

Hundreds from the D.C. region hopped into the icy waters of the Potomac River Saturday in a statement to U.S. Congress.

Their message? Keep winter cold. The advocacy group hopes to bring more attention to melting polar ice caps and environmental change. Apparently, they felt that writing a letter was not splashy enough.

Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Prince George's County was among the polar-bearish swimmers on Saturday. The group congregated on the beach at National Harbor, before leaping into the frigid flow.

Local and state governments could see stormwater management fees from the federal government in "a matter of weeks," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Thursday about a new law he co-sponsored.

Cardin hosted a roundtable discussion in College Park to highlight the law clarifying that the federal government is not exempt from local and state stormwater fees, which help fight pollution. Federal government facilities like military bases, prisons and agencies could be charged stormwater fees like private businesses.

"If they are part of the problem, they should be part of the solution," said roundtable participant Ken Kirk, executive director of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

Justice may be colorblind, but in Hyattsville it's definitely green.

Or at least that's what a group of seven students are trying to sort out.

Green Justice is a group from the University of Maryland concerned with solving Hyattsville's trash problem. Last year, the city began a trash collection pilot program, and trash pickup was reduced from twice weekly to once weekly in hopes of reducing trash around town.

As the first segment of the 18.8-mile toll highway nears completion, the Maryland State Highway Administration is carrying out a 2008 settlement negotiated with the Environmental Defense Fund. The group lost a 2007 federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the ICC's construction on environmental grounds.

The group agreed to drop its appeal of the ruling in exchange for the state spending $1 million to install exhaust filters on 70 diesel school buses, along with $1 million to collect three years of data from a new air-quality monitor near the Beltway and Route 214 in Prince George's County. The results could determine how much people near highways are exposed to unhealthy particles and droplets of chemicals in vehicle emissions.

The presents have all been unwrapped, the in-laws have made their way home (unless they're still waiting on a flight!) and it's time to repack all the decorations and put them in storage for another year.

Now what to do with the tree? Within Bowie, residents can put their tree on the curb with your yardwaste on any Wednesday in January and the city will pick it up. All lights and decorations must be removed from the tree for pickup.

Those living outside the city limits but still in Prince George's County should have their trees on the curb, decorations and lights removed, by 6:30 a.m. on their regularly scheduled trash collection day.

Offshore wind power advocates are asking Maryland lawmakers to pass legislation to compel utilities to make long-term investments in offshore wind energy.

Hundreds gathered Saturday in Annapolis for a conference and a small group marched on the State House afterward. The advocates say investing in wind energy can help the environment while also creating jobs.

State Sen. Paul Pinsky of Prince George's County said that utilities won't invest without the right legislative conditions and that he plans to introduce a wind power bill when the General Assembly convenes its 90-day session next month.

Maryland environmentalists tomorrow will stage the first-ever citizens' conference and rally to promote offshore wind as a clean energy alternative, less than a month after the state became the second to receive federal approval for a large, offshore wind farm and days after the release of a report touting the potential of wind-generated power along the Atlantic coast.

The report, released at various public events along the coast, found that two-thirds of the state's energy needs could be met via offshore wind generation using current technology.

The town of Cheverly, Md., is the first in Prince George's County to get a wind turbine, and energy advocates say it's a window into the future of energy in Maryland.

Right now, it's just a 10-by-10 concrete slab, but in a few weeks, it'll be a 70-foot wind turbine that will generate half of the Cheverly Public Works facility's electricity.

Last week, I attended the unveiling of the new Decatur Street in Edmonston with Mayor Adam Ortiz and Congresswoman Donna Edwards. Assisted by federal stimulus money, Decatur Street is lined with a variety of trees, wind powered streetlights, permeable concrete sidewalks, rain gardens, and a bike lane. At the unveiling, Mayor Ortiz boasted that this street had become the "greenest street on the East Coast."

I hope you read about the Washington Post's coverage of this event and look at their pictures of Decatur Street, which can serve as model for every community in Prince George's County.

This event made me consider my "green" goals for the county.

Transit-oriented concrete plant: Not only does the proposed concrete plant in Prince George's County intensify polluting uses near the same poor, minority residents, but as Dave Murphy notes, it's really close to Cheverly Metro, missing a good opportunity for TOD at the same time.

The tiny town of Edmonston, one of the Washington area's lowest-lying communities, has long been a victim of its environment.

Speeding freight trains cut through town along Route 1, and buses whiz by on Decatur Street, the town's main drag. The Anacostia River splits Edmonston in two, causing flooding during heavy rains. Located in Prince George's County between much larger Hyattsville and Bladensburg, Edmonston is not a place where money flows freely.

But Edmonston - an unlikely champion of the green movement - is now calling Decatur the "East Coast's greenest street," thanks to $1.3 million in stimulus money and a year of construction.

Maryland's approach is to improve transportation and environmental outcomes and streamline environmental processes through regular, ongoing dialogues with resource agencies, communities, and other stakeholders.

"That way we can anticipate issues early in the project development process," Sanghavi said. "When you go above and beyond [what is required], regulatory agencies recognize this and it helps develop collaborative partnerships over the long-term."

For example, through an agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the highway administration conducts self-certification for inspections of erosion and sediment controls.

Maryland is currently involved in a particularly challenging "mega project:" constructing the Intercounty Connector across Montgomery and Prince George's counties in the Washington suburbs. The construction zone includes an area of significant environmental challenges. Sanghavi said that the MSHA is proving its environmental stewardship one community at a time, building support for the long-planned project to move into construction.

The Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission, in partnership with the Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation and Economic Development Corporation, has been awarded $800,000 under the HUD Community Challenge Planning Grant Program.

Funds will be used to plan for the expansion of the corridor around Prince George's County's four southern Metro Green Line stations. The goal is to attract new federal and spin-off office tenants and mixed-income housing, facilitated by an efficient and effective multimodal transportation system.

On Tuesday, October 26 Prince George's County Council has a chance to chart a new course for development in the county that is two kinds of green: good for our environment and good for our economy. Come to the Council hearing room at 9AM on Tuesday to make your voice heard: County Administration Building 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772-3050.

The Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation is planning changes to TheBus service on all 4 routes operating out of Greenbelt Station.

Prince George's wants to better allocate resources to run buses at higher frequency. But several Berwyn Heights officials are upset about the plan, because they think residents don't want — and won't ride — a bus with more frequent service.

O'Malley said he made no apologies for environmental regulations to protect Maryland's environment and the Chesapeake Bay. O'Malley said Maryland sits in the center of a corridor of innovation, provided that state leaders protect investments in education.

This state has a competitive gubernatorial election between current Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Bob Ehrlich. At this university, the media and politicians like to talk about tuition. However, I've been engaging students on environmental issues for the last four years, and the majority either have an inclination to support environmental policies or actively promote them. The most concrete example of this is the 2007 SGA election referendum in which 91 percent of student voters approved a self-imposed green fee to offset carbon emissions.

If you care about the health of the Chesapeake Bay, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, creation of clean energy jobs and construction of the Purple Line, the best choice for governor is clearly O'Malley.

The improvements come after decades of degradation of the Anacostia by development in its watershed -- the 176-square-mile area of land and tributaries that extend into Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The river has been plagued by raw sewage overflows during heavy rains, and oil and grease and other toxic runoff from city streets and parking lots.

"Most of the areas were developed without management, and now we have to go back and retrofit to bring it up to codes," says Ken Yetman, the stream corridor assessor for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

ttention Anacostia Advocates – this Thursday at 10am the Prince George's County Council's Transportation, Housing, and Environment (THE) committee will take up CB-80, the clean water bill. Earlier this summer, advocates achieved a major victory for clean water in the Anacostia with the unanimous passage of Montgomery County's new stormwater regulation. It is now Prince George's County's turn to step up to the plate and do its part. Council Bill CB-80 is substantially the same as what was enacted in Montgomery County, highlighted by requiring the same protective stormwater runoff standard in both new development and redevelopment settings. This is vitally important because it will revitalize the older areas of Prince George's with modern green infrastructure amenities. Studies have shown that green infrastructure like tree plantings and raingardens increase residential property values....

This week was, and is, jam packed with special events around walking and biking, including some great walking and biking tours coming up.

Capital Bikeshare launched yesterday to great fanfare in the plaza behind USDOT. TheWashCycle summarized all the press coverage. Memberships are still $50 so join now!

Don't panic if the station you were hoping to use isn't included in the official map. More stations will be rolling out, a few a week, through October. The printed maps on the existing stations have the complete map, and there are no plans to cut any of those stations.

The State and Federal Highway Administrations recently completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Intercounty Connector (ICC), a proposed highway in Prince George's and Montgomery counties. The comprehensive document will be available on the Internet for viewing and download at www.iccstudy.org by the end of the week and a formal notice in the Federal Register should appear Jan. 13.

Six local environmental groups including the Anacostia Watershed Society, Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee, Anacostia Riverkeeper, DC Environmental Network, Groundwork Anacostia River and the Sierra Club Environmental Justice program are organizing a press conference on Tuesday, September 7th at 12:00 noon to call attention to the lack of action on the clean-up of known toxic sites along the Anacostia River. While the District and federal agencies debate details and jurisdictions, causing years long delays, the toxics wait for no one and continue to leech into our environment.

Case still lives on the same farm in Mitchellville. Her brother still lives next door, and they're still comparing their gardens. And she still loves the Prince George's County Fair, which starts Sept. 9 at the Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro and is scheduled to run through Sept. 12.

When asked to reflect on her decisions during the last eight years regarding land use in the southeastern rural tier of Prince George's County, outgoing County Councilwoman Marilynn Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton says she has "no regrets."

Speaking to a Gazette reporter Saturday during the seventh annual District 9 Rural Tier Tour at Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro, Bland, who hosted the event, acknowledged that residents have criticized her in the past for supporting zoning changes that permitted more development in District 9, which includes the rural tier as well as more developed areas such as Clinton and Camp Springs.

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has identified the waters of the MD 8-digit Patuxent River Upper watershed on the State's 2008 Integrated Report as impaired by sediments (1996), nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus (1996), bacteria (2002 and 2008), methylmercury (MeHg) in fish tissue (Cash Lake - 2002), and impacts to biological communities (2006). A Water Quality Analysis (WQA) of eutrophication to address the nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) listing was approved by the EPA in 2007, and the watershed was delisted for bacteria in 2002 (relisted in 2008 – mainstem only from Old Queen Anne's Bridge Road to the river's confluence with the Little Patuxent River). A sediment TMDL for the MD 8-digit watershed and a bacteria TMDL for the river mainstem from Old Queen Anne's Bridge Road to the river's confluence with the Little Patuxent River are scheduled to be submitted to the EPA in 2010.

Pepco Energy Services has signed a contract with the Prince George's County Maryland Public Schools towards energy savings performance. Pepco Energy Services provides industrial, government, institutional and commercial customers with highly competitive services in energy efficiency that includes renewable energy along with combined power and heat.

This contract is worth $35 million and will be providing 103 system facilities of the county school with novel energy infrastructure and functions such as system modernization of ventilation, cooling, heating, water conservation, lighting improvements, energy controls as well as renewable energy systems.

As Americans puzzle over why the economic stimulus package enacted more than a year ago has failed to restore vigorous job growth, one explanation has emerged from new reports: A lot of the money is not yet out the door....

Prince George's County passed much of its $6.6 million to towns, but many had yet to spend it....

Maryland has spent 10 percent of its $51.8 million but says it has millions more at work in retrofitting apartments.

The Prince George's District Council has been ordered to hand over documents detailing any money council members received from developers, after a coalition of environments questioned the ethics behind developer-friendly master plans.

In the July 28 ruling, Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Michele D. Hotten ordered the District Council — which the County Council sits as in land use and zoning decisions — to release affidavits from property owners of their campaign contributions to council members. The District Council has until Sept. 20 to turn over the documents.

Judge Hotten wrote in her opinion that the District Council's "failure to collect affidavits, or acknowledge the absence of affidavits filed because no contributions were made, renders it impossible to determine whether any District Council member had any conflict of interest, which conceivable could have compromised the ability to vote independently and impartially."

The ruling follows an October lawsuit filed by the Accokeek, Mattawoman, Piscataway Creeks Communities Council Inc., a group that opposes the Subregion 5 and 6 master plans that rezone thousands of acres of land for commercial use in the southern and eastern portions of the county.

An oil leak that recently contaminated a Hyattsville stream likely originated at the Mall at Prince Georges, state officials said Tuesday.

State and Prince George's County investigators believe the oil found Monday in Wells Run stream, which runs through Hyattsville to University Park and into the Anacostia River, came from a leaking underground storage tank on the Hyattsville mall's property, said Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson.

The leader of an animal rights group and a Prince George's County resident are taking the county to court over its ban on feeding stray cats.

The complaint was filed July 9 in county Circuit Court by Upper Marlboro resident Sue Brown and Bowie resident Timothy Saffell, the founder of Prince George's Feral Friends, a nonprofit organization based in Bowie that supports feeding, catching and neutering wild cats and allowing the animals to roam free.

Peeling off what normally would be a foot-long ear of corn from a stalk on a farm in Baden, Yates Clagett showed a casualty of the recent record-high temperatures: a tiny vegetable resembling the baby corn found in cans at the grocery store.

After more than three months of scorching heat and little rainfall, many southern Prince George's County farmers are reporting moderate to heavy losses as it comes time to reap what they sowed in the spring.

Imagine that your area's gas utility announces that your neighborhood has been chosen as the site of a huge facility to process and store liquefied natural gas (LNG).

This is exactly what happened to Imani Kazana and her neighbors in Hyattsville, Maryland communities about five years ago. The company, Washington Gas Company (WGC), has proposed the facility to convert pipe-delivered methane into LNG. The proposed storage plant would hold one billion cubic feet of LNG. More than 3,000 people live within 2,000 feet of the site – located two blocks from a nursing home, and a few miles from the University of Maryland's main campus at College Park with 37,000 students. But it's also happening to many other communities across the country.

The choice facing the Public Service Commission is shown below: a residential neighborhood intact or a risky LNG facility with many adverse consequences for the Chillum communities future.

An Adelphi hotel is the first in a new state effort that aims to use the public's growing interest in the green movement as a powerful marketing tool.

The Marriott Inn & Conference Center University of Maryland University Campus in Adelphi is the first business to be named a Maryland Green Travel Partner. The state launched its Green Travel Program in 2009 — complete with a 20-member advisory group — to review, certify and showcase tourism businesses committed to reducing their environmental impact.

Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to bike to the District via Prince George's County once construction is complete on two miles of trail starting at Bladensburg Waterfront Park.

Work began two weeks ago on the 2-mile link, which will cost $1.3 million and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Once finished, it will connect 24 miles of Maryland trails that end near Bladensburg Waterfront Park to 16 miles of planned trails in the District.

When an institution of higher learning such as Howard University seeks to develop mostly forested land in the rural tier outside the Beltway, it is difficult to understand how it is "good for Prince George's County," as Howard Vice President Artis Hampshire-Cowan said. Ms. Hampshire-Cowan is correct that a biotech research and development campus would benefit the county's tax base, but it is possible to do the right thing in the wrong place.

The daily coverage by The Post and other media of the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has elbowed out local coverage of an environmental victory here at home. The Piscataway Park waterfront, along the Potomac River in Accokeek, had become a dilapidated, rocky shoreline decimated by erosion. Over the past four years, the shoreline has receded at a rate of 10 feet per year.

When coastal erosion caused a serious threat to the nationally protected archaeological sites and the natural resources in the park last year, Tracy Bowen, director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation, spoke with Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the House majority leader, who represents Accokeek. "I believe in leveraging politics for the environment," Ms. Bowen has said.

The pair worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Restoration Center and got $1.1 million in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the National Park Service. The Alice Ferguson Foundation then worked with the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Keith Campbell Foundation to design a new "living shoreline." This shoreline features a self-sustaining ecosystem equipped with new natural wetlands, forests and beaches.

The Accokeek Foundation will host a volunteer day from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Robert Ware Straus Ecosystem Farm, 3400 Bryan Point Rd., Accokeek. Duties include tending fields, weeding, planting and harvesting produce.

Legal filings continue to mount awaiting a Prince George's County Circuit Court judge's decision scheduled for later this month on whether to overturn the subregion 5 and 6 master plans.

The case stems from the Prince George's County District Council's 6-3 approval Sept. 9 of amended master plans that rezone thousands of acres of land for commercial use in subregions 5 and 6, which cover the southern and eastern portions of the county. The County Council sits as the District Council in land use and zoning decisions.

A new 2-mile trail that will be built in Prince George's County is being described as a key link in Maryland's transportation network.

"By providing this one missing trail link, the state is connecting people to neighborhoods, Metro stations, parks, the University of Maryland, several schools, an airport, the Washington Nationals' Stadium and the National Mall at the Tidal Basin," says Gov. Martin O'Malley, in a news release.

O'Malley says the $1.3 million trail will let folks get where they need to go without getting in their cars.

The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has ruled in favor of a Prince George's environmental group that challenged a decision by the county's Planning Board to allow a subdivision to be built in the rural part of the county.

Judge James A. Kenny III ruled that Accokeek, Mattawoman, Piscataway Creeks Communities and Kelly Canavan have standing to file a petition for judicial review. Kenny wrote the opinion, which was filed June 24, for the three-member panel.

In Prince George's Circuit Court, the Planning Board argued that since Canavan did not attend the hearing when the board approved the Estates at Pleasant Valley, she could not file the petition.

The principle behind a rain garden is to mimic the natural environment in the built environment. Any type of building almost always results in more impervious area, which in turn increases the amount of run-off. Since run-off carries pollutants into streams, the extra run-off may well mean extra pollution. The rain garden, through controlling water flow, helps to also control pollution....

Source: "How Does Your Garden Grow? A Reference Guide to Enhancing your Rain Garden" by Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources (link)