 Environmental News
Brief
Presented by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council for the Baltimore
Regional Transportation
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The following news "briefs" highlight recent news regarding
transportation-related environmental issues, primarily air quality, affecting
the Baltimore region. Please note that this brief is not all inclusive of the
variety and magnitude of activities in the region. It is intended for
informational purposes only; refer to the source, guidance, or program for
additional
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Draft Chesapeake Bay Plan Released
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a draft
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plan for the Chesapeake Bay. The TMDL
establishes a "pollution diet" for the Bay: daily load limits of nutrients such
as nitrogen and phosphorus, and sediments.
States located within the Bay
watershed are required to submit final implementation plans for addressing the
TMDL by November 29th. With over 40,000 TMDL's having been completed across the
country, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL will be the largest.
A 45-day public
comment period on the Draft TMDL will end on November 8, 2010.
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First Step Made Towards Setting Model Year 2017 to 2025 Fuel
Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards
U.S. EPA and U.S. DOT National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) announced on September 30 their intent to develop
stricter fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks made in
model years 2017 through 2025. Together with the California Air Resources Board,
these two agencies conducted a technical assessment which included the
development of scenarios for decreasing greenhouse emissions from cars by 3, 4,
5, and 6 percent annually starting in 2017, along with analyses of potential
technologies that could contribute toward achieving the standards. These
scenarios translate roughly into between 47 and 62 miles per gallon
(mpg) fuel economy in 2025.
This Notice of Intent (NOI) is in response to a May 21
Presidential Memorandum which requests that U.S. EPA and NHTSA develop a
"coordinated national program under the CAA [Clean Air Act] and the EISA
[Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007] to improve fuel efficiency and to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions of passenger cars and light-duty trucks of model
years 2017-2025." Just six months ago, EPA and NHTSA issued the first
phase of the national program which covers
model years 2012 through 2016. The first phase of the program includes a set of
standards which requires light-duty vehicles to achieve a combined average of
approximately 34.1 miles per gallon by model year 2016.
The benefits of this national program include reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy security, increasing fuel savings,
and providing clarity and predictability for manufacturers. EPA believes that by
continuing the establishment of national standards out to 2025, the next phase
of the program will give automakers a sense of certainty about the need to
invest in innovative research. The tailpipe and fuel economy
standards are expected to be proposed by September 30, 2011.
>> Find out more about the
Notice and view Technical Assessment Report
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The Baltimore Metropolitan Council Has Moved
 After ten years at Lighthouse Point in Canton, the
Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) moved its offices on September
20th. We are now located at the new McHenry Row development in the
Locust Point area of South Baltimore. McHenry Row is located at Fort Avenue and
Key Highway, and occupies the site of the former Chesapeake Paperboard
Company.
When
completed, the development will include a five-story office building, parking
garage, apartments over ground-level retail, and a new grocery store. BMC will
be the first tenant in the office building. Phone numbers and e-mail addresses
are the same.
BMC's new
mailing address is:
Baltimore Metropolitan
Council
Offices @ McHenry Row
1500 Whetstone Way - Suite
300
Baltimore, MD 21230
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Upcoming Events
EPA Public Meeting on the Draft Chesapeake Bay TMDL
Date: October 13, 2010
Location: Sheraton Annapolis, 173 Jennifer Road, Annapolis,
MD
 National Green Infrastructure Conference 2011Date: February 23 to 25, 2011
Location: National Conservation Training Center (NCTC),
Shepherdstown, WV
The Inaugural 2011 National Green Infrastructure Conference is a gathering
of policy-makers, practitioners, and on-the-ground implementers of green
infrastructure practices and design from around the country. This is the first
official conference of the National Green Infrastructure Community of Practice.
There will be an optional Primer on Green Infrastructure on Tuesday, February
22. Green infrastructure is defined by the Conservation Fund as "a network of
natural areas and open spaces-woodlands, wetlands, trails and parks-that
conserves ecosystems, helps sustain clean air and water and provides many other
benefits to people and wildlife." In addition, it is "a way to identify the best
lands to accommodate development and infrastructure while also considering the
best lands to conserve."
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| Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit
Don't forget about the federal energy efficiency tax credit that expires at
the end of this year.
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In
the News |
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Links
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