Susan Olsen
The writer is a board member for Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth.
The Maryland Environmental Human Rights AmendmentThis bill is being heard in the Maryland General Assembly. It is being sponsored in the House by Delegate Wanika Fisher and in the Senate by Senator Will Smith. Sheree Sample Hughes, House Speaker Pro Tempore Delegate, is a cosponsor.
The amendment would:
(A) Every person, as a matter fundamental human dignity, has the right to a healthy and sustainable environment.
(B) The State, as trustee shall protect, preserve, manage, and enhance Maryland’s natural and cultural resources. This includes its air, land, waters, wildlife, ecosystems, and air for the benefit of both current and future generations.
If the bill is passed in both the Senate and House with a majority of three-fifths, it will be submitted for referendum to Maryland voters during the November 2022 election. According to polling, 76% of Maryland voters support the amendment at the moment. It would amend Maryland Bill of Rights in the Maryland State Constitution if passed.
Many people believe that we have the right to a clean, healthy environment. In practice, however, this is false. The Maryland Environmental Policy Act, which states that each person has a fundamental right to a healthy environment, was passed by the General Assembly in 1973. The Maryland Environmental Human Rights Amendment offers us the chance to restore MEPA’s original intent and hold state agencies accountable for its enforcement. It does not give private citizens the right of sueing neighbors or businesses.
The Valley Proteins chicken rendering facility in Linkwood, Dorchester County is a clear example of the need for an amendment. Dorchester Citizens For Planned Growth has been raising concerns over that plant since 2012. The group was able to determine from water sampling and tests that the Transquaking River was becoming contaminated by the wastewater & sludge being dumped into the river by Valley Proteins, Inc.
The group met with the Maryland Department of the Environment numerous times, but to no avail. The situation got worse. The air was stale and the group began to worry that pollution might be seeping into their local aquifer, contaminating their drinking water. The group reached out Sheree Sample Hughes, a Delegate who conducted a legislative inquiry. There was no response.
The Maryland Department of the Environment issued zombie permits for many years, allowing permits to continue in use well beyond their expiration date. Without performing the necessary updates, the permits continued to be issued by the Department of the Environment. Valley Proteins worked under a permit which expired in 2006.
MDE and Valley Proteins executives had their last meeting at the Linkwood Fire Hall on November 16, 2021. MDE had finally offered a new permit after several local nonprofit organizations threatened legal actions.
Nearly 100 people were present. Some residents complained that their water tasted strange. Some residents claimed that their water smelled foul and they couldn’t open their windows often because of it. One man stated that his dog would not leave the house on bad days. Higgins Mill Pond’s owner lost two beloved dogs, who suffered from seizures and died just two hours after being allowed to swim in the water.
Matt Pluta from ShoreRivers sent MDE drone photos of Valley Proteins illegally dumping polluted wastewater into the Transquaking River in Linkwood a month after the hearing. MDE closed down the plant in just two days! Except for a temporary requirement that the wastewater be disposed elsewhere, the company was back in business on Christmas Eve.
Evidently, any environmental rights that we think we have aren’t being enforced. This is why we need the Maryland Environmental Human Rights Amendment.