Advocates push for bill that would remove trash incineration from Maryland's renewable energy portfolio
Some Maryland leaders and sustainability advocates are pushing for legislation that would remove trash incineration from the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and use the funds for sustainable alternative forms of renewable energy.
It comes after a South Baltimore community filed a complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over concerns about toxic chemicals coming from a trash incinerator.
The Reclaim Renewable Energy Act, or HB220, would instead prioritize energy that comes from a Tier 1 renewable source, including solar, wind and geothermal energy. Energy derived from the ocean or from methane produced from decomposing organic materials in landfills or wastewater plants would also be prioritized.
Under the bill, Tier 1 renewable sources would be eligible to be included in the state's RPS no matter when the system or facility was created. Renewable sources would also be eligible if they are generated at a dam that was built as of January 2004.
However, the sources would only be eligible if they are connected to the electric distribution grid that serves Maryland or if they process wastewater from state residents.
If the owner of a solar energy system moves to sell renewable energy credits, they would have to first offer to sell the credits to an electricity supplier or electric company to be applied toward compliance with the portfolio standards.
"Trash incineration has devastating environmental and public health impacts, disproportionately affecting frontline communities like those in Baltimore City. The Reclaim Renewable Energy Act represents a critical step in Maryland's transition to Zero Waste, ensuring state resources support genuinely renewable energy solutions," advocates said.
Trash incineration in Baltimore
In May 2024, a South Baltimore nonprofit filed a civil rights complaint after residents raised concerns about inhaling toxic chemicals.
Neighbors told WJZ they wanted the trash burning to stop, saying the toxic chemicals they were inhaling impacted their health and quality of life. They further called on Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and the Department of Public Works to send the trash elsewhere.
The complaint, filed by the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, alleged that the city's Ten Year Solid Waste Management Plan does not do enough to divert trash from the BRESCO incinerator on Russell Street.
In the complaint, the group said the toxic chemicals produced by the plant disproportionally impact Black and Hispanic residents in South Baltimore.
"Our allegations are not that diversion is absent from the complaint but that it is not supported, and it is not fulfilled in a manner that would allow it to actually happen, to be actually implemented," said Taylor Lilley, an attorney with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and representing the South Baltimore Community Land Trust.
By July 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would investigate the site.
"The EPA is investigating this as a possible civil rights issue because there's a lot of people of color and lower-income people that are breathing in this particulate matter, mercury, and other very dangerous pollutants from the Baltimore trash incinerator," said Tom Pelton, spokesperson for the Environmental Integrity Project.
At the time, Washington, D.C.- based nonprofit, The Environmental Integrity Project, said the announcement was promising, but added they would like to see the city move away from trash burning altogether.
