Two lawmakers demand answers from state environmental regulators. The Hogan administration says they’ll have to wait

Two Maryland legislators say they are angry and frustrated by the failure of the state’s Department of the Environment to comply with new legislation requiring the agency to hold polluters accountable by increasing staff, strengthening enforcement and improving oversight. The Democratic lawmakers, state Sen. Paul Pinsky of Prince George’s County and state Rep. Sara Love of Montgomery County said the bill, which became a law on July 1, also required MDE to clear its chronic backlog of expired wastewater treatment permits, increase inspections of wastewater facilities flagged for violations and penalize polluters.