Around Maryland

A coalition of groups demonstrated Thursday in downtown Baltimore over gas. The coalition, including members of CASA, the Climate Action Network and the Maryland PIRG Foundation, called on Maryland’s utilities to stop investing in gas infrastructure. A report from the Office of the People’s Counsel found gas utility spending increased the rates for Baltimore Gas and Electric and Columbia gas customers.

Amtrak and MARC officials told a community forum Wednesday that a proposed new tunnel planned to run under at least 10 majority-Black neighborhoods in West Baltimore will be deep enough to minimize harm to area homes. Sandtown-Winchester resident Gary English has his doubts. “They said because it’s going to be approximately 96 feet under my house … it will not disturb my house,” he said during the presentation.

Central Maryland residents in growing numbers are vowing to stop a proposed upgrade to the region’s energy grid involving a 500,000-volt overhead transmission line that would cut across farms, parks, neighborhoods, wetlands and forests in three counties. The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would carve a 70-mile path through largely rural areas of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties, in areas, opponents believe, where government land preservation programs have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to purchase development rights placing land in perpetual easements.

Maryland officials will not have to fully evaluate how a planned replacement for the Francis Scott Key Bridge will affect the surrounding environment, including the Patapsco River, federal officials said this week. The move clears a hurdle that could have delayed an already lengthy rebuild process. The Federal Highway Administration issued the exemption from the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, because the state anticipates the future bridge will share key characteristics of its predecessor — four travel lanes and the same location.

Judging from local wastewater surveillance trends, President Joe Biden has plenty of company in Maryland as he continues to recover this week from his third bout of COVID-19. The state is seeing the biggest spike in COVID levels in its wastewater — or sewage — since early January, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has launched a new plastic film recycling program at the Shady Grove Transfer Station and Recycling Center. This initiative lets residents and businesses recycle flexible plastic bags and wraps. These materials require different processing than bottles and containers.

Furry companions and their owners in Baltimore’s downtown are getting a not-so-new, but improved, hang-out spot. New renderings of the Liberty Dog Run from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore show an attempt at attracting more visitors to the struggling city center. The plan features a large expansion that would change the traffic pattern and introduce a public restroom, retail booth, shaded areas and a security hub.

Brunswick officials on Tuesday discussed Frederick County’s invitation to participate in a program that would secure funds annually for affordable housing and community development projects. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designates certain jurisdictions as Urban Counties, making them eligible for annual Community Development Block Grant funds, which finance programs that benefit low- and moderate-income households.