During the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly, legislators introduced 2,580 bills and by midnight on sine die, April 19, the legislature had passed more than 700 of those bills. This was not a very green year. Only a very modest number of those bills advance green building or sustainable business.

Despite only nascent interest by state elected officials in embracing any of the environmental issues of the day and the green building environmental industrial complex being all but absent from policy making this year, savvy businesses will find opportunities to lead and profit in matters of green building and sustainable business, including opportunities advantaged by these newly enacted laws.

But make no mistake, in 2012 Maryland ranks #1 in the nation for LEED project activity per capita. That is, relative to its population, Maryland has more LEED projects than any state. And review of newly enacted legislation must be against that backdrop.

This compilation is a bill by bill review of green building legislation passed by the state legislature in 2012. The determination of what is a green building bill is, admittedly, subjective and for the purposes of this exercise a wide net was cast.

Limitations of time and space do not permit this compilation to consider the bills that did not pass, from off shore wind turbines to community solar installation, and more.

The legislature has passed and the Governor has signed into law:

HB 1 requires the property owner or manager of an apartment building or the council of unit owners of a condominium containing 10 or more units to provide for the collection and removal of recyclable materials by October 1, 2014. A county may require property owners, managers, and councils of unit owners to report to the county on recycling activities. The bill establishes a penalty of $50 for each day that recycling is not provided for or carried out in accordance with a county recycling plan.

HB 158 expands the definition of “high performance building” for purposes of the local option property tax credit for high performance buildings to include a residential building that achieves at least a Silver rating according to the International Code Council’s 700 National Green Building Standards.

HB 167 / SB 207 makes Maryland the first state in the country to outlaw commercial feed intended for use as poultry feed that contains roxarsone or any other additive that contains arsenic. Concern has been raised about the food safety implications of arsenic containing additives in poultry feed and recently evaluations of “impact on the environment” have been non-conclusive. According to the poultry industry, however, by the end of 2011, following the voluntary suspension of the sale of roxarsone, Maryland chicken companies were no longer using products that contained arsenic.

HB 445 / SB 236 is an Administration bill that was among the most contentious of the Session and establishes four growth tiers based on specified land use characteristics to be adopted by local jurisdictions. Beginning December 31, 2012, a jurisdiction may not authorize a residential major subdivision served by on-site sewage disposal systems, community sewerage systems, or shared systems unless it adopts growth tiers consistent with the bill. A jurisdiction that does not adopt a growth tier may authorize either a residential minor subdivision served by on-site sewage disposal systems, or any subdivision in a “Tier I” area served by “public sewer.” The bill establishes land use and sewerage criteria and restrictions applicable to each of the four tiers. Property within residential minor subdivisions is generally restricted from further subdivision beginning December 31, 2012. To take advantage of the grandfathering provisions in the law, landowners must either submit a plan for preliminary approval by October 1, 2012 or, if a soil percolation test is required, developers must take specific steps in preparation for the test by July 1, 2012, with timely submission of a plan for preliminary approval to follow later.

HB 446 an Administration bill increases the bay restoration fee beginning July 1, 2012 for most users. The bill increases the fee from $2.50 to $5 per month for those receiving an individual water or sewer bill from a billing authority; increases the fee from $30 to $60 per year for each user of an on-site sewage disposal (septic) system or sewage holding tank that does not receive a water bill; and increases the fee from $2.50 to $5 per month for each equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) up to 2,000 EDUs for multiunit residential users that do not receive an individual sewer bill and for nonresidential users. The bill makes several other changes including requiring a local government to establish a financial hardship exemption program.

HB 472 / SB 873 requires the Maryland Insurance Commissioner to convene a workgroup to evaluate and make recommendations relating to lead base paint liability protection for owners of pre-1978 rental property, is a response to the Court of Appeals’ decision of Jackson v. Dackman, 422 Md. 357 (2011), in which the Court held that the lead poisoning liability limits for owners of residential rental properties violated the Maryland Declaration of Rights. These owners are now unable to obtain insurance coverage for such claims. The report the findings and recommendations of the workgroup is due on or before December 1, 2012.

HB 644 / SB 947 makes various changes to the Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Law administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment. Among other things, the changes: expand the application of the law to owners of residential rental property built between 1950 and 1978 beginning January 1, 2015; increase the annual registration fee from $15 to $30; and alter the definition of “abatement” to include renovation, repair, and painting in specified properties built before 1978. The bill also repeals an existing presumption that an affected property owner not in compliance with risk reduction provisions has failed to exercise reasonable care, and instead establish the admissibility of evidence that an owner was or was not in compliance with the risk reduction provisions for purposes of determining reasonable care.

HB 879 makes various changes to the existing Statewide Electronics Recycling Program, including altering registration exemptions, fees, and penalties. It also requires the Maryland Department of the Environment to convene a specified workgroup, by October 1, 2015, to review and assess the impact of a specified registration fee and report its findings and recommendations to specified legislative committees by December 31, 2015.

HB 929 increases the “reduction through recycling” targets that must be included in a mandated county recycling plan. The bill also increases the reduction through recycling requirements for the State government. Finally, the bill establishes a voluntary statewide recycling goal of 55% by 2020 and a voluntary statewide waste diversion goal of 60% by 2020.

HB 940 requires each hotel guest room in a newly constructed hotel to be equipped with a master control device that automatically turns off the power to all of the lighting fixtures in the guest room no more than 30 minutes after the room has been vacated. A master control device may also control other items. The Department of Housing and Community Development must adopt the bill’s provisions as part of the Maryland Building Performance Standards and applies to a building permit application submitted to a local jurisdiction after October 1, 2012.

HB 987 / SB 614 has garnered a lot of attention as it creates a new category of fees in Maryland when the bill requires a county or municipality subject to a specified municipal stormwater permit (including Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Harford, Howard, and Carroll counties as well as Baltimore City) to adopt and implement laws or ordinances to establish a watershed protection and restoration fee and program on or before July 1, 2013, exempting localities that already have compliant programs (Montgomery County).

HB 1019 modifies requirements related to procurement of green product cleaning supplies in local school systems. By July 1, 2013, each local board of education must adopt a written policy that contains specified elements for the procurement of green product cleaning supplies for use in its schools. The policy must also require the use of such supplies, to the extent practicable and economically feasible. By June 30 of each year, a local board of education that does not procure green product cleaning supplies for use in its schools because doing so is not practicable or economically feasible must provide written notice of this fact to the Maryland State Department of Education.

HB 1117 arguably the most significant bill in this compilation because it signals a shift in environmental policy from a near all clean water weighting to considering matters of energy when the bill specifies that, for the purposes of issuing a permit or variance relating to zoning, construction, or stormwater for a project to install a solar panel, any calculation relating to the impervious surface of the project required by the State or local governing authority issuing the permit or variance may include only the foundation or base supporting the solar panel. The bill does not apply in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area.

HB 1123 / SB 636 establishes a presumptive impact area that applies to areas around a deep shale deposit gas well for which the Maryland Department of the Environment has issued a gas exploration or production permit. In a presumptive impact area, it is presumed that contamination of a “water supply” was caused by the activities of gas exploration or production. The presumptive impact area is in effect within a radius of 2,500 feet from the vertical wellbore, and for 365 days after the last event of well drilling, completion, or hydraulic fracturing. The bill establishes the conditions under which a permittee must replace a water supply or compensate an impacted property owner, etc.

HB 1186 / SB 652 specifies that energy generated from a geothermal heating and cooling system, commissioned on or after January 1, 2013, is eligible for inclusion in meeting the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. A person “must” receive a renewable energy credit equal to the amount of energy, converted from BTUs to kilowatt-hours, that is generated by a geothermal system for space heating and cooling or water heating if the person owns and operates the system, leases and operates the system, or contracts with a third party who owns and operates the system.

HB 1187 increases the percentage requirements of the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that must be purchased from Tier 1 solar energy sources each year between 2013 and 2021. The bill only applies prospectively and has no effect on contracts for energy before the bill’s effective date. The bill also authorizes the Public Service Commission to approve, in consultation with the Maryland Energy Administration, an equivalent measuring certification related to solar water heating systems.

HB 1280 / SB 997 excludes a person that owns or operates equipment used for charging electric vehicles from the definition of “electricity supplier” and “public service company,” including a person that owns or operates an electric vehicle charging station, electric vehicle supply equipment, or an electric vehicle charging station service company or provider. The bill also includes in the definition of “retail electric customer” a person that owns or operates specified equipment used for charging electric vehicles and a person that charges an electric vehicle at a charging station the person owns or operates. A person that charges an electric vehicle at a charging station owned and operated by another person is excluded from the definition of “retail electric customer.”

HB 1287 / SB 977 requires each public institution of higher education, when it revises its facility master plan, to address bicycle and pedestrian transportation circulation both between the institution and adjacent communities and within the campus. The plan must include any measures the institution proposes to incorporate bikeways and pedestrian facilities and promote biking and walking.

HB 1327 extends both the designation status of Sustainable Communities and extends the deadline by which they can apply for redesignation. A community legacy area is considered a Sustainable Community until December 31, 2013. By that date, a sponsor must file an application to redesignate any approved designated neighborhood as a Sustainable Community for projects to remain eligible for financial assistance from the various programs that support Sustainable Communities, including the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit enhanced by certain High Performance Buildings.

HB 1339 / SB 1004 defines energy from “thermal biomass systems” as a Tier 1 renewable source. Energy from a thermal biomass system is eligible for inclusion in meeting the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. An eligible system owner or operator receives a Renewable Energy Credit for the amount of energy generated by the system and used on-site, as measured by a specified on-site meter. Systems must demonstrate certain environmental benefits to the Maryland Department of the Environment to receive a REC. The Public Service Commission must adopt implementing regulations.

HB 1427 / SB 1073 authorizes the Public Service Commission (PSC) to waive the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity requirement for construction relating to existing overhead transmission lines for good cause. But added by amendment, the controversial element in the bill is that it also provides for review for small wind energy generating systems that are within a certain distance of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, as determined by regulations to be adopted by PSC in coordination with the U.S. Navy; all but banning small wind energy from Somerset County and beyond.

If we can assist you in finding opportunities to lead and profit in green building and sustainable business, including pursuing opportunities advantaged by these newly enacted laws, do not hesitate to give me a call or send an email.