Conservation Programs

Maryland's latest plan for restoring the Chesapeake Bay is under fire from the Environmental Protection Agency, which doubts that enough of the state's farmers will voluntarily curb pollution from their fields and feedlots.In a letter written earlier this month, the EPA's Chesapeake Bay office in Annapolis contends that farmers must be compelled to participate in what are now mostly voluntary conservation programs if the state hopes to clean up the bay's rivers and streams.That assertion was quickly rejected by Maryland officials, who say farmers will respond better to appeals for their cooperation than to government regulations.

HUNTING AND FISHING DAYSunday the state and nation will observe Hunting and Fishing Day, a day set aside to recognize the contributions of sportsmen to statewide and national conservation programs.Hunters and fishermen have supported laws to establish fish and wildlife agencies and to increase taxation to pay for such programs.In 1992, the 158,765 licensed hunters in Maryland -- through the purchase of licenses, tags, permits and stamps -- raised more than $4.4 million for wildlife programs run by the Department of Natural Resources.

Westminster -- AS ANOTHER Earth Day blooms on the campus of Western Maryland College, students speak of becoming more responsible for shaping their school while faculty and administrators speak of the pride which has accompanied it.A little more than a year ago, a few students launched a campaign to make the college change its wasteful ways. Thanks to the efforts of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Matters -- a group formed to include faculty and administrators -- the campus recycles all of its aluminum, newspapers, office papers and unwaxed cardboard and will recycle all of its glass this fall.

The Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. has signed an agreement to pursue energy conservation programs "aggressively" in exchange for an opportunity to profit from the resulting cut in energy consumption."

Starting early next year, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will pay homeowners up to $700 for buying high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment for their houses, if the state approves its latest conservation plan.Utility officials, environmentalists and consumer groups have agreed that the Baltimore utility should go ahead with three new conservation programs, including rebates to homeowners.But the negotiators said yesterday that they had reached an impasse in the long-running negotiations aimed at turning economic tradition on its head and giving BG&E an incentive to conserve (not sell)

Sometime next year, power company workers may come to your house and help you plug drafts, install money-saving light bulbs and lower your electric bill.That's right, area electric companies could start spending tens of millions of dollars more on energy conservation programs that will cut into their electricity sales.The reason: Maryland regulators are trying to kick-start energy conservation by giving utility companies a bonus for reducing power sales.Although Americans just spent billions of tax dollars and sacrificed the lives of dozens of soldiers to free oil-rich Kuwait, they have shown a marked reluctance to bother with energy conservation that could reduce reliance on foreign oil.So, as U.S. soldiers and diplomats try to forge a "new world order" out of the distant battlefield, consumer advocates, state energy officials and utility executives are forming a new energy order here at home by radically changing the rules that determine how electric companies earn their profits.

Starting Oct. 1, the Potomac Electric Power Co. plans to give away free energy-efficient light bulbs and insulation to thousands of Marylanders -- and make money at it.Pepco's proposal, which will be considered by the Maryland Public Service Commission Aug. 21, is the first plan to result from a year-old drive by state officials to encourage utility companies to save as well as sell energy.Since PSC staffers helped negotiate the agreement, company and state officials said yesterday that they expected the plan to win approval.

The Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. has signed an agreement with state regulators, consumer and environmental advocates to "aggressively" pursue energy conservation programs in exchange for an opportunity to profit from the resulting cut in energy consumption."

State regulators have kicked off a campaign to fundamentally change the way electric utilities here do business by approving a plan that would, for the first time, reward a utility for conserving, not selling, electricity.The precedent-setting agreement between Potomac Electric jTC Power Co. and the state People's Counsel would allow the utility to earn a profit on its attempts to persuade customers to install energy-efficient lights, appliances and other equipment.Pepco officials said yesterday that they expect to start offering expanded conservation programs in Montgomery and Prince George's counties by summer.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. agreed yesterday to negotiate changes in the way it does business, setting the stage for a regulatory revolution that could reward the state's largest utility for selling less natural gas and electricity.The announcement of the start of negotiations among environmentalists, company officials, regulators and consumers comes eight months after another electric utility, Potomac Electric Power Co., finished similar negotiations and agreed to a plan that rewards conservation.

The Maryland Senate reversed course yesterday on a key piece of Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan for reducing the state's energy consumption, giving it preliminary approval after reaching a compromise that directed more money toward financial help for lower-income families' electric bills. The legislation had failed Tuesday as lawmakers and the administration sought disparate ways to spend a new pool of money from a greenhouse-gas reduction initiative. Some lawmakers wanted to spend more on direct rate rebates to consumers, while O'Malley and other lawmakers wanted to dedicate a bigger portion of the proceeds to programs designed to cut energy use, which they contend would save consumers more over the long run. The state anticipates raising about $140 million a year or more by requiring utilities to buy and sell "allowances" for emissions from fossil-fuel plants that can then be traded through auctions starting in September.

Gov. Martin O'Malley wants you to use less electricity, building on the premise that the cheapest and least-polluting kilowatt is the one never used. But the goal he set in July - getting every Marylander to cut electricity use by 15 percent in seven years - is running up against the technical and financial realities of the power industry he wants to reform. Utilities recently met his call to action with proposed conservation programs that together could cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over many years and still fall short of the goal.

Maryland farmers could be poised to receive more money to help pay for conservation practices that reduce the amount of pollution making its way into the Chesapeake Bay. A version of the 2007 federal Farm Bill drafted by Rep. Collin C. Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, would direct $150 million to farmers in bay-region states for conservation programs. Environmentalists in Maryland are applauding the Minnesota Democrat's proposal as a potential major step in the restoration of the bay. "The region's farmers have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to implement conservation measures, but they can't foot the bill alone," said Doug Siglin, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's federal affairs director.

America's farm safety net is spending billions to subsidize agribusinesses whose profits are soaring, whose prices undercut small-plot farmers in this country and abroad, and whose crops contribute to obesity and water pollution. Yet a promising drive to shift subsidies away from the largest and more profitable grain and cotton farms to smaller fruit and vegetable outlets, as well as to conservation programs to help farmers keep fertilizer out of the Chesapeake Bay, is faltering badly.

Md. Angus Women to hold basket bingo The Maryland Angus Women will hold Longaberger basket bingo Nov. 26 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, Smith Avenue, Westminster. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m. The evening will feature 20 games, a raffle for the Christmas collection and a winner-takes-all raffle. Food will be available. Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Maryland Angus Women's scholarship fund. Information: 410-751-1257.

USDA launches Spanish-language site on Internet In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman recently launched a new Spanish-language Web site, www.usda.gov/EnEspanol, as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's efforts to expand access to USDA programs. In addition to a new look and easier navigation, the Web site offers comprehensive information about food and nutrition programs, food safety tips, conservation programs and USDA Rural Development housing programs.

AMERICANS WHO visit the country's nearly 400 national parks this summer may find these treasured landscapes under siege. Vistas clouded by pollution. Visitors centers in disrepair and poorly staffed. Advancing columns of newly built homes invading historic battlefields, robbing succeeding generations of the chance to see them as the soldiers did. The eloquent silence of the Grand Canyon disturbed by the buzz of fly-over tours, while the peace is violated by water scooters at Texas' San Padre Island and in winter months by snowmobiles at Yellowstone, the granddaddy of all national parks.

MARYLAND IS a state of seeming contradictions, captured perfectly by the juxtaposition of vibrant cities such as Baltimore and Annapolis with the surrounding forests and wetlands and the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. This diverse range of pristine natural areas with some of the nation's foremost centers of culture and commerce gives Maryland the unique quality that makes it such a wonderful place to live. Most Marylanders know that this balance is being lost to a wave of development that is consuming the open areas and high country that provide a backyard for the state's urban areas.

WASHINGTON - President Bush supplied the details yesterday of a proposed budget that seeks to control the growth of federal spending by curtailing many of the urban, environmental and conservation programs particularly vital to Maryland that flourished during the Clinton administration. Bush described the plan he sent to Congress as "a new way of doing business in Washington and a new way of thinking. The budget puts the taxpayers first, and that's exactly where they belong." Federal spending subject to congressional approval would rise by 4 percent under the $1.96 trillion proposal.

Maryland's latest plan for restoring the Chesapeake Bay is under fire from the Environmental Protection Agency, which doubts that enough of the state's farmers will voluntarily curb pollution from their fields and feedlots.In a letter written earlier this month, the EPA's Chesapeake Bay office in Annapolis contends that farmers must be compelled to participate in what are now mostly voluntary conservation programs if the state hopes to clean up the bay's rivers and streams.That assertion was quickly rejected by Maryland officials, who say farmers will respond better to appeals for their cooperation than to government regulations.