Waste To Energy

Two Carroll commissioners asked their counterparts from Frederick County to reconsider building a regional waste-to-energy plant, dangling the possibility of establishing such a facility in south Carroll asthe carrot.Revisiting a $300,000 four-county waste disposal study that has been gathering dust was one of several issues of mutual concern discussed yesterday among the five Frederick and three Carroll commissioners and Mount Airy officials at Town Hall.The meeting marked the first time in recent memory that elected leaders from the two counties and the town convened to coordinate plans and share ideas.

In the waning days of this year's session, the Maryland General Assembly is considering critical legislation to include waste-to-energy as a "Tier 1" renewable resource, putting it on a par with wind and solar. Waste-to-energy, or WTE, is a proven source of clean, renewable energy that converts municipal solid waste into electricity and steam via combustion. It is essential that this material be categorized as renewable and that this legislation be passed. By doing so, Maryland would continue to lead the way toward producing renewable energy.

Some companies with interests in Maryland have found a new way to show support for Gov. Martin O'Malley: They're contributing tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Governors Association. Last December, O'Malley took the helm of the DGA, where as chairman he is charged with raising large sums to elect Democratic governors nationwide. Under his leadership, the group raised a record $11 million during the first six months of this year — including donations from Exelon Corp.

A growing coalition of environmentalists, public health advocates and sustainable businesses including renewable energy companies and composters are urging Gov. Martin O'Malley to veto legislation that would qualify trash incineration as a "Tier 1" renewable energy source on par with solar and wind - and rightly so. The bill on Mr. O'Malley's desk would be disastrous for advancing the state's top waste-management priorities - reduce, reuse and...

In a move that increases Maryland's commitment to renewable energy, the state Board of Public Works approved a deal Wednesday under which a Virginia company will be given a 30-year lease on land at an Eastern Shore prison to build a plant that will generate electricity out of a mixture of crops and chicken manure. Under its agreement with ECOCORP Inc. of Arlington, Va., the state will provide a 4.2-acre site at the Eastern Correctional Institute near Princess Anne at an annual rent of $100 for the company to construct the so-called anaerobic digester.

Optimism might seem out of place after the Waterkeeper Alliance's bitter loss in a recent lawsuit to hold Perdue Farms and its grower Alan Hudson responsible for polluting waterways with poultry manure. But it's possible to at least be hopeful of solutions, perhaps within the current decade, to this widespread bay pollution. Reasons for hope were less likely when the lawsuit was filed three years ago. Witness a survey recently presented by University of Maryland ag scientist Kenneth Staver.

Harford County government offices will be closed tomorrow for Veterans Day. The Harford County Waste Disposal Center will be closed, but Waste to Energy will be open. Harford transit will operate on a limited schedule. Harford County Public Library and senior centers are closed. Public schools are open.

While Gov. Martin O'Malley labors to overcome lawmakers' reluctance to subsidize huge wind turbines off Ocean City, another bill is steaming ahead with incentives for facilities that make energy by burning trash. The Senate has approved legislation to provide enhanced, ratepayer-paid subsidies to new and existing facilities that generate electricity by burning household and commercial trash. A House committee is expected to vote soon on a similar measure. "To me it's the sensible thing to do," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton, the Senate bill's chief sponsor.

Fort Meade officials don't want a waste-to-energy plant designed to serve as a backup power source for the National Security Agency on their post, they have confirmed.But preliminary plans are going forward anyway, as the NSA, located on the western edge of the post, and its consulting firm have decided to focus on three Fort Meade sites for further feasibility and environmental studies.Jerry Volker, a spokesman for NSA, cautioned that the sites -- which he said he could not name -- are not necessarily where the incinerator would be built.

County-wide curbside collection of newspapers, glass, aluminum cans and yard waste could be in full swing by 1994 under two recycling plans County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann is considering.Outlines ofthe two plans were presented to a group of about 50 people, including private trash haulers, County Council members and members of citizens' groups Thursday night.Either plan would cost the county about $12 for every ton of trash recycled -- or a total estimated to be between $1.6 million and $1.9 million a year.