Bill > H4921

This bill aims to promote awareness of sewage pollution in public waters. It requires permittees (entities granted permits to discharge pollutants into waters) to issue public advisories when there is a discharge from their outfalls (outlets) that includes untreated sewage and waste. The bill outlines the specific information that must be included in these advisories, the timeframes for issuing them, and the methods for disseminating the information to the public and local authorities. The bill also empowers the Department of Environmental Protection to establish standards for municipal health authorities to issue public health warnings and to require permittees to install warning signage at affected areas. The bill directs the Department to provide information about the discharge notifications on its website and to issue an annual report summarizing the discharge activity. The bill gives the Department one year to promulgate regulations to implement these provisions, which will then take effect 540 days after the bill's passage.

Budget and Finance

House Committee on Ways and Means (House), Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (Joint)

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H4921