After fifty years, it is time to fully implement the Maryland Environmental Policy Act of 1973 (MEPA).

That is what SJ0004/HJ0001 urges. MEPA would create a consistent, unified foundation upon which our State’s agencies would build their methods to ensure:

• environmental rights are duly considered,

• environmental laws are properly implemented,

• environmental justice is fully pursued, and

• the public is informed and engaged in a timely manner.

And yet, most of the State’s agencies have failed to develop methods and procedures that would fully implement this right. It is the fiftieth anniversary of the Maryland Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), and it is time to fix that.

The Maryland Environmental Policy Act of 1973 (MEPA) was ground-breaking and contained two essential elements:

• The assertion that “each person has a fundamental and inalienable right to a healthful environment”, and

• That all State agencies “identify, develop, and adopt methods and procedures” to implement that right.

The Maryland Environmental Policy Act - MEPA@50 Resolution (HJ0001/SJ0004) asks the Maryland General Assembly to reinvigorate MEPA by reaffirming its principles and urging the Governor to fully implement the law on its fiftieth anniversary.

Write your state senator and delegate(s) and ask for their favorable support of SJ0004/HJ0001 - a Resolution to Fully Implement the Maryland Environmental Policy ACT of 1973 (MEPA).