Waterkeeper Alliance
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled earlier this week that a coalition of local and national river advocacy groups have standing to challenge a major stormwater pollution permit in court.
At issue is a state-issued pollution discharge permit for Montgomery County’s 499-square mile stormwater system. Clean water groups contend the permit allows ongoing harm to water quality and human health due to excessive discharges of pollutants and trash into the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers watersheds.
Maryland’s Department of Environment found that, to meet the state’s own standards, Montgomery County’s sediment discharge would need to be reduced by 46 percent, nitrogen and phosphorus by 79 percent, and fecal bacteria by 96 percent.
Struggle Just to Open Courtroom Doors
The coalition engaged in a four-year dispute in which lawyers for the state argued courts must only hear a challenge to a water pollution discharge permit if it is filed by a person who owns riverfront property or has some other financial interest being affected by water pollution.
Jennifer Chavez, of Earthjustice who represents the coalition of conservation groups, said, “Everyone who enjoys the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers has the right to seek enforcement of the Clean Water Act. The court agreed. We all have a right to a healthy environment.”
The decision allows the case to move forward but issues no judgment about the legal sufficiency of the permit.
“It’s about time that people who—like me—canoe, kayak, fish or otherwise enjoy Maryland waterways have the right to ask the state to comply with its legal duties to clean up these wonderful rivers and streams," said Mac Thornton one of the individual plaintiffs in the case.
Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance said, “The waters that run through our nation’s capital should set an environmental standard for our country. We look forward to working with our local partners to finally get the job done.”
Mike Bolinder, Anacostia Riverkeeper said, “The Anacostia was once a thriving fishery and an epicenter of trade and recreation, but is now best known for being one of the most polluted rivers in the nation. Our nation's rivers belong to everybody, not just the people who can afford front row seats. This is a victory for everyone who wants to see a restored Anacostia.”
"We are encouraged that the courts have finally agreed with what we have known: everyone who paddles, fishes, enjoys the river and the over five million people who get their drinking water from the Potomac have a right to protect it," said Robin Broder, vice president of Potomac Riverkeeper.
"The court affirmed the ability of citizen groups to defend the Clean Water Act. This is a victory for Maryland waters and for clean water enforcement across the country," said Marcie Keever, legal director at Friends of the Earth.
Earthjustice represents Anacostia Riverkeeper, Potomac Riverkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance and Friends of the Earth as well as individuals Mac Thornton and Pat Munoz.
Visit EcoWatch’s WATER and CLEAN WATER ACT pages for more related news on this topic.
"Now that we are spending more time at home, we are noticing the large number of delivery vans and lorries driving through cities," said Netherlands environment minister Stientje van Veldhoven, announcing plans to ban all but zero-emission deliveries in 14 cities.
"The agreements we are setting down will ensure that it will be a matter of course that within a few years, supermarket shelves will be stocked, waste will be collected, and packages will arrive on time, yet without any exhaust fumes and CO2 emissions," she added.
She expects 30 cities to announce zero emission urban logistics by this summer. City councils must give four years' notice before imposing bans as part of government plans for emission-free road traffic by 2050. The city bans aim to save 1 megaton of CO2 each year by 2030.
Help to Change
To encourage transport organizations to go carbon-free, the government is offering grants of more than US$5,900 to help businesses buy or lease electric vehicles. There will be additional measures to help small businesses make the change.
The Netherlands claims it is the first country in the world to give its cities the freedom to implement zero-emission zones. Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht already have "milieuzones" where some types of vehicles are banned.
Tilburg, one of the first wave of cities imposing the Dutch ban, will not allow fossil-fuelled vehicles on streets within its outer ring road and plans to roll out a network of city-wide electric vehicle charging stations before the ban comes into effect in 2025.
"Such initiatives are imperative to improve air quality. The transport of the future must be emission-free, sustainable, and clean," said Tilburg city alderman Oscar Dusschooten.
Europe Takes Action
Research by Renault shows that many other European cities are heading in the same direction as the Netherlands, starting with Low Emission Zones of which Germany's "Umweltzone" were pioneers. More than 100 communes in Italy have introduced "Zonas a traffico limitato."
Madrid's "zona de baja emisión" bans diesel vehicles built before 2006 and petrol vehicles from before 2000 from central areas of the city. Barcelona has similar restrictions and the law will require all towns of more than 50,000 inhabitants to follow suit.
Perhaps the most stringent restrictions apply in London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which charges trucks and large vehicles up to US$137 a day to enter the central area if they do not comply with Euro 6 emissions standards. From October, the ULEZ is being expanded.
Cities are responsible for around 75% of CO2 emissions from global final energy use, according to the green thinktank REN21 - and much of these come from transport. Globally, transport accounts for 24% of world CO2 emissions.
The Rise of Online Shopping
Part of the reason for traffic in urban areas is the increase in delivery vehicles, as online shopping continues to grow. Retailer ecommerce sales are expected to pass $5billion in 2022, according to eMarketer.
The World Economic Forum's report The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem, published in January 2020, estimates that e-commerce will increase the number of delivery vehicles on the roads of the world's 100 largest cities by 36% by 2030.
If all those vehicles burn fossil fuels, the report says emissions will increase by 32%. But switching to all-electric delivery vehicles would cut emissions by 30% from current levels as well as reducing costs by 25%, the report says.
Other solutions explored in the report include introducing goods trams to handle deliveries alongside their passenger-carrying counterparts and increased use of parcel lockers to reduce the number of doorstep deliveries.
Reposted with permission from the World Economic Forum.