Maryland’s environmental stakeholders outline 2025 priorities amid uncertain federal landscape

The church was packed Tuesday evening, with nearly 150 people filling every pew and corner for a sermon they didn’t expect — but maybe needed.

“This is clearly a tough moment,” said Vernice Miller-Travis, an environmental justice leader who, for the night, stepped into the role of pastor. “But it’s not okay to feel defeated.”

Marylanders and environmental advocates gathered for an annual legislative summit at Asbury United Methodist Church in Annapolis, hanging on to every word as Miller-Travis addressed the Trump-administration’s first weeks in office.

With over 40 years of experience partnering with the U.S. EPA to advance environmental justice, she was well equipped to address the elephant in the room, calling the recent actions taken by the Trump administration a “wholesale assault on civil rights.”

Her speech set the stage for the night’s primary purpose: outlining Maryland’s 2025 environmental legislative priorities and proposed budget, shaped by the state’s environmental community and advocacy groups.

Governor Wes Moore also made an appearance, addressing the uncertainty many residents felt following the Trump-Vance administration’s abrupt funding freeze.

“I know a lot of people in the room are feeling a lot of fear right now,” Moore said. “And I know there’s very real uncertainty because what they are showing is not what a responsible government looks like. What they are showing is chaos.”

Over the next two months, Maryland legislators will work toward passing bills for Moore to sign off on. While budget cuts across the state may be imminent, Marylanders can expect environmental stakeholders to prioritize moving forward with the CHERISH Our Community Act, the Abundant Affordable Clean Energy Act and the Maryland Bottle Bill.

Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, presented the proposed budget. A sigh of relief fluttered through the crowd as he reassured them that the 2025 Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund remains fully funded — for now.

“This shows the governor’s commitment to the environment,” Miralles-Wilhelm said. “I can’t believe he left that money in there for us.”

Industry should never be ‘more important than a community’

If passed, the CHERISH Act would be Maryland’s first cumulative impact law addressing environmental and public health burdens disproportionately affecting some communities more than others.

This could be a “big moment for us,” said Miller-Travis, who tried to pass similar legislation in 2014 and 2016.

David Jones, a resident who has lived in Curtis Bay most of his life, shared his frustration about the lack of progress to make his community breathable.

“My community has been left so far behind you can’t see it anymore,” Jones said. Imagine living in a community without high school sports teams because the “kids all have asthma.”

According to a 2012 study by the Environmental Integrity Project, Curtis Bay is among the most polluted ZIP codes in the country, ranking first in 2007 and 2008 for toxic air pollution.

Residents like Jones have been advocating for clean air for a long time. But to no avail. With roots going back eight generations, moving isn’t an option for him.

At the end of the day, “no industry should ever be more important than a community,” Jones said, his voice shaking as tears formed behind his glasses.

The CHERISH Act, building upon legislation from 2024 (HB24/SB96), would help communities like Curtis Bay by changing facility permitting processes.

Maryland bottle bill now

A sea of blue shirts bearing the phrase“Ca$h for Tra$h” was visible in a section of the pews. The bottle bill crew, with at least 20 supporters, really came through.

Martha Ainsworth, chair of Prince George's County Maryland Sierra Club, outlined the practicality of the bill during the summit. A small, refundable deposit would be placed on all filled and sealed metal, plastic and glass beverage containers sold in Maryland, incentivizing customers to return the containers.

States with a 10-cent deposit have achieved container recycling rates of 90%, Ainsworth said. Building upon lessons learned in other states, the program would utilize reverse vending machines and other new technologies to make returning bottles easy and accessible for residents.

A recent public opinion poll by Gonzales Research & Media Services, spanning nearly a year, found that 89% of Marylanders support the bill, with backing from 92% of Democrats, 89% of Republicans and 81% of Independents. Only 8% of voters opposed it statewide.

Clean, reliable energy and more jobs

The summit also included a brief overview of the Abundant, Affordable, Clean Energy Act, which aims to deliver reliable, more affordable, clean energy to Maryland. The act outlines a plan to meet rising energy needs through clean energy while creating local jobs. It is positioned as a win-win for the economy and environment.

Tough decisions ahead

The past few weeks of “chaos” from the Trump administration have left many Marylanders feeling “confused,” Moore said Tuesday night, responding to unease over the Trump-Vance administration’s two-page funding freeze memo issued Monday night. The freeze was rescinded earlier Wednesday.

There will be tough decisions, from securing state budgets to protecting civil rights and advancing clean energy during a climate crisis.

Miller-Travis, who stood with President Bill Clinton in 1994 as he signed the executive order making environmental justice a federal policy, “never thought we’d be back here, but here we are.”

She reiterated that this moment is part of a relatively recent 60-year history of progress while recounting the federal laws passed in her lifetime, calling attention to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VII.

“Some people put everything they had on the line,” to advance women’s rights, civil rights and yes, even protections for the oysters, crabs and fish in the state’s beloved Chesapeake Bay, she said.

What is occurring now is a reaction to that success. “They wouldn’t be coming for us so hard if we hadn’t been so successful,” Miller-Travis said.

A standing ovation closed out her speech, a reminder that Maryland’s fight for environmental justice is far from over.