Md. Governor Signs Air Pollution Bill

Md. Governor Signs Air Pollution Bill

By KRISTEN WYATT
The Associated Press
Friday, April 7, 2006; 4:51 AM

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Gov. Robert Ehrlich unexpectedly signed into law a bill requiring
cleanups at power plants, after saying last year that Maryland did not need such a law.

The bill signed into law Thursday requires coal-fired power plants in parts of Maryland
to dramatically reduce emissions of four pollutants, including mercury. It also calls
for Maryland to join seven northeastern states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 10 percent by 2019.

Ehrlich signed the measure without telling Democratic lawmakers who worked on the bill,
which they perceived as a snub. The governor had been scheduled to sign a different bill
making Maryland one of four states that fund embryonic stem cell research, but the pollution
signing was not publicized.