A Maryland county bordering Washington, D.C., today passed a $15 million

Supporters Now Urge Every County in America to Follow Suit

CONTACT: Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

TAKOMA PARK, MD (5/19/10)—A Maryland county bordering Washington, D.C., today passed a $15 million “carbon tax” designed to show that other counties and cities can – and should – move forward against coal in the wake of federal gridlock on global warming.

The Montgomery County Council voted 8-1 today to adopt the carbon tax. In a county of nearly one million people the tax will apply to only one entity: the 850 megawatt coal-fired power plant owned by Mirant Corporation just 40 miles from the U.S. Capitol. At least half of the money will be used to fund county energy efficiency programs. The local utility, Pepco, has said the bill will have no discernible effect on ratepayers. Mirant had spent the past two years lobbying against any kind of strong federal carbon cap.

“With this heroic vote in the D.C. suburbs today, the coal lobby might want to prepare for local actions across the country,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which supported the bill. “Local power-plant taxes are legal and now necessary given the success of the coal industry in watering down and delaying real action on coal pollution in Congress.”

Mirant lobbied ferociously against the Montgomery County bill, obviously treating it as a national test case. The company brought in the Electric Power Supply Association to pressure the County Council. It also funded a broad direct-mail campaign, a telephone polling campaign, and a massive astroturf email effort in the county.  

“While all of us here would prefer for there to be strong regional or federal standards, the truth is we don’t today,” said Councilmember Roger Berliner, chief sponsor of the bill. “And it is also true that local governments often take the lead on these issues, and as a result of those initiatives, there is a greater push for federal legislation. That would be a good outcome. But until then, we have the authority and we must use that authority on behalf of our taxpayers and the health and well-being of our residents.”

At-Large Councilmembers George Leventhal and Marc Elrich also led the fight for the county carbon tax.

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To learn more about the bill, visit: http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/campaign.cfm?id=149