Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-12-05 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Opponents of the Intercounty Connector said carbon reduction goals outlined by the Maryland Climate Change Commission Tuesday could give them new ammunition in their fight to halt construction of the 18-mile road.

Commission members, lead by Maryland Secretary of the Environment Shari T. Wilson, agreed to several deadlines for reducing carbon emissions below 2006 levels during a meeting in Bethesda Tuesday.

Those deadlines include a 10 percent reduction by 2012, a 15 percent reduction by 2015, a 25 percent reduction by 2020 and a 90 percent reduction by 2050. The commission, formed by Gov. Martin O’Malley earlier this year, is expected to recommend a full action plan for approval by the General Assembly in April.

But ICC opponents who attended Tuesday’s meeting criticized the commission’s work, accusing it of damaging its credibility for not urging O’Malley to halt construction of the controversial road until a more thorough study of its effects on health and traffic congestion could be performed.

“It’s nice talk but they talk about leading by example ... it sort of makes a mockery of the effort when they are doing something that is counterproductive to reducing emissions,” said Dolores Milmoe, Maryland conservation associate for the Audubon Naturalist Society.

O’Malley has been a supporter of the ICC, which would connect Interstate 270 in Montgomery County with Interstate 95 in Prince George’s County. The $2.4 billion project has pitted county officials and environmental groups against state officials.

Wilson defended the commission’s work, saying the ICC’s fate was determined through processes that it had no influence over.

“There’s no reason to move back,” Wilson said. “The forward challenges are big enough. We want to keep our eye on the ball and keep focused on how we’re going to account for greenhouse gas emissions.”

On Nov. 8, U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. denied claims brought by the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense that the road wasn’t fully studied and that it would violate the Clean Air Act.

Milmoe and David O’Leary, energy and global warming chair for the Sierra Club’s Maryland chapter, said decisions about whether those groups will appeal Williams’ rulings are expected in coming weeks.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com