The Maryland House of Delegates and Senate both passed the SB 690, which will elevate waste-to-energy to a Tier 1 renewable under the state renewable portfolio standard. The final bill was passed in the Senate with a 24-20 vote and in the House of Delegates with a 79-60 vote. The legislation will now be sent to the Governor Martin O’Malley who has supported the bill is expected to sign it into law.  The ERC urged him this week to sign the bill quickly.  The newspapers have been actively covering the process in Annapolis.  The Baltimore Sun printed an op-ed by Rick Brandes, formerly of EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, in support of the legislation.  The Sun also printed a letter to the editor from Ted Michaels of the Energy Recovery Council which also supported the pro-WTE bill. An opinion piece in a local Maryland newspaper provided the interesting perspective on the issue, stating that opposition groups' “well-intentioned stances have no logical connection to actually improving the environment.”