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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ― A new development fund to funnel $85 million a year to Chesapeake Bay cleanup is unlikely to pass this session, despite support from environmentalists, several members of the Maryland Senate said Friday.

The so-called "Green Fund" would levy a fee on development, or surfaces impervious to water such as roofs and pavement. Supporters say the influx of cash is needed because current attempts to improve water quality in the Chesapeake aren't working fast enough.

However, several senators say there's little appetite for another new tax as lawmakers are already considering more than $1 billion in new taxes in a special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley to address a projected budget shortfall.

"The primary reason for coming in (to Annapolis) was to address the budget, and other issues need to be put on the back burner," said Democratic Sen. Paul Pinsky, who called the Green Fund "laudable."

Although a House committee began work Friday on the Green Fund bill, Senate leaders said they were unlikely to pass similar legislation.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller told reporters that the Senate may consider some type of Chesapeake fund from existing tax proposals, but he said the Senate doesn't like the House proposal.
 
Asked if the Senate would pass a development fee, Miller said, "No, no, no, no." He said the Senate would be more likely to approve a fund in the range of $30 million to $50 million, not $85 million.
 
The chairwoman of the Senate's committee that handles environmental bills, Democratic Sen. Joan Carter Conway of
Baltimore, said a Green Fund was not going to be taken up by the Senate until next year.

"Conceptually, it's an excellent bill, but I don't think the policy needs to be done in this special session," Conway said.
"We'll take it up next year and work out the differences then."

The House passed a version of the Green Fund last session, but the Senate balked. Conway's counterpart in the House, Democratic Delegate Maggie McIntosh, is a major supporter of the Green Fund and urged the Senate to reconsider.

McIntosh said that tax-weary lawmakers are even less likely to want to pass a new tax next year.

"If it doesn't get done in the next few days, a week, it isn't going to get done," McIntosh warned. She had sharp words for hesitant senators, saying the Chesapeake is going to degrade on their watch if they don't approve a Green Fund.

"If you want to leave the bay as it is, it's on your backs, not ours," McIntosh said.

The bill calls for a penny-per-square foot fee on impervious surfaces. The fee for homeowners would be based on square footage, with their first 1,000 square feet waived, so the owner of a 2,000-square-foot home would owe $10 a year.

Counties would collect the fees, which could be reduced if property owners took steps to lessen the impact of their hard surfaces, such as installing a green roof or a special kind of pavement that allows water to seep through. At least $30 million of the annual proceeds would go to the Department of Agriculture to help lessen pollution from farms, which are the top contributors of pollutants to the Chesapeake Bay.

Top aides to Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley endorsed the Green Fund Friday, although it is not part of the package of higher taxes he asked lawmakers to consider this term.

"Time is running out for the bay," said John Griffin, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.

Maryland Environmental Secretary Shari Wilson testified that more than $5 billion is needed to meet federal mandates for bay cleanup and that the Green Fund is needed to start chipping away at the problem.

Sen. Roy Dyson, D-St. Mary's, acknowledged the need for a new fund to pay for water cleanup but said this special session is not the time to consider one.

"The Green Fund is extremely controversial," Dyson said. "No doubt a good idea, but to add another tax bill to this scenario, it's just not the time."

Environmental groups pleaded with House members to make certain the Green Fund stands a chance in the Senate.

"The bay is dying," said Dru Schmidt-Perkins, executive director of 1000 Friends of Maryland. "The sooner we get these kinds of programs in place ... the better off we are."

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