Maryland

Per the Maryland Geological Survey: Q1: Is it true that Maryland does not have any natural lakes? A1: Yes, there are no natural lakes in Maryland. All of Maryland’s lakes are manmade by damming rivers. Some have been named lakes (e.g., Lake Habeeb in Allegany County and Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County), but most have been named reservoirs (e.g., Loch Raven Reservoir in Baltimore County).

Q2: Did Maryland ever have any natural lakes in the past? A2: Yes. We know of at least one, and there could be more. The one clearly documented case is Buckel’s Bog, which was a 160-acre, shallow periglacial lake (actually a glade) that occupied the headwater region of the North Branch of the Casselman River in Garrett County during the late Pleistocene (19,000-14,000 years ago). [Reference: Maxwell, J.A. and Davis, M. B., 1972, Pollen evidence of Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation of the Allegheny Plateau, Maryland: Quaternary Research, 2(4): 506-530.]

Per the Maryland State Police: Maryland State Police will visit communities throughout Maryland in support of National Night Out, an event that aims to bridge law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. National Night Out since 1984 has been observed annually on the first Tuesday of August. This year’s event is on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Police officers throughout the country will visit neighborhoods connecting with citizens during this community-building campaign.

Festivities at each National Night Out site include family-friendly activities for all ages. Maryland State Police will participate in events at the following locations:

Per the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 23 Attorneys General announcing opposition to a proposed class action settlement that fails to adequately hold accountable the 3M Company for contaminating Americans’ drinking water supply. Under the proposed settlement, water providers would withdraw the hundreds of lawsuits they have filed against 3M over its use of PFAS, or toxic “forever chemicals,” in a wide range of consumer products and firefighting foams. PFAS are stable in the environment, resistant to degradation, persistent in soil, and known to leach into groundwater.

“The proposed settlement falls short of delivering the accountability and protection our citizens deserve,” said Attorney General Brown. “The potential risks posed by PFAS contamination are far-reaching, threatening the health and well-being of our families, our communities, and the ecological balance of our environment. Marylanders deserve better than a half-hearted attempt and sweeping these concerns under a rug.”

Per the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of six Attorneys General in submitting a comment letter in support of the Biden administration’s development of a national Ocean Justice Strategy. Certain communities (“ocean justice communities”) have been historically excluded from ocean policy decisions – including Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities as well as people with disabilities, low-income communities, and the youth and elderly – and ocean justice aims to address those disparities.

In submitting the letter, Attorney General Brown joins the Attorneys General of California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New York.