Maryland Higher Education Commission

 

 

Environment

Background

A healthy environment is critical to sustaining the high quality of life we enjoy in Southern Maryland. The effects of global pollutants are as serious a threat to environmental quality as is the deteriorating condition of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries that surround our region. Everyone is a stakeholder in the environment and the public and private sectors must work cooperatively together to develop practical solutions which provide environmental benefits without damaging the local economy.

REALTORS® Position

REALTORS® support initiatives that promote a green business environment through the facilitation and use of electronic technology in the daily practice of real estate from ratification to recording to significantly decrease the amount of paper consumed by our industry.

REALTORS® encourage local governments to take the lead by developing policies that support environmental quality. Such policies may include:

improving the efficiency of fleet vehicles
improving the energy efficiency of public buildings
becoming a paperless workplace
improving and expanding public transit facilities
promoting transit-oriented development
upgrade technologically outdated public water and sewer treatment plants
proactively addressing the correction of failing septic areas

REALTORS® support the implementation of environmental regulations that are, in most circumstances, voluntary to the private sector and provide incentives as the means to offset the high cost associated with improving environmental quality.

REALTORS® oppose unfunded environmental mandates imposed by government especially point-of-sale mandates that require a seller of real property to perform environmental audits or retrofit real property to conform to environmental regulations in order realize a conveyance.

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