Commerce, MDE and proponents seek permitting path for chemical‑warfare research at Aberdeen; lawmakers press for contingency planning

Secretary Harry Coker of the Maryland Department of Commerce asked the House Environment and Transportation Committee on March 26 to give Senate Bill 253 a favorable report, saying the bill would authorize narrowly tailored research, development and demonstration (RDD) permits to allow limited thermal treatment for chemical warfare materials at research facilities designated by the U.S. Department of Defense, including Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Chemical Biological Center (CBC).

The bill, Coker said, was amended in the Senate after a work session with Commerce, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and outside stakeholders. He said the Senate amendments strengthen environmental protections by tying the RDD permit process to existing controlled hazardous substance facility requirements and by preserving near‑real‑time emissions monitoring and public participation in permitting. “The amendments actually made the bill stronger,” Coker said.

Committee members pressed agency witnesses on safety planning, oversight and the sources of the…