Baltimore City Council to introduce bill that would ban outdoor gas regulators in response to BGE installations

Piggybacking on a push by city residents from various neighborhoods to fight installation of outdoor gas pressure regulators, Baltimore City Councilman Eric Costello announced the introduction of a bill Thursday that would ban such regulators from single family homes.

The bill, which Costello unveiled at a news conference at City Hall, would ban regulators from any building that has five or fewer residential units. The legislation, which still faces approval by the council and Mayor Brandon Scott, would not apply to regulators that already have been installed.

A growing number of Baltimore residents in historic urban neighborhoods have pushed back against a Baltimore Gas and Electric upgrade project that they say forces them to accept gas pressure regulators on their rowhouse facades or risk losing gas service.

BGE is relocating interior regulators as part of a project to replace aging natural gas pipes and equipment throughout the Baltimore region.

BGE has argued that the outside regulators create less of a safety risk than indoor gas pressure devices the utility used in the past and has installed in other neighborhoods, and also offer easier access during emergencies. The utility says outdoor regulators are needed to maintain a safe level of pressure between the gas system and customer homes and appliances, and any gas that leaks is able to dissipate outdoors rather than gather inside.

Members of communities across the city, including Fells Point, Federal Hill and West Baltimore, however, are pushing back. They filed a class-action lawsuit June 23 aimed at stopping BGE from forcing residents to accept equipment they say is obtrusive and unsafe. A Baltimore judge ordered a halt to installations without consent until Sept. 5.

Costello, standing alongside Council President Nick Mosby, Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton and Councilman Robert Stokes for the announcement, said he has been assured the legislation has the support of the city’s law department and other agencies.

“We want to let people know we’ve heard those concerns,” he said. “We’ve heard that outrage.”

Costello said he and his fellow council members took time to vet the proposed legislation to ensure it would withstand legal challenges. Still, litigation is always a risk of any legislation, he said. He would not say whether the legislation has the support of Scott but said the agency support will make the measure more difficult for Scott to veto.

“We’re not just throwing something at the wind here,” he said.

In a statement issued Thursday, BGE maintained that outdoor regulator installations are for the safety of customers.

“Outdoor installation is supported by lawmakers, regulators, and administrative agencies at the state and federal level, and it is an industry best practice,” the company said.

Mosby said council members would have liked to make the legislation retroactive, but the proposed ban was complicated because it would be citywide, not just limited to historic districts. Mosby said the city’s historic districts were established in a racially inequitable fashion, and the council did not want to limit the ban to just those residents.

“This council stands on a foundation of equity,” he said. “We want to make sure all folks have equal rights, equal access, equal engagement and have equal levels of transparency with their government.”

BGE has said its regulator replacements were reviewed and approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which regulates the state’s utilities, and granted a permit by the city. The Public Service Commission has a hearing planned on the regulators for Aug. 15.

“If the PSC is not prepared to take action on Aug. 15, this council is,” Costello said.

Costello said he will introduce his bill at the council’s next meeting on Aug. 21. Asked if it has the support of the full council, Mosby said “we’ll be fine.”

BGE said the company “looks forward to the Public Service Commission’s upcoming proceeding on this matter and urge them to act swiftly and decisively.”

The Office of People’s Counsel, Maryland’s utility customer advocate, also has gone public against the installation of the regulators outside Baltimore homes, saying the project will burden consumers with excessive long-term costs.

The Office of People’s Counsel said in an analysis released in July that massive spending on gas infrastructure could lead to billions of dollars in “stranded costs.” Such costs are investments in infrastructure that will not be economically useful because of regulatory or market changes. The spending also runs counter to state climate goals, the review said.

Asked about the regulators Wednesday, Scott said he couldn’t comment on the ongoing litigation. However, the Public Service Commission is responsible for regulating BGE, Scott said, and the city will “always be here to support our residents in any way that we can for what we’re responsible for.”

As proposed, the council legislation would allow homeowners an exception to have an external regulator installed if they choose. Written permission from a property owner would be required.

Maggie Fitzsimmons, a resident of East Baltimore’s Washington Hill who was arrested in June while protesting BGE’s regulator installations, stood with council members during Thursday’s news conference in support of the proposed legislation.

“We are delighted to know that there seems to be a complete agreement that this is the wrong thing to do, that what BGE is doing is the wrong thing to do and the rights of the property owners come first,” she said.

Fitzsimmons said she and other neighbors would continue the fight to have previously installed regulators removed, even if the council’s legislation would not force it.

Claudia Towles, a Fells Point resident who also was arrested during the protest, said she was disappointed that the council members present Thursday did not speak out in favor of the residents who were detained.

“We would love to see some advocacy around that,” she said. “We’re still paying the price. We would like to see some support in correcting that injustice.”

On Friday, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates announced he was dropping the charges against Fitzsimmons, Towles and Sandra Seward of Federal Hill who was also arrested during the protest. The charges would have been dismissed via the city’s citation docket program after the completion of community service had the three not been arrested, he said in a news release.

“Having spent approximately 19 hours in central booking, following their arrests for interfering with BGE’s work and creating a disturbance in a public place, these individuals have sustained consequences we believe are sufficient and allow us to move forward with dismissal,” he said.