Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday he is inclined to sign a bill to allow a six-month delay in the nation's first statewide requirement for low-phosphorus dishwashing detergent, a law aimed at reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Maryland General Assembly approved a bill a year ago to require companies that make dishwashing detergent to use low amounts of phosphorous by the end of this year.
But detergent maker Procter & Gamble Co. complained the legislation took effect too soon to make production changes and pushed to delay implementation until July 2010, a change that was approved by lawmakers in the last session.
O'Malley, who spoke on WTOP-FM, said he doesn't believe the six-month accommodation the company asked for is unreasonable. The law had been set to take effect at the end of 2009.
"The way that some would look at it is ... they've been doing it for so long, we should put an immediate stop to it," O'Malley said. "The way others would look at it is that after changing their practices and changing their products, that a six-month accommodation is not unreasonable, and I tend to come down on that side of that argument."
The governor said he didn't believe delayed implementation "is going to make or break it one way or the other."
"I'm glad that Maryland, by being in front, was able to change the way an entire industry operates in a product that's offered, in essence, nationwide," O'Malley said on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" program.
Phosphorus runoff is blamed for harmful algae blooms that hurt native life, including underwater grasses relied on by blue crabs. Maryland already requires low-phosphorus laundry detergent, a requirement adopted after years of debate in the 1980s, when soapmakers warned it would affect the quality of washes.
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