A bill before Maryland’s General Assembly would put people and communities at the center of environmental decisions.The bill, called the “Cherish Our Communities Act,” requires pollution permit decisions to be based on environmental justice data. The data determines the impact on public health, and Maryland currently lacks legal authority to make permitting decisions based on those numbers.The bill creates a system where community voices matter in decisions that affect their health. Its goal is to protect communities while providing clear guidelines for industry. The Cherish Our Communities Act ensures neighborhoods already dealing with pollution burdens aren’t forced to accept even more without safeguards and benefits. A coalition of environmentalists and concerned citizens voiced their concerns during a rally at Lawyer’s Mall in Annapolis Tuesday. “We’re here today because the Cherished Bill is what puts communities back into decision-making. The point of Cherish, it’s beautifully as it sounds in the name, to cherish our communities. For far too long, the communities across the state of Maryland have dealt with the air pollution, with groundwater pollution, and had to take on more of their own share of pollution and harm being done into their communities,” concerned citizen Carlos Sanchez from South Baltimore said.The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has a state map showing communities overburdened by pollution and underserved by government services. The legislation sets new requirements for pollution permits in these areas and allows MDE to deny permits based on environmental justice grounds.”I am a proud mother of two children, including my young son who’s living with asthma and autism. Every day, I worry about the air my son breathes. Families like mine living in my neighborhood, surrounded by pollution, our children are paying the price with their health,” Marta Orellana from Baltimore City said.”I’m speaking for families with children who struggle, as we just heard with asthma, for industries and households that are contaminated, for farmers whose land is saturated with nitrates that they can barely use; these are not statistics. But these are my neighbors,” Monica Brooks with the NAACP said. The bill also requires a burden report to be included in an application. This is a baseline understanding of risk, disparities and environmental needs. “Let me be clear about this bill and what it is and what it is not. The CARES Act is about fairness. Yeah, it’s about transparency, and it’s about making smarter, more responsible decisions when it comes to the environment and our health,” State Sen. Benjamin Brooks (D), the bill’s sponsor, said.Advocates have been working for months with lawmakers. They agreed to concessions and made the bill more budget-friendly. The legislation has already been heard in the House and Senate, while no vote has been scheduled.