>Posted: 7:36 pm Thu, March 10, 2011
By Ben Mook
Daily Record Business Writer
Red tape and not-in-my-backyard activism were called out Thursday as major impediments to six stalled and troubled energy projects in Maryland that could have had a $19.5 billion economic impact on the state if they had moved forward.
The findings were part of a report released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called “Project Denied” that looked at the economic impact of stalled energy projects nationwide.
“This study should serve as a wake-up call for legislative action to improve the permitting process,” said William Kovacs, the group’s senior vice president of environment, technology and regulatory affairs.
The study was conducted by TeleNomic Research and was authored by Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute, and Joseph Fuhr, professor of economics at Widener University and senior fellow at the American Consumer Institute. The study looked at stalled or dropped power projects across the country that have been affected by problems ranging from financing and permitting hold-ups to citizen activism.
