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Maryland Sen. Alexander X. Mooney said this week that he is willing to support amendments to a bill he introduced which proposes to limit where counties could build and operate incinerators.

The bill would bar the state from granting permits for incinerators within 1 mile of a national park.

If passed, the bill would rule out Frederick County's preferred location for its proposed $527 million incinerator — "the McKinney site," which is located in Buckeystown between Interstate 270 and Route 85 near the Monocacy National Battlefield.

Frederick County Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (D) said via e-mail that he believes the bill could lead to the closure of Montgomery County's incinerator in Dickerson after May 5, 2013, when its permit expires, because it is within 1 mile of the C&O Canal National Historical Park.

Mooney (R-Dist. 3) of Urbana said he has not been able to verify yet whether the bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda, would have such an impact, but he would accept amendments to prevent that.

"I haven't gotten the exact information on that yet, so I'm hoping to make the changes necessary so it does not affect sites that are not objectionable," Mooney said. "When this bill comes to a hearing in the next couple weeks, the effects on other locations like Dickerson will be known, but I'm willing to accept amendments if that's what it takes to get it passed."

Mooney said that with or without amendments, he hopes the bill will pass, because a similar bill, banning the building of a landfill near a lake, was approved by the General Assembly three years ago.

Mooney said he has not yet decided whether he supports or opposes building an incinerator in Frederick County, but that he "tend[s] to oppose it in general."

He said he has heard "a lot" of opposition to the incinerator and its proposed location from his constituents, and that he "agree[s] with their concerns."

Mooney said the bill should go to hearing in a few weeks. It will head first to the Senate Rules Committee, whose members will direct it either to the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, or, more likely, the Finance Committee, he said.

As of Monday morning, the bill's only two declared sponsors were Mooney and Frosh, according to Mooney and the General Assembly's Web site.