WHITE MARSH, Md. — Residents in White Marsh are voicing concerns about a landfill’s request to revise its state discharge permit, a change they fear could harm local waterways.
Days Cove Rubble Landfill located in White Marsh, is seeking approval from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to alter its discharge limits. The proposed permit would allow the facility to release an average of 12,500 gallons of treated leachate per day into the Gunpowder River basin.
Some residents, like Harford County’s Bill Temmink, say the potential impact on water quality is alarming.
“You don’t want extra ammonia and stuff in the water. I mean that’s just nuts,” Temmink said. “If you just keep piling stuff into the water, you’ll kill it.”
Environmental advocates are also pushing back. Theaux Le Gardeur, Executive Director of Gunpowder Riverkeeper, argues the draft permit would double the pollutants allowed to enter the river, including arsenic, copper, and ammonia.
“The water quality is not getting better. It doesn’t have a chance to because the permit is much like a speed limit on I-95 and if the permit is weaker, let’s say the speed limit goes up, then people are gonna get hurt,” Le Gardeur said.
His team has been testing water quality near the landfill finding dissolved oxygen levels as low as 2.9 milligrams per liter, he says which is well below the recommended Bay standard of 5.
Le Gardeur says the landfill’s design makes the situation even more concerning.
“It’s an unlined landfill. That means it doesn’t have a liner to prevent materials from moving through the sand and gravel from the old pit,” he explained.
State Delegate Ryan Nawrocki is also calling for the permit to be denied. He points out that in the past, the facility has hauled wastewater to treatment plants rather than discharging it locally.
“Currently and historically at that facility they have been trucking this material away to a wastewater treatment facility,” Nawrocki said.“There are already three landfills in this area, plus a dredge spoil site. So there’s a lot of environmental concerns already.”
Nawrocki warns that elevated ammonia levels, included in the permit request, can fuel algal blooms, decrease oxygen levels, and contribute to fish kills in the Bay.
The Gunpowder River basin spans both Baltimore and Harford Counties. Advocates say any increase in pollution could affect not just residents, but also boaters, swimmers, fish, and wildlife.
Before a revised permit can be approved, it will need to go through a thorough review process. The Maryland Department of the Environment shared this statement:
"Public participation is a key part of our permit application review process. We encourage everyone who would like to provide comments to speak at the public hearing or submit their comments in writing. We will carefully consider all comments as we make a final determination on this application."
WMAR-2 News reach out to Days Cove Rubble Landfill but have yet to hear back.
A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 16 at 5 p.m. at the Perry Hall Library.
A public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Perry Hall Meeting Room at the Perry Hall Library, 9685 Honeygo Blvd., Perry Hall. MDE will also accept written comments through 5 p.m. Sept. 22.
Written comments can also be sent via mail to the Maryland Department of the Environment, Water and Science Administration, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1708, Attn.: Mr. Paul Hlavinka, Chief, Industrial Stormwater Permits Division or via email to paul.hlavinka@maryland.gov.
