Maryland bill seeks to stop storage of dredged material from Baltimore Harbor near overburdened communities

Yahoo

31-01-2025

BALTIMORE — In the wake of public outcry about a storage option for dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor, an Anne Arundel County lawmaker is seeking to stop the construction of confined aquatic disposal cells near communities that have been overburdened by pollution.
Republican Sen. Bryan Simonaire is the sole sponsor of the Environmental Justice in Confined Aquatic Disposal Act.
The measure would prevent the Maryland Department of the Environment from processing or making recommendations to the Board of Public Works for applications to build confined aquatic disposal cells — underwater containment structures that store dredged material from the harbor's shipping channels in depressions at the bottom of a waterway — within 5 miles of overburdened residential communities, as well as preventing the board from approving such a project.
'I am completely supportive of our port; it's a driver of our economy, jobs. This bill has nothing to do with undermining what our port does and I appreciate their efforts,' Simonaire said at a Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee bill hearing this week. 'But I also appreciate communities, especially those who live in overburdened communities that have been the brunt of environmental pollution for years — for decades — and trying to protect them and come up with a balance, and that's what I think this legislation does.'
Under state law, dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor must be confined and placed only in contained areas approved by MDE. According to the Maryland Port Administration, more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment are dredged from the harbor's shipping channels yearly.
However, the agency does not have a definition for what confined means.
At a bill hearing Tuesday, Simonaire said he asked Gov. Wes Moore's administration to define a confined area, but they preferred the flexibility of the existing language, he said.
Confined aquatic disposal, also known as CAD, is a newer practice in the state. The first pilot program next to Baltimore's Masonville dredged material containment facility was completed in 2018 and has been deemed a success by state officials.
However, the bill would not completely ban the use of CAD cells in Maryland.
Casey Hunter, who testified on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, said the bill is a 'crucial step' toward addressing ongoing environmental injustices faced by those who live in overburdened communities. She said projects that pose risks to public health or safety have historically been placed in these communities, and residents often lack the resources to challenge siting.
'It's just a common-sense measure to ensure that the burden of risk for this type of project does not continue to fall on Maryland's already overburdened and underserved communities,' she said, urging a favorable report.
Stoney Beach resident John Garofolo, a retired federal scientist who has raised concerns about the concept for over a year, said he understands the importance of shipping as the harbor expands. Still, the state must 'tread lightly' on the Patapsco River.
'The existing pollution has had significant impacts to our health, employment and businesses,' he said. 'The Patapsco is not a resource to be exploited, nor are its communities.'
A lifelong Pasadena resident, Carl Treff, said the Patapsco 'is not Maryland Port Administration's landfill.'
'I cannot fathom in this era of Bay restoration, how mining and destroying the bottom of our river is a good idea,' he said. 'The MPA has yet to prove without a doubt that CAD is an environmentally safe alternative to land-based dredge storage.'
Over the past few months, the port administration has been evaluating the use of CAD to manage dredged material as existing storage sites reach capacity.
Last year, Anne Arundel County lawmakers proposed creating a task force to study the concept, its risks and its benefits during the legislative session. Their bills failed to advance, prompting MPA to convene its own group of state, federal and local officials to study the technical aspects, risks and benefits of using CAD.
The group, known as the Bay Enhancement Working Group CAD Subcommittee, has held five meetings since September, with two more scheduled for February and March.
While Sen. Mary Washington, a Democrat representing Baltimore City and Baltimore County, suggested reworking part of Simonaire's bill, she also asked whether parts of the state's environmental code should be reevaluated, noting that some portions had not been updated in more than 20 years.
'My personal opinion would be, let's keep it simple this year and pass it, and I would commit to work with you over the interim, to come up with working with the departments and revise this,' Simonaire said. 'Because I think it's complex as far as what should be there and what shouldn't be there, but I am certainly on board with working with you and would support that.'
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