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CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Fuel spill into Baltimore's harbor creates long-term environmental concerns
Crews worked around the clock to clean up 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel that dyed the water red near Harbor East and had environmental groups concerned about long-term impacts. Crews worked around the clock to clean up 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel that dyed water near Harbor East red and had environmental groups concerned about long -term impacts. CBS News Baltimore The spill began more than a mile away on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus on Fayette Street near Broadway. The spill began more than a mile away on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus on Fayette Street near Broadway. CBS News Baltimore When tanks for emergency generators were overfilled, the diesel went into the stormwater system and drained into the Patapsco River. "Unfortunately, this is something we deal with because of our underground pipe infrastructure that basically treats our streets as our streams," said Alice Volpitta, from the non-profit Blue Water Baltimore. "And by that, I mean anything that spills on our streets goes right into our streams without being treated." Blue Water Baltimore's boat was already scheduled to do routine water quality monitoring the day of the spill. "We were able to leverage that opportunity to take our boat out and try to see if there's any impact from this fuel spill," Volpitta said. Volpitta said it is crucial to get to the bottom of what happened. "Was there something that went wrong mechanically or potentially as a result of user error in the refueling process? That's something we don't know yet, but if there aren't already, there ought to be stricter regulations in place to make sure spills like this don't happen," Volpitta said. "We just don't know exactly where it went wrong." Volpitta added, "The regulatory agencies need to get a handle on the full extent of the spill, but also what happened at Johns Hopkins Hospital to allow this spill to occur." Past fuel spills While 2,000 gallons is larger than many recent spills, it happens more often than you may realize. Last year, 500 gallons of fuel spilled after a boat fire in Canton. The year before, Harbor East waters were again dyed red from a diesel spill. In 2017, a truck carrying diesel overturned on the JFX, spilling fuel into the Jones Falls, which headed to the harbor. Environmental concerns A fuel spill into Baltimore's harbor can bring about many environmental concerns, including for wildlife. "Diesel is lighter than crude oil and evaporates more quickly, but I think it can seep into mud or marshy areas, and some of it may sink below the surface, so it's very important to remediate it as soon as possible," said Dr. Sam Sherchan, a biologist at Morgan State University. Sherchan noted that the quick use of pumps and absorbent material is crucial. "They act like paper towels where they soak up the diesel, and the skimmers they're using are mechanical devices that skim the diesel off the water," Dr. Sherchan said. Sherchan has concerns about the long-term environmental impact. The DNR has already worked to clean wildlife. He has concerns about the long-term environmental impact. The DNR has already worked to clean wildlife. CBS News Baltimore "The contaminated mud, when it gets stirred up again it can become toxic to wildlife," Sherchan said. "Animals that come into contact with the water may become sick and die. In the long term, we want to see continuous monitoring of water and air to make sure that it's safe." Harbor Splash Two weeks ago, athlete Katie Pumphrey swam in the Inner Harbor. Two weeks ago, athlete Katie Pumphrey swam in the Inner Harbor. CBS News Baltimore The next public Harbor Splash event is scheduled in just 15 days. It aims to showcase progress in cleaning up waterways that could now be in jeopardy. "These types of episodic pollution incidents are just part of the unique set of challenges facing urban waterways," Volpitta said.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Baltimore area waterways rated poorly for water quality, report shows
The water quality in several parts of the Baltimore region was extremely poor in 2024, according to a yearly report from Blue Water Baltimore. The water quality monitoring program uses samples from 51 stations in Baltimore-area waterways to determine water health. Monitoring water quality in the Baltimore region Blue Water Baltimore measures different components of water health and uses those samples to determine water quality based on a scoring method created by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. This year, for the first time since 2014, the organization chose not to assign letter grades to the scores. The organization categorizes the region's waterways into four sections: Baltimore Harbor, Gwynns Falls, Jones Falls and Tidal Patapsco. The 2024 water quality report shows that most of the waterways in the Baltimore region had an overall score between 0% and 39%. A score of 0% to 19% indicates that water quality is very poor, leading to poor conditions for fish and shellfish. A score of 20% to 39% means that some health indicators are being met, though conditions for animals are still considered poor. Report shows declines in ecological health According to the data, all of the waterways in the Baltimore region have slightly declined in ecological health since 2023. Water quality at the Baltimore Harbor, Gwynn Falls and Patapsco River regions has continued to decline between 2013 and 2024, while the quality in the Jones Falls region has slightly improved, data shows. Water quality at the Baltimore Harbor, Gwynn Falls and Patapsco River regions has continued to decline between 2013 and 2024, while the quality in the Jones Falls region has slightly improved, data shows. Blue Water Baltimore According to the report, chlorophyll levels were poor in most of the waterways, with a score of 18% in the category. The levels of chlorophyll can indicate different types of algae in the water. While algae provides food for fish and other animals, too much of it can kill fish and become toxic to people and wildlife, Blue Water Baltimore explains. The organization describes the category of conductivity as a "humanity was here stamp," as it shows if a waterway has been damaged by pollutants that were introduced into the water by rain. In 2024, the average conductivity score was 9%, according to the report. "The long-term data trends are telling us that these problems are getting worse over time," Blue Water Baltimore said. Recommendations to improve water quality Blue Water Baltimore shared several recommendations in its 2024 report, saying, "Our streams should be fishable and swimmable, capable of sustaining thriving natural ecosystems for generations to come." The organization is pushing to reach water quality goals that were outlined in the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), which was enacted in 1972. The CWA aims to control water pollution levels and "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters," according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The law outlines how much pollution can enter waterways across the country and allows the Environmental Protection Agency to implement control programs and water quality standards. The Blue Water Baltimore report offers the following suggestions to improve ecosystem health in the region: Increase investments in environmentally friendly stormwater infrastructure Fund sewer infrastructure projects and maintenance for systems Continue tracking water health with long-term monitoring projects Pass legislation to eliminate trash pollution and allow the community to hold polluters accountable Low air quality in Baltimore region In April, a pollution report from the American Lung Association provided a similarly low score for air quality in the Baltimore region. The report, which monitors smog levels and pollution, gave Baltimore County an "F" grade and named the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington metro region as the 36th worst in the country for ozone smog. According to the report, Baltimore City has maintained several years of "A" grades for low particle pollution.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A new trash wheel for Back River: Baltimore funds projects after wastewater woes
Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain speaks at a news conference in Essex about environmental projects that will be funded as compensation for pollution from the city's two wastewater treatment plants. The Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant is seen in the background. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters) The Baltimore region could get a new trash wheel, one of 21 environmental projects for which Baltimore City is providing funding to compensate for pollution caused by the failure of two city wastewater treatment plants during the pandemic. The projects, announced Tuesday, will be funded by $1.7 million from the city under a consent decree with the Maryland Department of the Environment. The decree also required millions of dollars in repairs and other improvements to the treatment plants, $1.4 million in penalties and the potential for another $1.4 million of improvement efforts fall short. The Chesapeake Bay Trust will distribute funding for the projects, which include tree plantings, rain gardens, waterway sampling, trail stabilization and educational efforts around the Baltimore region. 'These projects, they're going to provide real benefits to those communities that have really faced pollution for way too long,' said Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain during an event Tuesday at Cox's Point Park, across from the Back River plant. 'But they're not just going to address the damages of the past. They're actually going to create new opportunities for those communities.' Baltimore City's two wastewater treatment plants — the Back River plant in Dundalk and one on the Patapsco River in Wagner's Point — are the largest in Maryland. And as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, they descended into disrepair. Advocates at the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore first flagged high bacteria levels in the Patapsco in 2021, tipping off state environmental inspectors who uncovered mechanical failures and staffing woes that led to overages of pollutants such as bacteria and nutrients, which cause algae blooms that harm marine life. Months later, with the Back River plant — the larger of the two — on the verge of 'catastrophic failure,' then-Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles invoked a rarely used provision in state law to send a team of Maryland Environmental Service experts in to oversee operations at the plant. MDE then filed suit against the city, as did Blue Water Baltimore. By about June 2022, Back River plant discharges began to meet pollution limits, and the Patapsco plant followed behind. The city paid MES some $7 million for its assistance. 'These plants, as we all know, have faced some real challenges over the past years,' McIlwain said. 'But how you respond to those challenges is really what matters. And I am so happy to say today that the city of Baltimore responded. The Maryland Environmental Service responded.' While the consent decree included the threat of another $1.4 million in penalties if the city failed to comply, the city is 'on track' not to owe the extra funds, MDE spokesman Jay Apperson said in a statement Tuesday. As of its most recent report, in February, the city has spent $167 million on repairs at Back River and another $92 million at Patapsco. The city has also disbursed some $40 million to hire private contractors to augment city staff at the facilities. The plants are generally compliant with their daily, weekly and monthly pollution discharge limits, but exceedances and spills have led to about $72,000 in additional fines against the city since the consent decree took effect. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D), who turned 41 last week, said Tuesday that the two sewage plants 'haven't had the investment that they needed in my lifetime.' The Back River plant opened in 1911 and the Patapsco plant in 1940. 'We know where we were just a few short years ago, and you can see that we've taken leaps and bounds since then,' Scott said. 'But this is not us celebrating. This is us acknowledging the great progress that's been made, and also acknowledging that we have a lot more work to do.' Community groups who remember when overages at the Back River plant closed the river to swimming just a few years ago remain wary, especially when odors waft around Dundalk and Essex. But Tuesday was still an exciting day, said Desiree Greaver, a project manager at the nonprofit Back River Restoration Committee, which will install the new trash wheel. 'It's like Christmas,' Greaver said. 'This is huge for Back River. It's going to be so impactful, and the community is really excited.' Just about every day, the committee sends volunteers to a trash-collecting boom just upstream of the wastewater treatment plant, who don waders and manually remove trash and debris. Once, they caught a hot tub. Another time, port-a-potties. Even with $655,363 coming from Tuesday's consent decree, the committee still needs to raise several hundred thousand dollars to make the project a reality, Greaver said. But the nonprofit is optimistic that the project will come to fruition, possibly within 18 months. And once it does, it will make life a lot easier for trash-cleaning volunteers. 'We actually have people getting in the water, physically removing the trash, and we can't rely on that forever,' Greaver said. 'It's not a glamorous job. It's not something that's easy to find help for. So we were really looking forward to something that was automated.' The new trash wheel will join four others along Baltimore shorelines, best known for their large googly eyes and varying personas. About $44,000 of the grant money will also go toward a mentoring program administered by One More … One Less, focused on connecting individuals with mental health challenges to water recreation, said Brian Bordley, the group's CEO. During Tuesday's event, Bordley spoke about his own memories fishing with his father near Cox's Point Park, gaining valuable life experience — even when they didn't catch anything. By starting his own mentoring program, he hoped to share those same experiences with local kids. 'We gave access to these kids to be on the water, and we saw things change in their behavior,' Bordley said. 'Their attitudes became adjusted. Their behavior started to become less hostile and angry. We found that they had a mental health byproduct of just being out on the water.'
