"Activists hailed the agreement’s $4.75 million civil penalty as the largest in 25 years for a water pollution infraction—and one of the biggest ever in Maryland for an environmental law violation."
"Environmental advocates hope an agreement negotiated earlier this month by Baltimore City, the state Department of the Environment and the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore to upgrade the city’s two wastewater treatment plants will help meet the state’s Chesapeake Bay restoration goals.
Finalized on Nov. 2, the settlement includes a civil penalty of $4.75 million on the city and requires city officials to adopt a timeline for improvements at the Back River and Patapsco wastewater treatment plants. The agreement is set to go before the city’s Board of Estimates on Nov. 15 for ratification and will then take effect as a judicial consent decree in state circuit court.
Once effective as a legally binding consent decree, the agreement will resolve a federal case brought against the city by Blue Water Baltimore in December 2021 and a state action brought by the MDE and Blue Water Baltimore in January 2022.
The settlement calls for 40 percent of the fine—$1.9 million—to go toward restoration projects in the Back River and Patapsco watersheds and will be administered as competitive grants by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Of the remaining 60 percent, half will be paid directly to the Maryland Department of the Environment, the state’s principal environmental regulator, and half will be held back, to be paid only if the city violated the decree. The city could face additional penalties if it fails to meet repair deadlines and conditions agreed to in the decree."
Aman Azhar reports for Inside Climate News November 7, 2023.
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