County asks state to toughen fly ash rules

BALTIMORE - The chief of the county Health Department last week called for tougher air-quality protection and monitoring of fly ash dump sites.

"There is a dearth of air-quality protections as well as ongoing monitoring," she said during a public hearing Tuesday at the MDE's offices.

The MDE is proposing new rules on how fly ash, a by-product from burning coal, is handled in the state. The regulations follow a $1 million fine against Constellation Energy Group, the power company that dumped fly ash in a Gambrills surface mine owned by BBSS Inc.

From 1995 until last fall, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., and later Constellation, dumped around 2.4 million tons of fly ash into the mine, eventually contaminating groundwater and wells with a bevy of heavy metals, some carcinogenic.

The new regulations would require fly ash landfills to have a liner to separate the substance from the ground, a leachate-collection system to drain water from the site and a cap to prevent water seepage - all measures designed to prevent groundwater contamination.

Currently, fly ash can be dumped into a site without taking any of those precautions.

However, the regulations do little to ensure air-quality protection, Ms. Phillips said.

People who live near the fly ash pit have expressed concerns that they may be inhaling the substance, exposing them to harmful chemicals, respiratory problems and some of the same health risks found with contaminated water.

"The same thing is going to happen to my lungs," said Robert Smith, of Crofton.

Stephen Pattison, assistant secretary of MDE, said he would review concerns about airborne fly ash with his staff.

Ms. Phillips also encouraged the MDE to include a longer timeframe for monitoring groundwater near filled fly ash sites.

The MDE's new rules would require groundwater monitoring for five years after a fly ash dump is filled and abandoned. Ms. Phillips said it would be better if this period was extended to 30 years.

Ms. Phillips also asked that the new regulations keep neighbors of existing and future dump sites better informed about environmental problems.

If a company that operated a fly ash dump applies for an exception to the state's regulations, residents who live near the site should be informed. They should also be made aware if a groundwater test shows contamination levels above legal thresholds, she said.

Advocates for the power and mining industries expressed few concerns about the new regulations.

"In many respects, the proposed regulations are well designed and consistent with recommendations we have made in the past," said James Roewer, executive director of Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, a nationwide organization whose membership includes approximately 80 energy companies, including Constellation and three other Maryland power companies.

However, Mr. Roewer said the actual language of the legislation should be adjusted. The MDE currently uses terms like "by-product" and "waste" to refer to fly ash. These words create a stigma and give the impression that fly ash doesn't have safe and beneficial uses, he said. He would prefer the phrase "coal combustion products" instead.

Timothy R. Henderson, a lawyer representing BBSS, said that there were generally no problems with the proposed regulations, but he would prefer some "clarifications of ambiguous terms and unintended consequences."

Representatives from the power and real estate development communities, environmental groups, officials from Maryland counties and members of community advocacy groups also were at the hearing but did not testify.

At a public forum about fly ash on Jan. 29 in Gambrills, several people said they would have liked to have attended last week's meeting, but could not because of its time and location.

In response, county Executive John R. Leopold wrote a letter to MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson asking for a more convenient public hearing.

Mr. Pattison said the department is in the process of scheduling another fly ash meeting for the Crofton and Gambrills area, but has not yet set a date or location. Concerned parties will be able to submit testimony at that time, he said.

Meanwhile, as a result of the contaminated groundwater in Gambrills, a Baltimore law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Constellation on behalf of residents who live nearby. The lawsuit alleges that Constellation knew that fly ash was contaminating groundwater but the company failed to take appropriate measures.