Community Corner

Fiery Forum Tackles Fly Ash Concerns

Crofton and Gambrills residents attended a forum on fly ash concerns at Waugh Chapel Thursday at Perry's Restaurant in Odenton.

The 33rd District Democratic Club hosted an explosive panel discussion to update neighbors on the impact of the fly ash deposits on the community.

 VIDEO: Crofton First Co-Chair Madonna Brennan explains community health and safety concerns.

 The forum at Perry's Restaurant in Odenton tackled resident concerns about groundwater, municipal and private wells, public water aquifers, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and a lawsuit calling for the halt of development at Waugh Chapel South.

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G. Macy Nelson, the attorney for the Putuxent Riverkeepers said his client feels there are major gaps in the general understanding as to whether the “pump and treatment” system for possible groundwater contamination is working as it was designed to operate.

“We don’t have information as to if the plume has spread to the wells east of Route 3, or the southwest core of the site,” said Nelson.

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“We’re asking for consolation to do the appropriate investigation and analyze that data for 24 months,” Nelson added. 

Greenberg Gibbons Commercial building a 1.2 million square foot development, dubbed Village of Waugh Chapel South, featuring a Wegmans and Target. The land under development was once a dump for fly ash. While community members acknowledged that the development will essentially "cap" the land to keep stormwater from causing the fly ash to spread, they remained concern about the groundwater outside of that area. 

Nelson said development on the site should wait until after land safety and fly ash investigations wrap up to ensure there are no pending health risks to residents. But Greenberg Gibbons officials said they believe concerns arre unfounded.

“We are confident that that’s not going to happen,” said Greenberg Gibbons Commercial president Brian Gibbons. “But we did buy a $50 million insurance policy just in case."

 Gibbons told the room of community members the Riverkeepers fight to preserve the land has more to do with union issues than the environment.

“This is about Wegmans. They wouldn’t have an issue if this was a Safeway or Giant,” Gibbons said. He told the group his opposition wants the extra time to mount a union campaign against a possible Wegmans grocery store.

“In the end the MDE (Maryland Department of Environment) will have the final say,” added Gibbons. “If they see something wrong they have the right to make us fix it.”


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