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MDE to hold public forum on fly ash
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Maryland Department of the Environment officials will be in Gambrills next week to answer questions about new laws regulating coal fly ash.
Crofton First, a local citizens group that has advocated against fly ash, is hosting the officials during a meeting at Waugh Chapel Community Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Fly ash, the byproduct of coal combustion power plants, was used to reclaim former sand pits and was blamed for contaminating dozens of wells in Gambrills. The new laws are supposed to provide tougher regulations on how the material is disposed.
Crofton and Gambrills residents earlier this month voiced their concern that MDE was holding just one public meeting on the regulations in Baltimore during the day, when many residents could not attend.
County Executive John R. Leopold also reached out to MDE for a meeting in the county, as the Gambrills issue has been the catalyst behind the regulations.
Stephen Pattison, MDE’s assistant secretary, will be there to answer questions about the proposed regulations.
“While the meeting is not exactly what we have requested, we are pleased to host MDE and happy that they extended comment period to Feb. 26,” said Madonna Brennan, co-chairwoman of Crofton First.
Brennan said she expected a turnout similar to the group’s last fly ash forum, which drew more than 200 people.
Only a handful of people testified at MDE’s first public meeting, though many residents have expressed concerns that the regulations do not do enough to control airborne fly ash
and public notification and involvement.
Pattison has said MDE would review those concerns in its revision of the regulations.
jflanagan@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:09 AM MST on Sat., Aug. 2, 2008 re: "Anne Arundel could extend ban on coal fly ash dumping"
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6:44 PM MST on Thu., Dec. 27, 2007
re: "Elevated aluminum levels in Gambrills raise health concerns"
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2:21 AM MST on Thu., Dec. 20, 2007
re: "State’s fly-ash crackdown part of national effort"
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1:20 PM MST on Tue., Nov. 6, 2007
re: "Fly ash no longer allowed in AA"
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Examiner Reader said:
Should children play outside in the surrounding properties from the fly ash dumping grounds ?
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
hey smart guy.....can you point out where in the article mercury is mentioned? since you seem to be an expert in everything should only take you a nanosecond.
160 agree | 165 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The EPA needs a push to get it started every morning.The Administrator has just denied California's request for a waiver to enforce it's own new law limiting pollutants in that State. Mercury is only one of the heavy metals contained in fly-ash.Arsenic and sellenium and cadmium and aluninum all leach out of these unlined waste dumps.These all cause neurologic damage.
161 agree | 144 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Do Constellation Energy and government officials plan to pay for fly ash clean up in Northern AA County?
181 agree | 193 disagree
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