A Baltimore County landfill’s request to discharge additional potentially toxic runoff into the Gunpowder River met fierce blowback from nearly 200 community members and elected officials who packed a public hearing Tuesday evening and raised concerns about harm to local waterways.
Days Cove Rubble Landfill, which receives construction debris at a site in White Marsh, already releases about 12,000 gallons of treated leachate a day into the Gunpowder River via the Bird River. Leachate, also called “trash juice,” is a polluted liquid that forms when rainwater flows through waste and picks up toxins, chemicals and heavy metals.
Rainwater and other landfill fluids are collected and treated at a plant on site and then sent through ponds and a flooded mining pit before being released into the Bird River, according to MDE documents.
The landfill is now seeking an updated wastewater permit to discharge 25,000 gallons of leachate a day — more than double the current amount — into rivers long used in northeast Baltimore County for swimming, fishing and crabbing. The proposal is being reviewed the Maryland Department of the Environment.
At Tuesday’s hearing at the Perry Hall Library, held as part of the MDE’s review process, opponents of the permit filled approximately 100 seats in a meeting room, lined the walls and spilled into the hallway. They carried homemade signs that read “Keep our Water Clean,” “No More Toxins” and “Protect the Gunpowder.”
In brief remarks, Darren Hunt, who is listed on the permit application as the landfill’s vice president of operations, told the crowd: “We understand there’s some concerns and questions that everybody has. I hope that we’ll be able to address all those.
“We always strive to be a good neighbor,” he added.
Otherwise, Hunt watched quietly from the back as dozens of elected officials, community leaders and longtime residents voiced worry and outrage over the proposal during an hourlong public comment period.
Occasionally, Hunt shook his head at speakers’ remarks or eruptions from the crowd. He declined to answer questions after the hearing.
Among those who spoke against the proposal were three of the area’s state representatives.
Del. Kathy Szeliga, Del. Ryan Nawrocki and Sen. J.B. Jennings, all Republicans, said the Gunpowder ecosystem is already under strain from decades of industrial pollution. The landfill is one of three that operate near each other, they noted.
Baltimore County’s Eastern Sanitary Landfill is adjacent to Days Cove. Honeygo Run Landfill, which also accepts construction debris, is a few miles away.
“How much more should we have to take?” Szeliga said. “Our community treasures the Gunpowder River for fishing, boating, swimming and recreation. Allowing this landfill to dump more waste into the watershed would be reckless and irresponsible.”
County Council member David Marks criticized the landfill’s operators for their lack of communication with community leaders about the permit. Many in the crowd said they were unaware of the proposal until the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, a local environmental watchdog, began publicizing it.
“I think this room would probably be half the size if the operator had approached elected officials in the community beforehand and engaged in a dialogue,” Marks said.
Later, the Republican said he would introduce a resolution before the council urging the county to oppose the permit and shut down the facility, prompting the crowd to break out in cheers.
Attendees also raised concerns about the landfill’s checkered history of abiding by its existing leachate discharge permit.
The facility is currently in compliance with its permit, according to the MDE, but it exceeded its pollution limits at least 20 times between April 2023 and October 2024, resulting in a $15,000 fine from state regulators.
“Why would you even consider letting a permit be applied for when they violated the permit they have 20 times?” asked Josh Sines, president of the Essex Middle River Civic Council, an umbrella organization representing more than 20 eastern Baltimore County communities.
Others spoke out about how decades of urbanization and pollution have diminished their ability to enjoy the water.
“We’re quickly approaching a river in which our children cannot swim, our dogs cannot drink and no one would dare to eat a crab,” said Lindsay Crone, executive director of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy.
At the end of the hearing came a small victory for the permit’s opponents: The MDE agreed to allow the public an additional month to submit written comments on the proposal. The new deadline is at 5 p.m. Oct. 22.
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