Oct 13, 2009 5:27 pm US/Eastern
AA Co. Bans Fly Ash And Wants It Out Of Balt. City
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) ―
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A bad experience with fly ash not only has Anne Arundel County banning it, the county doesn't want it dumped next door in Baltimore City either.
CBS
A bad experience with fly ash not only has Anne Arundel County banning it, the county doesn't want it dumped next door in Baltimore City either.
Alex DeMetrick reports for some country residents, it's too close for comfort.
Forty percent of Maryland's electricity is generated by coal. After it's burned, what's left piles up as fly ash. BGE used to bury it in the Gambrills area of Anne Arundel County, but stopped after well water became too toxic to drink and lawsuits were settled for millions.
But now the fly ash is put over the county line, in Baltimore City. That's where a new site for fly ash is being prepared.
"The pollution does not respect boundaries. The air pollution, the water pollution, it flows from one jurisdiction to another," said Anne Aundel County Executive John Leopold.
But Constellation Energy, which owns BGE, says it's the perfect site.
"It's already an industrial area and it's zoned accordingly, so the idea it would be another Gambrills, with well water contamination, is simply not possible," said Constellation spokesman Rob Gould.
Constellation says advanced technology and new state laws will keep the fly ash from entering water and air.
Right now, all the county can really do is renew a law banning fly ash in Anne Arundel County.
If permits are granted, Constellation plans to open the Baltimore site to fly ash next year. Constellation hopes to secure those permits before the end of the year. Opponents hope the federal EPA will rule fly ash a toxic substance before that happens.
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