To the far South Baltimore residents who have been contending with the medical waste incinerator on Hawkins Point Road for the last 35 years, the facility has been a chronic pollution juggernaut.

Despite pleading guilty last year to more than 40 violations of its state permit and agreeing to pay $1.75 million – possibly the largest criminal environmental penalty in Maryland history – and then being sued again by the state for more violations, the company’s smoky emissions keep coming.

“We’ve got the camera running, and they’re still doing it,” said Greg Sawtell, of the South Baltimore Community Land Trust.

The images, taken from a trail camera filming 24 hours a day, show black smoke not only billowing from the stack but rising from the roof of Curtis Bay Energy LP. The community bombarded the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) with videos and photos.

The latest lawsuit by the agency alleges a number of violations, including hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and particulates that the agency documented being released at above permitted limits, repeatedly.

Expressing frustration over the chronically polluting facility, whose history of violations goes back decades, residents are calling on MDE to shut it down once and for all.

And why, they ask, has there been no enforcement action in the five months since MDE filed its latest legal complaint?

“How do they continue?”

“What makes this place so invulnerable to the consistent amount of violations and problems they’ve had? How do they survive and continue to operate?” Sawtell wondered.

Addressing a City Council hearing earlier this year, the Land Trust’s Meleny Thomas said, “What we really want is to break the cycle of three decades of environmental injustice.”

Even though the incinerator was acquired by a private equity group ahead of last year’s fine and settlement, violations have continued under the new owners, she stated.

“I don’t know what more evidence we need. The pattern shows, no matter who is owning or operating this facility, they were still violating.”

Coming From Far Away

Turning to local authorities, the residents have been calling on the City Council to prohibit the plant from processing medical waste from out of state.

That would eliminate about 75% of the material the company takes in.

According to The Brew’s review of records that Curtis Bay Energy has submitted to MDE:

• About 26,000 tons of medical waste was burned last year at its faded yellow metal-sided facility at 3200 Hawkins Point Road.

• That includes nearly 20,000 tons trucked in from as far away as Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, Georgia and Canada.

• Only 7% of the waste comes from local hospitals and other sources in Baltimore.

• In 2022, when the plant took in more than 29,000 tons of medical trash, the proportions were roughly the same.

Legislative Rollbacks

For members of the proud, diverse communities that have coexisted with industry in Curtis Bay for years, asking City Hall to crack down on the company’s pollution by limiting its customer base is nothing new.

But instead of taking action, the City Council has done the reverse – widening the area where the facility’s customers can come from over the years.

In 1993, the Council voted to extend the catchment area beyond Baltimore City and nearby jurisdictions to include Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

“Let other cities take care of their own waste”  – Former City Council President Lawrence Bell.

Then in 1997, to assist the company as it emerged from bankruptcy, the Council enlarged the permissible customer area even further – to 250 miles from Baltimore.

That 11-8 vote came after hours of debate and condemnation by several lawmakers, including then-Council President Lawrence A. Bell III.

“I do not believe the health of our citizens is something that should be traded away to accommodate this business,” Bell said at the time. “Let other cities take care of their own waste.”

Smoke From Curtis Bay Energy this year, captured by trail cameras. (South Baltimore Community Land Trust)

Council Bill 09-0400

After unearthing old newspaper stories about the Council’s actions, Sawtell and other activists thought they had some leverage.

By accepting medical waste from Canada, Texas and the Deep South, they reasoned, wasn’t the company violating the 250-mile limit?

They brought the matter up to the matter at the City Council hearing last March, and later pressed the issue with city Zoning Administrator Geoffrey Veale.

They never got a response.

This week The Brew informed the group that records show that the City Council quietly voted to eliminate the 250-mile restriction in 2010.

Council Bill 09-0400 – “To Repeal Certain Geographic Restrictions on the Use of the Incinerator” – was sponsored by members Edward L. Reisinger, Rochelle “Rikki” Spector and Helen Holton.

“The City recognizes the importance of safe and efficient waste disposal facilities,” the bill’s text said, claiming the expanded boundaries were “necessary to enhance the co-generation capacity and capabilities of the waste-to-energy facility and otherwise in the public interest.”

“It’s really unacceptable and frustrating”  – Carlos Sanchez, South Baltimore Community Land Trust.

The change did not attract much community attention or media coverage at the time. But it stunned members of the Land Trust and the Community of Curtis Bay Association.

“It’s really unacceptable and frustrating,” said Carlos Sanchez, of the South Baltimore Community Land Trust. “City officials keep changing the laws to allow them to keep poisoning our communities.”

The Land Trust’s Sawtell was furious when he heard about the Reisinger-Spector-Holton ordinance.

“Removing restriction after restriction from a facility handling infectious and hazardous materials with a track record of violating the law clarifies how deep the practice of using Curtis Bay as a sacrifice zone goes,” he said.

“During the two months community members waited for a reply from local officials that never came, the incinerator violated the law dozens of times by emitting dark smoke into the air we all breathe.”

Company: “It’s only steam”

Asked about the community’s query about the legality of burning out-of-state waste, Zoning Administrator Veale told The Brew that he is “still researching it.”

Regarding the state’s lawsuit, a spokesman for MDE said, “We have no comment as this is a pending enforcement action.”

Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, who represents the Curtis Bay area, also declined to comment, citing the pending MDE litigation.

“I’ve always stood on the side of communities,” she added.

The waste company, meanwhile, offered a response when asked by The Brew about the community’s reports of black smoke coming out of the plant.

“The vast majority of [visible emissions] can be documented as only being steam”  – Curtis Bay Energy spokesperson.

“Curtis Bay Energy has invested significant effort and funds to enhance operations at its facility and is continuing that work,” wrote Ellen Keast, a company representative. “Its employees work tirelessly to protect their community’s air quality while providing a necessary service.”

According to Keast, most of the emissions consist of harmless hot air and vapor.

“Curtis Bay staff proactively communicates with MDE regulatory personnel as to visible emissions from the facility – the vast majority of which can be documented as only being steam.”

“Can’t in good conscience”

Former Council President Bell was surprised to hear that the 250-mile limit that he opposed three decades ago was removed by the actions of a subsequent council.

He recalled that the building trades unions had urged him to vote to expand the plant’s catchment territory, promising to expand and hire more employees.

“I told them I can’t do that in good conscience. It’s not good for the environment, not good for the people.”

He said that’s still his position today.

• To reach a reporter: fern.shen@baltimorebrew.com