Stormwater runoff is one the largest sources of water pollution to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and one that is actually growing, not shrinking as it is supposed to be. Maryland has an array of county and state laws/regulations in place to control stormwater runoff from industrial, construction, municipal, and other sources. However, many of these laws are underenforced, resulting in excessive stormwater runoff from many types of sites/operations. This is especially true of the development and homebuilding industry where construction stormwater runoff from construction sites routinely turns streams, rivers, and parts of the Bay orange and brown because of the tons of sediment running off, relatively uncontrolled from construction sites.
After years of policy and permit advocacy to address the problems of uncontrolled construction stormwater runoff ruining stream health, CLA is now tackling this issue head on by suing to fix one of the most egregious cases of construction stormwater runoff we have ever come across. In 2021, CLA was contacted by the Gunpowder Riverkeeper regarding a large (100+ acres) construction site in the Gunpowder River watershed in Joppa, Maryland. Before the development began this area was forested, containing some of the headwaters of the Gunpowder River.
This site is known as Ridgely’s Reserve, and is being developed by two of the largest developers and homebuilders in the United States. Since 2021, when the forest was cleared, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), our client, and the local community have documented excessive and repeated sediment discharges from this development flowing into Foster Branch and ultimately ending up in the tidal Gunpowder River and Chesapeake Bay.
This site has been inspected by MDE dozens of times in the past three years and is routinely and consistently found to be in noncompliance and illegally discharging water pollution. It is likely that many tons of clay sediment has run off from this site and polluted the Gunpowder. It is also believed that this deluge of mud caused the widespread die off of submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay observed by scientists during a time period when the majority of the rest of the Bay has experienced growth and expansion of bay grasses.
In August 2024, CLA sent a notice to the site developers notifying them of our client’s intent to file a federal lawsuit for their consistent and repeated offsite sediment discharges to the Bay, the Gunpowder, and their tributaries, and for other violations of their Clean Water Act Permit. Subsequently, the MDE filed a complaint in state court against the developers for violations of comparable state laws.
As of October 2024, CLA has filed a motion to intervene as a plaintiff in the State’s case. CLA expects this motion to be granted and for Gunpowder Riverkeeper to exercise their right to fully participate in the case to provide a voice for the impacted parts of the Gunpowder River watershed and for the downstream community that has lost the use and enjoyment of fishing, crabbing, and recreational areas in the tidal Gunpowder River. What we intend to achieve is a complete cessation of the illegal pollution and for the Gunpowder to be fully restored.
On October 25th, on behalf of our client, Gunpowder Riverkeeper, CLA filed a motion to intervene to join in the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE’s) enforcement action at Ridgely’s Reserve.
On August 8, Gunpowder Riverkeeper sent a notice of its intent to sue under the Clean Water Act to enforce ongoing and continuous alleged violations of the Act coming from a construction site in Joppa Maryland known as Ridgely’s Reserve.
