Pollution : Maryland sues waste management company for $2.1 million over River pollution
The complaint alleges Columbia-based Ecology Services Inc. failed to resolve an issue with polluted stormwater draining from its facility in Pasadena, which the company uses for heavy vehicle storage and refueling.
During a series of inspections in 2020 the evidence of “unpermitted discharges of pollutants” from the site was observed, including the possible leakage of oil from trash containers and vehicles parts. Stormwater from the area mixes with runoff from Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, which then feeds south into the nearby Magothy.
Ecology Services agreed to a consent order last August allowing its Pasadena site to continue running, subject to pollution-control conditions. The suit claims subsequent inspections revealed continued breaches of those requirements.
Officials are seeking a civil penalty of up to 10,000 dollar for each of four days they observed the site violating its pollution prevention plan, as well as an injunction compelling the site to comply with the plan.
Additionally, the state alleges Ecology Services ran the facility without a permit for eight months. Maryland Department of the Environment is asking for a separate court-imposed penalty of up to 10,000 dollar for each day of unauthorized operation — totaling about $2.1 million over 213 days.