Press Statement on Baltimore City DPW’s Sewer Consent Decree Annual Public Meeting
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Press Statement on Baltimore City DPW’s Sewer Consent Decree Annual Public Meeting

Advocates and Communities Demand Sewer Backup Assistance Program Expansion January 18, 2024 Contact: Well over $1 Billion of taxpayer money has been invested in underground pipe projects and improvements at the Back River and Patapsco wastewater treatment plants. Significant progress has been made. Yet rainfall and other conditions continue to overwhelm Baltimore’s sewer system and cause…

Environmental Groups Announce Landmark Agreement to Resolve Wastewater Treatment Plant Violations
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Environmental Groups Announce Landmark Agreement to Resolve Wastewater Treatment Plant Violations

Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant (Google Earth) Baltimore, MD – Blue Water Baltimore and its attorneys at the Chesapeake Legal Alliance announce today an agreement with Maryland Department of Environment and Baltimore City to address pollution violations at the state’s two largest Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs).  Working cooperatively with the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE),…

Expand Sewage Backup Assistance
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Expand Sewage Backup Assistance

Environmental Regulators Order Baltimore City to Expand Sewage Assistance Program – Rain or Shine July 13, 2023 The Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment have ordered Baltimore City to expand a program that helps homeowners who have suffered a sewage backup due to problems in the city’s aging sewer pipes, fulfilling…

Baltimore’s Waterways Will Not Be a Dumping Ground for Toxic Contamination
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Baltimore’s Waterways Will Not Be a Dumping Ground for Toxic Contamination

Advocates push back against an EPA mandate to accept East Palestine, OH wastewater March 25, 2023 Baltimore, MD – Blue Water Baltimore, home of the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, rejects the mandate from the U.S. EPA that toxic contamination and carcinogens will pass through our City and flow into the Back River from an environmental disaster…

Baltimore’s Sewage Issues Are Rooted in Racial Injustice

Baltimore’s Sewage Issues Are Rooted in Racial Injustice

By Matthew Price As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and the progress toward racial justice in the U.S., we must honor King’s legacy by acknowledging the long road left ahead and recommit to fighting for racial justice everyday. In Baltimore, racial inequity continues to affect everything from life expectancy rates to commute times. And…

BWB Files Lawsuit Over Industrial Stormwater Permits
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BWB Files Lawsuit Over Industrial Stormwater Permits

On Monday, Blue Water Baltimore, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, and our attorneys at the Chesapeake Legal Alliance filed suit against the state of Maryland to fix major flaws in the industrial stormwater runoff permitting process. We are joined in this effort by Potomac Riverkeeper Network and Waterkeepers Chesapeake, represented by the Environmental Integrity Project, and Chesapeake…

Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
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Wastewater Treatment Plant Update

Photo: Kristian Bjornard/Wikimedia Commons Baltimore City’s WWTP Progress is Under Judicial Scrutiny as Parties Near Consent Decree Negotiations Over a year ago, Blue Water Baltimore, represented by Chesapeake Legal Alliance and Barley Snyder, filed a notice of intent to sue Baltimore City for violations of the Clean Water Act at the two biggest wastewater treatment…

Take Action! Public Hearing on Sewage Backup Assistance Programs
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Take Action! Public Hearing on Sewage Backup Assistance Programs

Sewage backups into peoples’ homes are a big problem in Baltimore City. When raw sewage spurts out from a basement-level toilet, bubbles up from a floor drain, or floods a washing machine, it presents a danger to residents’ health, causes damage to homes, and requires immediate attention and resources to fix.  Backups can be caused…

Press Release: Blue Water Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay Foundation to Appeal Stormwater Permit Decision
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Press Release: Blue Water Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay Foundation to Appeal Stormwater Permit Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2022 Contact:Chris LandersBlue Water Baltimore(410) [email protected] AJ MetcalfMaryland Media and Communications Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay [email protected] BLUE WATER BALTIMORE, CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION TO APPEAL CIRCUIT COURT STORMWATER PERMIT DECISION BALTIMORE, MD—Last month, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied a petition from Blue Water Baltimore (BWB), the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF),…

Victory! Mayor Scott Signs Net Zero Operations Bill
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Victory! Mayor Scott Signs Net Zero Operations Bill

On Earth Day, Mayor Scott signed Councilman Mark Conway’s bill to make City government operations net zero by 2045!  YOU made this win happen by writing to your City Councilmembers and the Mayor, posting on social media, and sharing our action alert with your friends and family. Read on for more details on this bill…