We at Blue Water Baltimore would like to express our gratitude to the first responders and local, state, and federal agencies for their ongoing work at the Francis Scott Key Bridge. We also want to thank everyone who has kept us updated on the situation on the ground and in the water by using our…
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…
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),…
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…
From Tony Bridges, Executive Director of Blue Water Baltimore: The drinking water crisis in West Baltimore is a stark reminder of the systemic problems with Baltimore’s water infrastructure—a problem built over decades that presents an ongoing threat to the health of our neighbors and waterways. The mishandling of the communication from Baltimore City to the…
Baltimore, MD – Blue Water Baltimore (BWB), home of the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, is proceeding in its federal case against Baltimore City originally filed in December 2021 for excessive pollution and ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act at the Patapsco and Back River Wastewater Treatment Plants. The parties previously agreed to temporarily pause…
Baltimore, MD – Blue Water Baltimore (BWB), home of the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on Wednesday against Baltimore City for excessive pollution and ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act at the Patapsco and Back River Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). BWB is…
Baltimore, MD – Blue Water Baltimore (BWB), partnering with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), today filed a petition for judicial review of the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permits recently issued for Baltimore City and County. These permits, reviewed and re-issued every five years by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), provide requirements for municipalities to address pollution and flooding caused by…
In anticipation of Baltimore’s plastic bag ban, we’re partnering with the Office of Sustainability on a design contest for reusable bags to give out to city residents. Earlier in January, before we fell into the grips of a global pandemic, Baltimore City passed a plastic bag ban to protect our streets and streams from this…
I was grateful to see front page coverage of a critical and growing issue in Baltimore — how we effectively deal with urban stormwater (“As Maryland pours millions of dollars into its ailing streams, research shows some projects don’t help clean Chesapeake Bay,” Jan 2). As we enter a new decade, we must think more holistically…