Ridgway “Ridge” Hall (1941-2023)

Last weekend, a memorial service was held by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Ridgway “Ridge” Hall, who was a true friend not only to the Bay, but to Blue Water Baltimore over the years.  You can learn more about Ridge’s incredible life and impact in a recent interview with the Choose Clean Water Coalition.

Back in 2010, before the merger that created BWB, Ridge was the pro-bono attorney who guided Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper to success in our lawsuit against Severstal & R.G. Steel, who were the operators of the old Bethlehem Steel factory in Sparrows Point at the time.  The site was leeching toxic and carcinogenic contamination into the ground and water, and nobody would take them on because they were the largest employer in the state of Maryland.  But because of Ridge’s determination, keen intellect, unparallelled expertise, and tenacity, the Sparrows Point peninsula has been restored from an abandoned, hazardous waste site to a thriving redevelopment that provides good jobs for local residents.  I asked Ridge to write about the case for us in 2021 – please give it a read if you have some time to spare.  This was Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper’s first big case – we wouldn’t be where we are today without him.

Ridge has been a constant presence for us since our founding.  I am a better person for having known and worked with Ridge; the Patapsco and Back Rivers and surrounding communities are cleaner and healthier because of his work.

Thank you for taking some time to learn about Ridge’s work. He left Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay a better place than he found it, and we will miss him.

Alice Volpitta,
Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper
Blue Water Baltimore