EPA launches civil rights investigation into Baltimore’s waste disposal plan

Diving certificate:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will investigate a civil rights violation complaint filed against the city of Baltimore and its Department of Public Works over its 10-year waste management plan. A complaint filed with the federal agency says the plan, which called for continued operation of a mass incineration plant operated by WIN Waste Innovations, disproportionately impacts surrounding communities.
• The EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is investigating the case. The office enforces federal civil rights law at entities that receive federal funds, which includes the city and its department.
• The complaint was filed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Environmental Integrity Project on behalf of the South Baltimore Community Land Trust. The complainants allege that the city has failed in its responsibility to reduce pollution faced by people in the Cherry Hill, Mt. South Baltimore communities. WinansBrooklyn, Lakeland, Westport and Curtis Bay, where the population is predominantly black and Hispanic.

Diving insight:

Baltimore City Council supported the development of a zero-waste plan, released in 2020, that included a goal of eliminating 90% of materials from “burning or burying” by 2040. That plan was supported by Mayor Brandon Scott, but shortly before taking office, his predecessor entered into a contract with WIN Waste to keep the mass incinerator in operation until 2031.

The contract extension was the latest in a decades-long debate about whether the city should move away from incineration. Most recently, the city passed a law requiring strict air pollution control measures at the plant, but the law was later overturned in court. The resulting settlement led to the upgrades made by WIN.

Environmentalists in Baltimore have long been fighting the effects of Water desalination Facility, commonly known as BRESCOIn their complaint, they argue that WIN’s recent improvements are insufficient to remedy the harms suffered by disadvantaged populations.

“As a lifelong resident of South Baltimore and someone who loves my community of Lakeland, I am grateful that the EPA has accepted our complaint,” Carlos Sanchez, a youth outreach specialist, said in an emailed statement. “Every day we live with the consequences of our city’s continued missed opportunity to fund an equitable transition to zero waste away from incinerating toxic waste. The good news is that this is a solvable problem, and we are confident that our city leadership, who understands the importance of equity – will step up and do the right thing and begin to treat this issue of environmental justice with the urgency it deserves.”

The complaint challenges the city’s 10-year solid waste management plan, approved last year. In particular, the plaintiffs object to the document’s projection for the WTE plant, which states: “Until there is a general, coordinated adoption of waste diversion practices across the public and private sectors, it is likely that the plant will continue to operate at or near its current capacity.”

The complaint argues that this approach “forces the city to continue to rely on and operate the BRESCO incinerator at its current level.” Instead, the plaintiffs say, the city should chart a path to implement strategies already laid out in the city’s zero-waste plan. They point out that waste disposal facilities are concentrated in South Baltimore, where there are about 70 industrial sources of air pollution. Eliminating BRESCO, they say, would reduce the overall burden.

WIN Waste has long denied that its facility has a disproportionate impact on South Baltimore, pointing out that heavy-duty transportation emissions also contribute to air quality in the area. The company says its facility helps Baltimore safely dispose of its waste and operates “well below stringent federal and state emissions limits that protect public health and the environment,” according to an emailed statement from Mary Urban, senior director of communications & community at WIN Waste.

While the complaint specifically mentions the incinerator, it also notes that South Baltimore communities face a variety of pollution sources that collectively create a significant burden. The nearby Quarantine Road landfill received 355,000 tons of solid waste in 2021, about a third of which was incineration ash. Last year, the owner of the Curtis Bay Energy medical waste incinerator, the largest such facility in the country, also had to pay $1.75 million to fix more than 40 instances of “systemic, improper and unsafe handling, transportation and disposal of inadequately incinerated hazardous medical waste,” according to the state’s attorney general. It was one of the largest environmental penalties Maryland has ever imposed.

Marco Castaldi, professor and director of the Earth Engineering Center at the City College of New York, said his research has shown that such plants typically contribute no more than 10% of an area’s total air pollution. He said Baltimore is making rational decisions based on the city’s current waste levels.

“These ambitious ideas are very, very good. Zero waste is a very, very good idea. Until that happens, we need to have practical solutions,” he said.

But environmental groups praised the EPA’s decision to investigate the complaint, pointing out that it was a rarity. Most complaints filed through this process are dismissed without investigation, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

“Moving this case forward recognizes what we all know: moving to zero waste and away from incinerators means following the lead of local communities, especially frontline, fenceline and conservation communities who suffer most from this and other dangerous, polluting infrastructure,” said Denaya Shorter, senior director of the U.S./Canada region at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, in an emailed statement.

Leah Kelly, a senior staff attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project, called the EPA’s decision “a preliminary but encouraging step forward” in the process. She said the groups filing the complaint had several goals with the process, including waste diversion and increased organics processing capacity through composting.

“South Baltimore residents have a right to live in a clean and healthy environment,” Kelly said. “We hope the EPA’s investigation will result in real benefits for these communities after decades of decisions to add more sources of pollution to this area.”