Shit Don't Flow Uphill

Bay Journal, Major pollution violations found at Maryland’s two largest sewage treatment plant

Following a watchdog group’s discovery of high bacteria levels in wastewater coming from one of the city’s two sewage treatment plants, an inspector for the Maryland Department of the Environment has found “numerous deficiencies and violations” at both facilities.


In visits to the city’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant in May and to the Back River plant in June, the MDE inspector found operational and maintenance problems, with key treatment equipment malfunctioning or out of order, staffing shortages and botched sampling for toxic contaminants in the wastewater.

The laundry list of problems uncovered at Maryland’s two largest wastewater plants threatens Bay restoration efforts, environmentalists warn. It also raises questions, they say, about the diligence of state regulators in ensuring compliance with pollution limits.

City public works officials are scheduled to meet Friday with state regulators following an Aug. 23 letter from the MDE demanding immediate corrective actions and warning the city that it faces fines of up to $10,000 per day and possible legal action by the state attorney general.

“We’re going to hold [the Department of Public Works] accountable,” MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles said in an interview. “They have a lot of explaining to do.”

In response to press queries, a spokesman released a short statement from Public Works Director Jason Mitchell. He said that his staff “has developed a strategy to get back into compliance and will be providing a timeline for compliance to MDE.”

Yep, it happens after nearly every rain. Baltimore leaks sewage into the Bay. 

I would just like to point this out to Sykes.1, who in response to my concern about sewage over pharmaceuticals in waste water in I Worry More About the Shit , commented:

These are not leaky sewers. All the sewage flowing towards Chesapeake Bay is treated first to remove various contaminants, mainly organic matter, nutrients, and pathogens. That has been the case since the 70's.

But, many pharmaceuticals pass right through the current treatment processes. This has been know for 30 years or more. Yet no solution to the problem has been put forward.

PS. Almost all the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the bay comes from surface runoff from livestock and poultry operations, not from treated sewage.

No, we haven't adequately controlled the influx of nutrients from sewage. The problems in Baltimore are long-standing and asserting it won't make it true.