Three of Baltimore’s 10 biggest polluters will no longer have to report how much pollutants they pour into water or discharge onto land under new rules announced Thursday.
The rules enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency will increase the minimum amount of pollutants requiring a detailed report from 500 to 5,000 pounds.
According to data compiled by Maryland Public Interest Research Group from federal disclosure forms, Lesaffre Yeast Corporation will no longer have to release water or ground contamination numbers under the new rule. Grace Division Curtis Bay will no longer need to detail on-site ground pollution levels and Motiva Baltimore Terminal will be exempted from telling how many pounds of toxins they release into the Patapsco.
The Maryland PIRG report “confirms that communities across Maryland are routinely put at risk by toxic pollution linked to serious health impacts,” policy advocate Johanna Neumann said. “These toxic pollutants are the worst of the worst and pose tangible threats to public health that must be addressed.”
The report, Toxic Pollution and Health, uses information from the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory to analyze pollutants linked to serious health problems such as cancer, birth defects or neurological damage, Neumann said. Due to the EPA action this report may provide one of the last complete pictures of toxic pollution in Maryland.
– Karl B. Hille
