BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland environmental officials have approved a coal ash landfill with pollution controls to address concerns about power plant waste contaminating nearby areas.
Constellation Energy plans to dump 200,000 tons of ash on the 65-acre tract in Southeast Baltimore from three Baltimore area coal-burning power plants. The landfill is the first new disposal site for power plant waste to be approved since 2007, when it was discovered that wells in Gambrills were contaminated with waste from a nearby dump. Constellation paid a fine and reached an out-of-court settlement with residents.
The new landfill must have a plastic liner to keep contaminants from groundwater as well as monitoring wells. Ash also must be wetted daily to prevent it from becoming airborne.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
