BALTIMORE – City council members held a second hearing Wednesday night to understand what led to the explosion at the CSX Transportation coal facility late last year.
The explosion happened on Dec. 30, 2021, at a coal silo on Benhill Avenue. It shattered windows and damaged homes. Nobody was killed or injured.
Wednesday was the first time CSX representatives were present at a hearing, said one Curtis Bay resident.
CSX has operated out of Curtis Bay for 140 years, said Brian Hammock, the vice president of State Government Affairs for CSX. He said the explosion was caused by a building of methane on the conveyor belt that wasn’t being ventilated.
“An inadequate ventilation led to the accumulation of methane,” said Hammock, who added that he did not know whether this was a pre-existing issue at the plant.
The Baltimore City Council also pressed members of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
“As pollution regulators, we expect facilities that we regulate and permit to be operating safely and not exploding,” said Chris Hoagland of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The department said methane monitors will be installed at CSX moving forward.
But Councilwoman Phylicia Porter (D-District 10) asked why the methane levels haven’t been monitored in the past.
Residents who testified Wednesday said the air pollution this explosion caused has been around for decades because of this coal plant.
“We’ve spoken to nearly 500 residents who have detailed to us their experiences and the health challenges that are being fueled by the work of CSX,” Ray Conaway, co-president of the Curtis Bay Community Association, said.
CSX faces more than $100,000 in fines in OSHA penalties from this explosion.
Porter ended the hearing by saying that she plans to talk to Mayor Brandon Scott about immediately suspending operations at the CSX Curtis Bay Coal Terminal.