Proposed revisions to the Days Cove Rubble Landfill’s discharge permit are sparking opposition from elected officials and residents of Baltimore and Harford counties, who worry that the wastewater could affect area waterways.
The roughly 83-acre rubble landfill in White Marsh, situated on a peninsula formed by Days Cove and the Bird and Gunpowder rivers, is seeking to renew its existing permit and modify it to discharge up to 25,000 gallons per day of treated leachate, or liquid filtered through waste in a landfill, into the river basin — doubling the flow that is already allowed.
Speaking Tuesday at a public hearing held by the Maryland Department of the Environment in Perry Hall, Lindsey Crone, executive director of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, said granting the revised permit to the rubble landfill, which accepts construction materials like brick, concrete, drywall and asphalt, would be a “major setback” to the Gunpowder River.
“This weaker permit allows more pollution with less oversight, and abandons the promised treatment upgrades,” she said, later adding: “Bottom line is, the landfill is already harming our rivers — MDE should not issue a weaker permit, we need a stronger one.”
Theaux Le Gardeur, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, said the proposed permit “backslides” with its less strict requirements — something that is prohibited under the federal Clean Water Act.
Area residents and environmentalists also see the facility’s previous compliance issues as red flags.
The landfill previously took its treated leachate offsite, disposing of it at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant. While the facility received a permit in 2013 to discharge the treated wastewater to surface waters, it continued taking it offsite until April 2023.
However, the landfill has exceeded the limits of its existing discharge permit 20 times from then through February 2025 — though 14 of those instances occurred in the first five months, according to a draft fact sheet from the environmental agency.
“Why would you even consider letting a permit be applied for when they violated the permit they have 20 times?” said Josh Sines, president of the Essex-Middle River Civic Council, which represents several eastern Baltimore County communities.
John Berry, president of the Rumsey Island Residents Association in Harford County, said he and his community are “fed up” because the area, just north of the landfill, has been “inundated” with muddy runoff from other construction projects.
“Unless the discharge is as clean as our waterways are, there’s going to be pollution,” he said.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, an Upper Falls Republican, said he planned to introduce a resolution at the next council meeting urging the county to oppose the plan and shut down the plant.
The public comment period on the proposed permit revisions was extended and will remain open until 5 p.m. Oct. 22.
This article will be updated.
Have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at najones@baltsun.com.