Environmental Policing Nets Gains for Maryland Worth $86 Million

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded enforcement cases in fiscal year 2007 that will produce $86.8 Million in pollution controls and environmental projects protecting Maryland’s air, water, and land. The cases include $685,135 in penalties that polluters will have to pay for violating federal environmental laws.


“Maryland residents will benefit from substantial cuts in pollution and from improvements in the way pollution is managed by these companies and industrial facilities that are now complying with the law,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “The millions of dollars these companies will have to spend as a result of our environmental policing will also produce health benefits for the public.”

EPA’s calculations of environmental benefits from its cases in Maryland include the reduction of more than 58 million pounds of chemical releases, and the cleanup of properties with contaminated soil amounting to enough soil to fill 28 football fields with three feet of dirt.

EPA’s mid-Atlantic enforcement program inspected and took action for violations associated with eight different environmental statutes. The cases ranged from environmental reporting violations to mismanagement of hazardous waste to illegal discharges of pollutants.

In addition, the agency negotiated agreements with specific violators to spend $970,000 on environmental projects helping communities.