Environment officials to hold virtual meeting about repairing explosion site in Curtis Bay
CURTIS BAY, Md. -- For Edith Gerald, facing the air outside her front door is an everyday challenge.
"Air that's so thick, you can hardly stand breathing it," she said. "You got to wait a while and sit down and say, 'Well, I can stomach it now until I can go for a walk.'"
Gerald has been living in the neighborhood for over 30 years. And she's among many residents who believe the CSX coal facility is poisoning the air and them.
Some of those residents attended a Baltimore City Council hearing last week. They went to the hearing to listen to CSX officials explain what caused the explosion at a coal silo last December. While nobody was killed or injured, the explosion shattered windows and spread coal across the community.
Those who live in the South Baltimore neighborhood describe air pollution from the facility as nothing new. They say it has existed for decades before and the months since the explosion.
The pollution is largely coming from the coal piles, black mountains of it moving in and out of the facility, located steps from the neighborhood.
"A block away, literally, you and I could walk, it could take us a minute, we'd be standing in a coal pile covered in dust," said Ray Conaway, co-president of the Curtis Bay Community Association.
The wind blows the coal into their homes, neighbors say.
"Sometimes we've seen, you know, black dust clouds," said Greg Sawtell, co-[resident of the Curtis Bay Community Association.
One resident, described to Conaway the buildup of dust on his window and even inside his windows.
"And if it's accumulating that into their homes, that means they're bringing that into their bodies and into their systems," Conaway said.
According to Brian Hammock, the vice president of State Government Affair, last December's explosion was caused by a buildup of methane.
"An inadequate ventilation led to the accumulation of methane," Hammock said at last week's city council meeting
In a statement to WJZ, regarding what Conaway and other residents alleged during last week's meeting, CSX defended its track record of operating in the city.
"The CSX Curtis Bay facility has played a critical role in Baltimore for over 140 years," the statement said. "While the December 30, 2021 incident was unprecedented, there were no injuries. Since the incident, CSX has improved airflow and monitoring in the tunnels while continuing to work with industry experts and regulatory agencies to ensure employee and public safety."
"After a comprehensive third party investigation, the primary causes of the isolated incident were the localized presence of methane, and a relatively low concentration of coal dust. CSX has addressed this issue by improving airflow and by continuously monitoring for the presence of flammable gasses to ensure that an incident of this nature never happens again"
The statement said CSX hds provided all information requested by regulatory agencies and we are looking forward to soon restoring operations to full capacity to help ensure regional energy reliability and a steady stream of energy exports to Europe as they deal with supply and energy challenges brought on by the war in the Ukraine.
Conaway described the elements that led to the explosion as "carelessness."
"The methane that went unchecked led to the explosion…the carelessness that led to the explosion is what alarmed me the most," Conaway said of CSX's explanation.
It's a carelessness many people are uncomfortable with and why the community is taking matters into their own hands, installing air monitors throughout Curtis Bay, hoping it'll reinforce what they already know.
"Breathing concerns health issues, asthma, these are the real signs that there's a problem . . . the point of doing this monitoring work is to add additional tools so that residents are finally able to work towards getting somewhere close to justice," Sawtell said.
After last week's City Council hearing, Councilwoman Phylicia Porter said she'd speak to Mayor Brandon Scott about terminating the operations at the CSX coal facility.
This Thursday, the Maryland Department of the Environment is holding a virtual hearing to discuss the construction of a tunnel and other equipment damaged in the explosion.
The Maryland Department of the Environment said in a statement to WJZ that the informational meeting is on the draft permit for the construction of the tunnel and associated equipment to replace the equipment that was damaged in the explosion.
The draft permit requires the installation of methane monitors in the tunnel that will be paired with an enhanced ventilation system to ensure that methane remains below combustible levels, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
"Since the explosion, MDE has engaged in a community partnership for environmental improvements in the area, including supporting a community-led local air monitoring network. MDE has also launched an enhanced compliance initiative in the area to perform intensive inspections at pollution sources in the community," the department said in its statement. "Additionally, MDE took enforcement action against CSX for air pollution violations resulting from the explosion, complementing OSHA's action for safety violations at the facility."
MDE is currently in discussions about a settlement ahead of litigation.