EPA moves ahead with civil rights complaint over toxic chemicals inhaled from trash incinerator

BALTIMORE -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it will move forward with a civil rights complaint from a South Baltimore community related to the Baltimore Refuse Energy Systems Company's (BRESCO) trash incinerator on Russell Street.

The South Baltimore Community Land Trust says exhaust from that incinerator is full of toxic chemicals that impact the health and quality of life of residents in the area.

"Everyone is feeling the effects"

For those living under the shadow of Maryland's largest trash incinerator, air pollution, which often comes with a foul smell, is a constant presence.

"Everybody is well aware that the air quality is not really all that great in the area, and that's the primary reason for it," said Samir. "Everyone is feeling the effects."

What the complaint says

The complaint targets the city's Ten Year Solid Waste Management Plan, saying it doesn't do enough to divert trash from the incinerator. 

The complaint says toxic chemicals produced by the plant are disproportionally impacting Black and Hispanic communities in South Baltimore.

"The EPA is investigating this as a possible civil rights issue because there's a lot of people of color and lower-income people that are breathing in this particulate matter, mercury, and other very dangerous pollutants from the Baltimore trash incinerator," said Tom Pelton, spokesperson for the Environmental Integrity Project.

The civil rights complaint was filed under Title VI, which states people cannot be discriminated against in any program or activity funded by the federal government.

The complaint says there are 279 sites within the immediate area in South Baltimore that report to the EPA with 70 industrial sources of air pollution regulated by the state in the impacted area.

Contract renewed

Baltimore City recently renewed its contract with the operator of the incinerator despite Mayor Brandon Scott previously saying he planned to close the plant.

Community response

"As a lifelong South Baltimore resident and someone who loves my community of Lakeland, I'm thankful for EPA's action to accept our complaint," said Carlos Sanchez, with the South Baltimore Community Land Trust. "Every day we live with the consequences of our city's ongoing missed opportunity to budget for a just transition to zero waste away from toxic trash incineration." 

"The good news is this is a fixable problem and we are confident that our city leadership, who understand the importance of equity, will step up and do the right thing and begin to treat this environmental justice issue with the urgency it deserves." 

While the Environmental Integrity Project says the EPA's decision to accept and investigate their complaint is a promising step, the nonprofit says they would ultimately like to see Baltimore move away from trash burning altogether.

"And focus more on waste reduction, more on composting and alternatives, to just burning the trash and putting all of that pollution up in the air," Pelton said.