In August 2022, a plume of orange, silt-laden water covers much of Maryland’s lower Gunpowder River. Aerial photos taken in summer 2023 and 2024 showed similar plumes. (Submitted photo)
By Tim Wheeler
Chesapeake Bay Journal
Acting after years of complaints from residents, Maryland authorities have filed suit against the developer and builders of a Harford County housing project, accusing them of polluting the Gunpowder River and one of its tributaries by failing to control muddy runoff from the construction site.
More than 30 inspections since May 2022 of the 388-home Ridgely’s Reserve development and a related sewer line project in the Joppa area found numerous violations of state sediment pollution and nontidal wetlands laws, according to the 94-page complaint filed Sept. 6 in Harford County Circuit Court.
The attorney general’s office, on behalf of the Maryland Department of the Environment, is seeking penalties against Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton, its development subsidiary Forestar Real Estate Group and York, Pennsylvania, contractor Kinsley Construction.
“The repeated violations at Ridgely’s Reserve demonstrate a blatant disregard for our environmental laws and the welfare of Marylanders,” Attorney General Anthony Brown said.
In addition to fines of up to $25,000 per day per violation, the state’s complaint seeks a court order requiring that the defendants repair the damage done by the pollution to the Gunpowder and its tributary, Foster Branch.
Foster Branch flows orange downstream from the Ridgely’s Reserve construction site before it reaches the Gunpowder River. Photo by Dave Harp/Chesapeake Bay Journal
Sediment pollution is a major threat to the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Rainfall and snow melt can wash clay, silt and sand off exposed soil. The muddy runoff turns streams and rivers murky, smothering fish eggs and bottom-dwelling aquatic life. It also blocks sunlight that underwater grasses need to grow.
Aerial surveys have found marked declines in submerged aquatic vegetation in the Gunpowder over the last two years, even as grass beds providing critical habitat for fish and crabs have increased elsewhere in the Bay.
“Inspection after inspection has documented problems with this project, and this pollution has caused real harm to our waterways,” MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a release announcing the lawsuit. “It is past time for this pollution to stop. We are asking the court to not only impose a financial penalty but also require that the affected waterways be restored.”
The three companies did not respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The state’s lawsuit comes a month after the Gunpowder Riverkeeper formally notified the same companies that it intended to file a federal lawsuit against them for “ongoing and continuous” Clean Water Act violations at the Joppa construction site.
Residents have been complaining for more than two years that muddy runoff from the 121-acre development was turning Foster Branch and the Gunpowder murky shades of orange and brown. They have collected about 1,000 signatures on a petition demanding action that was posted on a website titled “Mad about Mud.”
In the news release announcing the lawsuit, MDE acknowledged that it began inspecting Ridgely’s Reserve and its sewer construction sites in response to complaints from residents and the riverkeeper. Each inspection found repeated violations, including failing silt fences, bare soil that during rainstorms could become muddy runoff into Foster Branch and the Gunpowder downstream.
Ralph Comegna points to where submerged grasses once grew in profusion in the lower Gunpowder River. Photo by Dave Harp/Chesapeake Bay Journal
Although the sewer line project is finished, the lawsuit says the construction site still needs to be stabilized to prevent muddy runoff. Work continues at the housing development, though most of the homes have been built and some sold, according to MDE’s lawsuit.
A Harford County spokesman said county officials welcomed the state’s lawsuit, noting that County Executive Bob Cassilly had walked the construction site and discussed it with the MDE secretary. The county levied $20,000 in fines against the developer and stopped work at the site seven times over the past two years to require repairs to runoff controls. MDE inspections continued to find violations, most recently in July.
Bill Temmink, a Joppatowne resident who has filed multiple complaints with the county and state over muddy runoff from Ridgely’s Reserve and the sewer project, lodged another complaint the day MDE filed its lawsuit. He contended that the housing development still has a large area of bare ground that could erode away in a rainstorm.
Temmink and some other local residents who’ve complained about the muddy runoff welcomed the state lawsuit. Gunpowder Riverkeeper Theaux Le Gardeur likewise said he was encouraged.
He urged the state to insist on restoration of the damaged waterways as the focus of any resolution of its lawsuit.
“That’s low-hanging fruit,” he said, noting that the county has a pre-existing watershed restoration plan for Foster Branch.
But Jack Whisted, a retired engineer who lives along Foster Branch, said it was too little too late for him.
“The Gunpowder has been brown all summer. I feel the damage is irreparable,” he said by email.
“My disappointment over this has made me extremely sad,” Whisted added, “and makes me want to move away to better water.”