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Last Thursday, February 28, 2008 I broke THIS STORY as BREAKING NEWS. Yesterday I received a reply from Jim Finneran in Rick Pollitt's Office stating the following:
Joe:
We are looking into this. For now, I am excerpting some comments from a response we received from a consultant after forwarding your questions.
When I say “looking” I mean that acting PW Director John Redden is “on it” in concert with MDE.
“One comment that is specific is about the Salisbury Paleochannel – the answer to that one we know very well, the landfill is not near the Paleochannel; we had to check that out during the Phase II and III work that we did in the early 1990’s, and I can pull that information together early next week if you’d like. As for the other comments about illegal dumping, landfill fires, and springs at the ponds near the landfill, they are harder to evaluate of course. But we do know that there is a very long record of environmental monitoring around the landfill that has characterized the quality of groundwater and surface water, and that the data has been reviewed by MDE. The email from Alberobutzo@wmconnect.com seems to recount many of the issues and concerns that we were dealing with back in the early 19990’s, when MDE raised serious concerns about the operation of the landfill and when Wicomico County entered into a consent agreement with MDE to construct substantial environmental upgrades to the site; a lot of money was spent then to address MDE’s concerns . As the data shows, the efforts over the past 10 years or so have resulted in substantial improvements to the quality of the environment at the landfill site.
The issues raised by Alberobutzo@wmconnect.com are, of course, valid questions and concerns. I believe that the best way to address them is to first look at the environmental monitoring data for Mr. Shea and Mr. Pollitt and explain to them how the data shows that the landfill is being appropriately managed to protect the environment, and then develop an approach for discussing the results with others (including, if you would like, Alberobutzo@wmconnect.com).
I will send you a more detailed email on Monday that replies to both of the messages from Alberobutzo@wmconnect.com. I assume that you will pass this information on to the appropriate parties within the County, if needed.”
I am VERY pleased to see the County is taking this situation VERY seriously as there have been issues in the past but are obviously willing to face it head on, openly and honestly.
If you'll notice the photos in this Post as well as the following Post, you can see where things start and ultimately end. I can assure you, 99.9% of the County and City residents would have never believed this could have been possible. How do you take a Lake inside the Landfill and have it end up dumping into the Wicomico River?
I'll start with the very first photo. Notice the erosion on the side of that hill. Also notice a black pipe coming into that area where an obvious heavy flow of water races down the mountain in the Landfill, into that pipe and then into that Lake. I don't care if they have rubber liners under that mountain, the run off is making it into a Lake and then it is pumped out from the lowest level into a series of man made ponds. The first pond clearly shows the lime green color of the water. Now is that normal this time of year?
The water then flows out of the Landfill and underneath Brick Kiln Road and heads east. When you get down to the recycling center, the water is then piped underneath that property and then travels on the south side, (into the woods) along Brick Kiln Road. It travels about a half a mile until it then crosses underneath the road again to the north side of the road. They claim there's something called Owens Creek till it hits Mitchell Pond. Well, let me assure you of one thing, there's nothing natural about it.
There's such a flow from the Landfill Lift Station that each pond overflows and ultimately finds its way to Mitchell Pond. It then flows through a series of drain pipes that go straight down, creating a natural flow to the next pond. Mitchell Pond is actually a series of 4 ponds where it looks to end at Fitzwater Street, just across from the Wicomico River and the Ship Yard there. The third photo from the last in the next Post shows where the water from the last pond near Fitzwater flows down into yet another drain area because it is then rushed out to the Wicomico River where it ends INTO THE RIVER shown in the last photo.
Now I know Mr. Pollitt's Office will do a complete investigation and as I was traveling the pathway again today one of the Public Works guys stopped and seemed very upset and wanted to know what I was doing and who I was. I told him my name was Joe and I was with Salisbury News, even though it's plastered all over my truck. He was rude, he refused to answer any of my questions, even though I fully cooperated with him 100% and gave him every answer to every question he asked.
There's a serious problem with this water Ladies & Gentlemen. Any time you're taking nasty, stinky water from a Landfill and pumping it all the way to the Wicomico River, (as unbelievable as that may be) these photos, (and I have many more) prove this is the case, there's a problem. There's NO FILTRATION whatsoever.
I have a call into the MDE on this matter and they have yet to respond. I called them 6 days ago too. Hopefully they see this Post and choose to get back with me?
Again, I exposed this a week ago and have brought it to everyone's attention again today and NOTHING in The Daily Times. Oh, that's right, many of you pay for that rag. Help me out here, besides the Obituaries and Classified, what's that paper worth again?
23 comments:
The makes Barrie's WWTP shenanigans pale by comparison -- another Sharma cover-up and scam.
Where the hell is MDE and DNR. Maybe if they didn't spend so much time and money on those hunting cabins on the Nanticoke and such.
Joe,I've dealt with MDE before.
It takes a while and they seem to pass the buck. EPA should be aware of this , it's serious. Could be
heavy metal contamination!!
That toxic run-off is nothing short of running straight into the river! Those ponds might catch solids and sediment but that water's gotta be deadly! The MDE wont return my emails from several wks ago either. Maybe the EPA? MDE's not going to do anything that will make them break their pace of a dead turtle! I wish they'd use some of that Bay clean-up money to help with things like this and all the WWTP's constantly in violations. There has got to be someone at the top we can bring this crap to their attention. All they can come up with is making chicken farmers pay for a pollution permit. Maybe Mr Harris could tell us who's bell to ring?
HipBoots
The REALLY,REALLY interesting twist to this whole question is just how much more environmental damage can the Wicomico River and Chesapeake Bay endure.
The headline of today's Daily Dissapointment is that the Legislature has set it's site on raiding the Chesapeake Restoration fund,too the tune of 50 million dollars. Are to quote one of the esteemed elected officials "I think we have a budget problem. I think everything has to be looked at". Do any of these clowns ever know any thing for sure? Except what time the Lobbist is taking them out for dinner.
My point to all of this is that some years ago,maybe 20 or so, the Legislature did exactly the same thing to a fund set up to build a new Public Safety Training Center. This fund was established and funded by charging a $5 dollar sur-charge on each traffic ticket issued in Maryland.I am talking about almost the exact,same, amount of money $50 Million.
So, there are several points to be made regarding what the Annapolis Jessie James Gang is up to this time.
With just a little less free spending while curbing some of the frills of the Legislative Castle Complex, could not Jessie and the Boys find 50 million and leave the Bay Fund alone.
Second point, am I the only one who see's similarity to the PSTC fund. Let's just let our immagination run wild for a moment. The Legislature is somewhat hesitant to raise taxes any more than necessary (OK I hear you laughing but bear with me). Why not just creat a fund like the PSTC or the Bay Clean up fund both of which were not seen as tax increase's, but fees. Two things happen if that is the case, 1-Jessie and the Boys do not get zinged for raising taxes.2-They set up a slush fund to raid at a later time if needed.
Joe
It sounds like Anon 6:53 may have a good point about the 50mill.
Wonder what Delegate Conway has to say about this,after all he is the head of the finance department.
I think it would be a great idea of someone getting samples from each pond as evidence. This must be done soon, before the waters there are altered.
Just shaking my head here. And to think the problems are just beginning. No need to say a word.
Anyone seeking office had better have some background in environmental protection, and not just lip service.
Anyone else, from either party needs to get in the unemployment line.
MDE is about as effective as Wayne and his boy Tony Boloney.
This is a vey real concern and should receive priority attention staewide. If we are getting away with such heavy polution from our land fill, how many other state landfills are doing the same thing? Now is the time to stop this misuse of sensible controls for water from the land fill and from the WWTP, before we have another "Love Cnal" on our hands!
A. Goetz
You know what the problem is?? Everyone wants to bitch but no one is willing to WORK to make a difference. Blog postings are not going to get you anywhere. Persistence with the regulatory authorities is what gets things done. Everytime the MDE guys and gals in the field write a critical report (and that happens a lot more than you think), their voices are stifled by the whiners in top city and county government positions. The whiners take their complaints up the food chain, often through the legislators, and nothing changes. You can help. Be persistent-email, snail mail or call MDE offices in Aannapolis, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE SECRETARY.
anyone know of a good independent lab, preferably out of this county?
" a critical report",all our complaints stop at the disgruntled staff desk of Gilchrest. I think its time to call Homeland Security. This is nothing short of poisoning masses of people via our waterways! Anyone caught dropping the ball on this needs to be charged with treason!
All the black pipe does is run from one side of the road to the other.See there is a road right above it that the dump trucks use for hauling sand from the pit to the landfill.The lime green color is from the sand in the pit you can also see this color at our local sand pits.
Obviously that pipe, no matter where it comes from, created a ton of water flow to create the erosion this photo clearly provides evidence of.
The Green you mention could be caused by the sand, cool. NOW, do explain the GREEN in the ponds above, not one but two? Go on, go back and look at the pictures and then try telling me I'm wrong. Now don't be so stupid to come back here and mention algae because guess what, it's MARCH and there is none! Not to a point these ponds, (not the lake) is anti freeze in color!
Nice try Dudester but, NOT!
I called the EPA from 8am til 9:30am today, finally I left a message with name n #, called the emergency # a cpl times kept getting the answering machine there too, filled out an online report, still no call back, still no email confermation. It wouldnt hurt if a few others would try too...I think it'll take a bit more persistance than you think....
HipBoots
This could be a good reason why,look up this Meromictic.
I know the water doesn't look like that during summer,IF I can recall.
Joe, If this water is so polluted, why is it full of fish, frogs, turtles, etc. If the county was trying to hide this "chemical lagoon", why would it be right along side of Brick Kiln rd, and why would they be building the collector rd complete with an overpass right through all of it so the public can see it all. If what you are talking about as far as erosion, the outfall pipe in the one pond is set at a high elevation. When water goes through that pipe and falls, it is going to disturb the sand that lies down below. I am not saying that high volumes of water dont go through it, Im just saying that with water falling the distance that water is falling can make it look worse than it is. Joe, here is a good place to take another picture. Where that pipe crosses brick kiln rd, follow the ditch back towards the landfill, on the right you will see where a couple of driveway entrances are that go into the woods. One of those entrances has a blue pipe sticking up with a lid and a lock on it. That pipe is a well head that ground water is drawn out of and tested by an idependent company. There are numerous ones around the landfill. The water tested would certainly be indicative of the water going down the ditch towards the river. BTW all runoff water around here ends up in the river some way or another.Some water gets there by way of creeks, some ditches and some stormwater pipes. There are stormwater pipes all over dumping into the river. Sure it would be nice to have little treatment plants at each one, but that isnt realistic.
Those meromictic pod dont look anything like this run-off pit. Those have 10' or better clear water on top. I've been here on the shore all of my 48yrs, I've been in every part of this shore with boots or a skiff, as yngsters we spent many summer days swimming in pit ponds. Truthfully, I've never seen water this color at this time of year. Even so, you know without a dought, any rainwater running down those mountains of trash is picking up all the toxins and poisons and its pumped straight to the river and carried straight to the bay. Think it's not harmful? Put your children in it, put your loved ones in it. You think the crabs n fish your gunna eat this summer will have any traces of it? How much of it can an adult or child store in their body before it causes problems? People, you need to call your senators, their going to take that 50mill from the Chesapeake Bay fund. They're saying it's to late to try to repair the Bay, they want the money for something else. I dont believe its too late, but I due think we need it more than ever NOW. It could be used for things like this and all the WWTP's that spew into the rivers n Bay. MD'ers pay an extra $35. or so of taxes every yr to put in that Bay Fund, now their going to steal it. You need to take the time to call them....before it is too late.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2008rs/billfile/sb0213.htm
HipBoots
Yes, run off water does make it into the river, I'll give you that. HOWEVER, it's not mechanically pumped from a lake where the runoff comes directly from Mt. Trashmore, into the lake well below ground level, then pumped up to several ponds and then PUSHED several miles through a man made system and ultimately into the Wicomico River. It's NOT natural and it's NOT right.
As for the pipe and erosion. Again, go back to the picture and notice how the water is RUSHED from Mt. Trashmore, down the hill and into that lake. You talked about rubber liners in the past, what good are they? The nasty trash is set in that mountain. Mind you, I'm talking about whatever is thrown into those garbage bags and who knows what's in them! It ultimately ends up in the River.
As for your well, I couldn't care less about testing those wells. I want the lake, ponds, streams and River tested and guess what, that's now been DONE.
You will see this information breaking on WMDT 47 News, PERIOD! Samples have been taken and are in a lab as we speak. If the water is ok, we;ll make sure it's well known. If it's not ok, someone is in deep sh!t.
I'm sure everyone will have answer here very soon.
It is my understanding that the "landfill mountain" is capped. Do you think water running down basically a shell overtop the trash, still picks up the type of pollutants you are talking about? I hope you do have the ponds tested. I am just telling you what I have observed, and present another point of view. Maybe I am blind, and if it turns out you are right I will be the first to admit I was wrong, but I do believe for what it is (a landfill full of bad sh!t) the county has probably taken great efforts to ensure that they arent sending that kind of stuff into the river. I also know the landfill was named one of the top landfills in the nation, I am not sure if that was for recycling efforts or for the whole operation, but I am sure and would hope that a landfill is checked by state and federal agencies on a regular basis.
I'm not at all disagreeing the Landfill isn't a top notch Landfill. I'm simply stating that by "pumping" water mechanically from that Landfill all the way to the River, (miles away) is not natural and has to be harmful. Keep in mind that NONE of this water is filtered in any way whatsoever.
The water is being tested and soon enough you and I will have an answer one way or the other. I'm glad to see you agree, if I'm wrong, it will be well known. If you're wrong, it too will be well known. Either way, (IMO) it just needs to be made right. The Wicomico River is a complete mess. The Salisbury WWTP and the Mayor's lies about how big these spiils are/were bother quite a bit of people.
I should add, look at the difference between Rick Pollitt and Barrie Tilghman. Barrie lied right out of the gate and kept telling lies all the way to today. Rick Pollitt, he man's up to the situation and gets right on it to assure everyone will soon be safe and secure and he is accountable, period.
I'll add, the Salisbury Zoo was one of the top 10 Small Zoo's in America, ONCE! Up until I confronted the Mayor publicly two years ago, dshe was still running around telling people the Zoo was in the top 10 Zoo's in America. Get this, the Zoo was rated one of the Top 10 Zoo's in America in 1976!!!!!!!!!! So these water tests wil;l tell you and I just how the Landfill SHOULD be rated and hopefully that top 3 rating was a recent one. I actually believe it was but we'll see.
From working in the mining industry I will say this coloring is due to the mining of the sand from the pit. I have personally have seen this coloring before. It depends on what you are mining and how deep the pit is. Most of the time water from a pit or quarry the water needs to be treated before being let into a natural stream. MDE needs to look into both the landfill and the mining of the sand.
Mining in this area is not a big thing so things like this can leave the operators as well as the public unaware of what they are doing by pumping water from a pit or quarry into a natural stream or waterway.
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