Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources Josh Kurtz speaks at the release event for the 2025 Chesapeake Bay report card from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science on June 10, 2025. (File photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources thought it had inked a deal that would shutter a Baltimore County landfill by the end of 2029, paving the way for the acreage to be added to the adjacent Gunpowder Falls State Park about three years later.
But the deal hit a speed bump Wednesday at the Maryland Board of Public Works, which must approve the agreement, as questions swirled from environmental groups.
Though the agreement was originally on the board’s agenda for Wednesday, the natural resources agency withdrew it after pushback from the board. If a resolution is reached, the agenda item could reappear for the next meeting on May 20, but any further delays could prove problematic, since the landfill operator’s current lease with the state expires May 29.
The Days Cove rubble landfill in White Marsh, which accepts construction and demolition debris, sits on land owned by the state, and is about 78% full, according to DNR. The agency wants to let the dump continue operating for another three-and-a-half years, until it fills with debris. That way, the state would not need to pay to fill the landfill itself.
The state estimates that if the landfill were to close immediately, filling it in order to use it for activities such as hiking and biking would cost $14 to $18 million, based on the results of a study conducted by the Maryland Environmental Service.
The life of Theaux Le Gardeur, guardian of the Gunpowder River
“At the end of the day, we want the same thing as the advocates, which is a better environmental situation for the Gunpowder and for the bay,” Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources Josh Kurtz said in an interview Wednesday. “And we feel strongly that the only way to get there is with this new lease, with all of these improved stipulations.”
The Gunpowder Riverkeeper, Theaux Le Gardeur, is among those urging the state to “pump the brakes.”
Ideally, the landfill closure date would be sooner, Le Gardeur said. But the riverkeeper group — and the public — don’t have access to the MES study or the lease deal with the private landfill operator, which the state says must remain confidential until the lease is signed.
“Of course we’re trustful — but we need to verify,” Le Gardeur said.
LeGardeur said he also still does not have the most recent environmental reports about the landfill, specifically its discharges into the environment during the first quarter of 2026.
“What we’re asking is: Let’s see what the cards look like before making a decision. Let’s see what the analysis is – not only on a quicker path to closure, but on facility compliance,” said Le Gardeur, who is also running for Baltimore County Council as a Republican.
In 2024, the Maryland Department of the Environment fined Days Cove $25,500, according to a letter obtained by Le Gardeur, over 26 exceedances of pollution limits between April and December 2023. The department wrote that, although the landfill operator later made upgrades to fix issues, it still believed “a penalty is warranted to resolve the historic effluent violations.”
The Department of the Environment just issued a new permit to the site, which governs, in part, the landfill leachate that discharges into the environment. The Gunpowder Riverkeeper is still closely reviewing the document, Le Gardeur said, and it has until May 28 to challenge the permit.
Dels. Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki (R-Baltimore County), along with Sen. J.B. Jennings (R- Baltimore & Harford), joined Le Gardeur in urging the Board of Public Works — comprised of three Democrats in the governor, the state treasurer and the comptroller — to vote against the deal.
“I oppose renewing the lease unless the concerns raised by multiple environmental groups are properly addressed,” Szeliga wrote. “Organizations such as the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, and others have called for improved monitoring, a shorter lease term, and additional safeguards.”
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Harford County Councilmember Nolanda Y. Robert, a Democrat, also joined the chorus. She asked the board to deny the lease, “consider a significantly shortened lease term that prioritizes closure and site reclamation” and “require full transparency and disclosure of all environmental, operational, and compliance data.”
If the new lease is not approved, the landfill’s prior lease would take hold, according to DNR. And agency officials argue that the old lease, negotiated in 2015, has far fewer protections for the state. Though DNR maintains it cannot show the lease, the agency says it’s been meeting with environmental advocates routinely, and explaining the lease provisions.
Under the proposed new lease, the landfill operator would have to pay DNR a $5 million penalty if it doesn’t complete a detailed set of closure procedures as required. The lease also calls for a third party to complete the closure and capping process.
“The opposition, in my opinion, stems from them not being able to read the specifics of the lease,” Kurtz said. “But I think the important thing is they can read the specifics of the old lease — and the old lease has no protections for the environment and for the state when it comes to closure.”
The new lease also resolves an issue with an escrow account intended to be used for the landfill’s closure. The state was to create the escrow account, fueled by tipping fees from haulers, under former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). But the landfill company created the account, meaning it doesn’t sit in state hands. The new lease would transfer the approximately $7 million escrow account to the state after closure.
“Not that I think the entity would do this, but there’s really nothing now that prevents them, when it closes, to just pick up and leave,” Kurtz said. “And that leaves us holding the bag.”
Originally published at Marylandmatters.Org