Residents of a Pasadena neighborhood are speaking out against what was supposed to have been a routine permit renewal for a local company to continue disposing of manganese on its site along Curtis Creek.
Erachem Comilog Inc., which refines raw manganese into products used in fertilizers, electronics, water filtration and pet food, has been disposing its treated wastewater into local waterways for more than 30 years.
Every five years, the company renews its permit application with the Maryland Department of the Environment, usually attracting little attention from neighbors or activists. But this time, some environmental activists in the strip of beaches near Fort Smallwood Road known as the Marley Neck Peninsula have said enough is enough.
"It's ludicrous," said Lester A. Ettlinger, a resident and environmental consultant who requested a public hearing on the permit, which was held last week. "They've been doing it for 30 years, and they're going to continue to do it."
Erachem officials and environmental regulators say the company has improved its waste disposal practices and that renewing its permit won't harm the environment.
Residents were supportive this year when the Coast Guard Yard, which is adjacent to Erachem, was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list of the nation's most hazardous sites. Now some worry that Erachem and other companies' disposal of waste into the creek will erode the Coast Guard's cleanup progress.
Recent Coast Guard Yard studies indicate traces of pollutants in the sediment around Arundel Cove, including pesticides, degreasers, metals and polychlorinated biphenyls.
The studies also have shown high levels of the metallic element manganese in Arundel Cove, where Erachem funneled its wastewater in the early 1990s. It now uses Curtis Creek.
When inhaled in high concentrations, manganese can cause central nervous system disorders. The EPA doesn't have a standard for the acceptable levels of manganese in discharge water, leaving states to determine what's appropriate. Maryland hasn't set a standard.
Edward F. Stone, chief of MDE's Industrial Discharge Permits Division, said that while he's concerned about the levels and wants to further study the creek, the manganese poses no threat to humans. But, he said, it could harm aquatic life.
Stone said Erachem has become more ecologically conscious over the years. He noted a water-recycling program the company developed in the early 1990s, which reduced the amount of its wastewater from 1 million gallons a day in 1990 to 60,000 gallons a day now.
Coast Guard Yard environmental engineer Howard Galliford agreed, calling his Erachem neighbors "very cooperative."