JOPPA, Md. – A local environmental group filed a motion Monday to join the Maryland Department of Environment’s lawsuit against the developers and builders of a Harford County housing project, citing hundreds of water pollution violations.
Theaux Le Gardeur, the executive director of the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, which advocates for protection of the Gunpowder River’s watershed and its tributaries in the upper Chesapeake Bay region, said in a statement that it was “imperative that we have a seat at the table” to hold the housing developer accountable for “the damage done to the environment and continued failure to comply with state law.”
“We are intervening to provide the first-hand knowledge that our communities have about the impact of these violations and to support (the Maryland Department of the Environment),” he said.
In August, Le Gardeur’s organization sent the developer, D.R. Horton, and its affiliated companies a letter notifying them of the organization’s intent to file a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act. Through the civil suit, Gunpowder Riverkeeper sought to enforce ongoing and continuous alleged violations coming from the construction site at Ridgely’s Reserve, a 388-home development spanning nearly 121 acres.
On Sept. 6, the Office of the Attorney General filed a complaint in Harford County Circuit Court against D.R. Horton, its development subsidiary Forestar Real Estate Group, and a Pennsylvania contractor, Kinsley Construction, on behalf of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The Gunpowder Riverkeeper’s intent to file a citizen suit at the federal level may have “triggered another parallel step, you know, from the state agency,” Le Gardeur said.
Now, Gunpowder Riverkeeper seeks to join in the state’s case and advocate on behalf of the affected communities it serves in Harford, Baltimore and Carroll Counties.
“We expected the Gunpowder Riverkeeper to join our lawsuit, and we welcome this action,” Jay Apperson, deputy director of the office of communications for the state environment department, said in a statement to Capital News Service.
D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in the country, operates the construction site, located nearly two miles from the Gunpowder River. The site used to be covered with trees and other vegetation, but since developers cleared the site and began construction in 2021, the state has cited repeated failures to prevent the exposed soil from leaving Ridgely’s Reserve.
Between May 2022 and June 2024, Maryland Department of the Environment and Harford County inspection reports revealed at least 86 failed inspections with hundreds of permit violations. The state and Harford County also issued 10 Stop Work Orders and levied $20,000 in fines.
Residents have complained about increasing sediment levels causing nearby waterways to appear murky orange and brown for nearly two years. The once-thriving aquatic grasses have nearly disappeared, along with what used to be a vibrant fish and crab population, Le Gardeur said in an interview with CNS.
“But now we’re seeing, you know, impacts from upstream development that are really hard to ignore,” Le Gardeur said.
By joining the state’s case as an intervener, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper is a full party to the case.
“We can do everything,” said Patrick DeArmey, attorney for the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, in an interview with CNS, including supporting discovery and negotiating a settlement.
D.R. Horton did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
The court may take a couple of weeks to decide whether to grant the Gunpowder Riverkeeper’s request to join the state’s case, DeArmey said.
Learn more about this issue in a feature article covered by CNS reporters: “No grass, no crabs”: Maryland community grapples with Gunpowder River mud pollution