Community members and lawmakers are pushing back against an effort by Days Cove Rubble Landfill to more than double the amount of leachate it discharges into two nearby rivers.
Leachate is the contaminated liquid that forms when rainwater passes through a landfill or waste materials. If the state approves the request, the landfill in Baltimore County would be allowed to increase the daily limit from 12,000 gallons to 25,000 gallons.
The proposal is sparking outrage, and one Baltimore County councilmember plans to introduce a resolution to shut the landfill down altogether this month.
“The county government needs to take a position on this. There’s no benefit to Baltimore County. It’s completely beneficial to those making a profit,” said Republican Councilman David Marks. “It’s time to not only oppose the permit, but also ask that the state not renew the lease for this property.”
Marks is not the only one raising concerns about the permit’s impact on the community. Hundreds of residents and many county and state representatives attended a recent public hearing to oppose it. Speakers highlighted risks to the river’s recreational use, harm to local ecosystems, and potential economic consequences.
Days Cove Rubble Landfill is an 83-acre rubble landfill located in White Marsh, Baltimore County, near the Bird and Gunpowder Rivers. The landfill opened in 1991 and initially hauled leachate offsite to the Back River Water Treatment Plant, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) factsheet. In 2023, the landfill began disposing of treated leachate into the watershed.
Days Cove wants to increase its maximum discharge allowance per day due to the “treatment plant’s current setup and operational efficiency treating the leachate,” according to the factsheet.
The landfill has a history of permit violations. From April 2023 to February 2025, the landfill exceeded its permit limits 20 times, according to the agency’s website. They were fined $15,000 by the Water and Science Administration Compliance Program for exceedances that occurred in 2023, according to the factsheet.
Days Cove Rubble Landfill did not reply to requests from Capital News Service to comment.
After its hearing in Sept., the MDE pushed the period for public comment from Sept. 22 to Oct. 22. After review, the MDE plans to publish a comment response document and make a final decision on the permit.
“We encourage everyone who would like to provide comments to submit them to us in writing. We will carefully consider all comments as we make a final determination on this application,” said Jay Apperson, communications director of MDE.
Del. Ryan Nawrocki, R-Baltimore County, was one of the lawmakers to attend the hearing. He is concerned that the permit allows for “backsliding” and could lead to areas with low dissolved oxygen levels or “dead zones” in the river.
“People on the far left to the far right and everywhere in between are saying this is not a good project. You don’t often get that in today’s world,” said Nawrocki.
Theaux Le Gardeur serves as the executive director of the Gunpowder Riverkeeper non-profit organization. The organization works to protect, restore and conserve the watershed through education, advocacy and environmental monitoring.
Gardeur said he is concerned that the public notice for the permit application did not include key information, such as the presence of endangered species in the watershed and total amount of discharge allowed per day.
“It is important for people to understand that if endangered species are within the basin it would be reasonable to assume that the public notice would indicate that,” said Gardeur. “That should indicate stricter permit conditions, rather than looser permit restrictions.”