Congressman Harris Calls on EPA to Re-Open the Sparrows Point Superfund Site Consent Decree to Prevent Release of Environmentally Hazardous Industrial Waste

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Andy Harris M.D. (MD-01), sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging a review of the environmental and financial risks posed by U.S. Wind's Maryland Offshore Wind Project and the company's plan to manufacture turbine parts at the Sparrows Point Superfund Site in Baltimore County, Maryland.

The letter also raises concerns over the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) decision to approve the project without requiring a proper decommissioning bond to ensure proper removal of the windmills at the end of the project. Without this bond, American taxpayers could be forced to pay the enormous cost of clearing industrial debris from the ocean floor at the end of the project's service life if the developer defaults on the project.

The Sparrows Point site remains under a 1997 EPA consent decree governing any industrial activity on the Superfund Site property and mandating ongoing environmental cleanup. The letter calls on the EPA to reopen the agreement, warning that U.S. Wind's plan to manufacture turbine components on the site violates the intent and restrictions of the 1997 consent decree with respect to the release of environmentally hazardous waste from the Superfund Site.

Statement from Congressman Harris:

"The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's decision to advance the Maryland Offshore Wind Project - and numerous offshore wind projects like it - without requiring a decommissioning bond demonstrates a concerning disregard the environment and the American taxpayer. This failure shoulders American taxpayers with costly liabilities all while bringing irreversible environmental damage to Maryland's coastline and marine ecosystems.

The 1997 Consent Decree provides the EPA authority to govern activities at the Sparrows Point Superfund Site, consistent with the EPA's statutory responsibility to protect the environment from irreversible industrial pollution. The installation of well over 100 industrial wind turbines without an adequate and mandated decommissioning bond constitutes the release of hazardous industrial waste onto Maryland's Coastline - a totally preventable environmental catastrophe.

The EPA must assert its authority and act immediately to ensure proper oversight of the Sparrows Point Superfund Site and protect our coastal communities from industrial pollution and habitat destruction."

To read the full letter, click HERE.

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