The Middle Branch of the Patapsco River in South Baltimore, looking toward the CSX swing bridge. Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works scheduled two November public meetings on how the city is meeting a consent decree that covers operations at the Back River and Patapsco wastewater treatment plants.
In an Oct. 8 announcement, the department said the consent decree, entered by the city, the Maryland Department of the Environment and Blue Water Baltimore, addresses past violations of discharge permits at the two plants. The city has to offer public meetings and post quarterly reports online for city and county residents, the release said.
The first meeting was set for Monday, Nov. 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center, 201 Reedbird Ave. The second was set for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the same hours, at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, 8201 Eastern Ave. Both were also to be streamed on the department’s Facebook page. Public Works Director Matthew Garbark said officials would discuss operational performance, capital work and related investments, and that learning stations would cover efficiency, resource recovery, pretreatment and the B’More Wise workforce program.
The meetings were free. The department encouraged advance registration but said same-day attendance was welcome, and it pointed residents to the Wastewater Treatment Consent Decree Program page for quarterly reports and more information.
