Md. to Investigate Dumping On Site in Rural Montgomery

After a Year, County Acts to Remove Debris From Pepco Land Near River

Two Maryland agencies are investigating a two-acre pile of debris that has been dumped by a landscaping firm for the past eight years on a secluded site near the Patuxent River, a source of drinking water for the region.

The dump sits on property owned by Pepco in northeastern Montgomery County and rises 20 feet in places. It contains yard and construction waste, including cable, concrete and closed canisters, said government officials who have inspected the site. At one point last year, the debris pile was smoldering and emitting steam.

County officials have been aware of the dump since early 2006, but they did not order removal of the debris or issue fines to Pepco or Kollins Landscaping, the Brinklow firm dumping on the site. The dumping stopped a year ago after a frustrated neighbor obtained a court order. Not until last month did county officials begin examining the dump's contents more closely to assess its toxicity.

Log entries made by a county investigator who examined the site in early 2006 indicate that Pepco knew about the dumping and allowed it to continue.

"Through my conversation with Pepco it is clear that they are aware that Kollins Landscaping is placing materials at this location and that they have let it go on. However this still constitutes an illegal transfer station," said a log entry written in early 2006 by Peter R. Dilima, an inspector with the county's Department of Environmental Protection. Dilima did not respond to requests for comment.

Michael Boland, associate general counsel with Pepco, disputed that assessment.

"I don't know the inspector or how accurate or inaccurate he might have been with his notes and recollections," Boland said yesterday. "We don't permit anything like this. As soon as we became aware of it, we addressed it, and the county inspector thought it had been addressed," he said.

The county's inspector general, Thomas Dagley, whose office is independent of the executive branch, referred the matter to the state attorney general's office and the state Department of the Environment last month. Both agencies have sent investigators to the site in Ashton, state and local officials said.

Dagley said the site, a few hundred feet from the Patuxent River, needs to be examined further to determine whether the dump is toxic. The river is used not only for drinking water but also for fishing and recreation.

"For allegations involving environmental crimes, it is important to the county and state investigators to coordinate," Dagley said. "Unless there is fact-finding at the state level, no one can answer the question of 'Is this an isolated dump on a Pepco site or one of many?' "

County officials said they are focusing on removing the material and pointed out that County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), who took office in December, had inherited the situation.

"We want to work with Pepco to clean it up," said Timothy Firestine, the county's chief administrative officer. "Our position is it needs to be cleaned up. It has been going on for a long time. Wrongs have certainly occurred."