The Curtis Bay Energy company accepted a plea deal in August to pay $1 million in penalties to the Maryland Clean Water Fund for 40 counts of violation in its refuse disposal permit; the company plead guilty to failing to properly dispose medical waste, including sharp needles and other biohazards, failing to provide adequate personnel and equipment, and failing to prevent leakage during transport. They were also found guilty of concealing an unpermitted discharge outlet. Photo by Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR.
The Curtis Bay Energy company accepted a plea deal in August to pay $1 million in penalties to the Maryland Clean Water Fund for 40 counts of violation in its refuse disposal permit; the company plead guilty to failing to properly dispose medical waste, including sharp needles and other biohazards, failing to provide adequate personnel and equipment, and failing to prevent leakage during transport. They were also found guilty of concealing an unpermitted discharge outlet. Photo by Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR.

Applications for environmental health grants are now open for residents in greater Curtis Bay and communities along the Patapsco River as part of collective damages in two recent legal challenges.

When Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown fined medical incinerator Curtis Bay Energy $1.75 million for failing to properly dispose of waste and biohazards, $750,000 of that was set aside to support the residents of Curtis Bay via grants. Brown tasked Chesapeake Bay Trust with administering that funding.

Since the penalties were enacted in the fall of 2023, the CBT has held meetings with Curtis Bay residents to better understand the community’s needs, said Kathy Somoza, a program manager with the organization.

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.