Harbor Point environmental meeting set for next month
Above: A part of the surface cap, containing plastic and synthetic clay layers, sealing the surface of Harbor Point from the chromium wastes buried beneath it.
A public meeting to air environmental and health concerns arising from the development of Harbor Point has been scheduled for Thursday, November 14, starting at 7 p.m., City Councilman James B. Kraft said today.
The meeting, postponed due to the federal government shutdown, will be hosted by the Beatty Development Group at the Morgan Stanley Building, 1300 Thames Street.
Presenters will outline the environmental remedy selected by government agencies in 1992 to bury chromium and other chemical wastes at the former Allied Chemical factory at the site.
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FOR BACKGROUND:
Residents seek answers to potential health risks at Harbor Point (9/9/13)
Environmental meeting on Harbor Point set for October 7 (9/27/13)
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The 28-acre peninsula, west of Fells Point and south of Harbor East, is set to become a $1 billion office and residential complex. Developer Michael Beatty plans to break ground for Exelon’s regional headquarters there in the near future.
Last month, the developer received $107 million in TIF tax financing from Baltimore City to build roads, parks and a bridge to the site.
No Independent Analysis, Critics Say
Citizens have raised questions about the impact of penetrating the chromium cap at the site in order to place more than 1,000 piling needed for the foundation of the Exelon Tower.
Stelios Spiliades, owner of the Black Olive Inn on Caroline Street, said he was disappointed that Councilman Kraft did not invite a Johns Hopkins environmental engineer and others who have raised questions about the migration of chromium into the harbor and other issues.
The presentation will include representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland Department of the Environment who have voiced their support of the project at other meetings sponsored by the Beatty Group.
“We sent a request to our councilman to add to the voices he has been using so far that can give an independent perspective, so we can compare and make our own decision about the wisdom of building high-rise buildings at the site,” Spiliades said today in a phone interview.
Kraft has been a strong supporter of the project and has expressed confidence that the developer’s plan to contain and remove any exposed wastes during the construction phase is adequate and will be closely monitored by the EPA and MDE.