A proposed container terminal project in Sparrows Point is projected to create thousands of jobs and boost the local economy. Still, it has sparked significant concerns among community members regarding its environmental implications.
Residents gathered at the North Point Edgemere Volunteer Fire Hall on Wednesday night to discuss the potential effects of the Sparrows Point Container Terminal Project on local waterways, air quality, and wildlife.
While both residents and real estate developers acknowledge the project's potential environmental impact, their proposed solutions differ.
Nora Taylor, a long-time Sparrows Point resident, expressed her worries about the project’s implications for water quality. “I know things are going to change here; the small-town feel is gone,” she noted. “But the impact as far as the water quality... I don’t want my grandchildren anywhere near the water because they can get sick from it, and it never used to be that way.”
Tradepoint Atlantic, the real estate developer behind the project, aims to make the Port of Baltimore the third largest on the East Coast, leveraging an estimated $1 billion in private investment.
According to Aaron Tomarchio, Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Tradepoint Atlantic, the project promises to create 1,100 union jobs and an additional 7,000 indirect jobs.
To facilitate this expansion, plans include widening and deepening terminals and dredging 4.2 million cubic yards of sediment. However, the project has already faced scrutiny regarding the environmental assessments and permits required before commencing.
Historically, the site was home to one of the largest steel mills globally, Bethlehem Steel, and community members have raised concerns that the dredging could disturb existing waterways and further pollute the environment.
Keith Taylor, President of the Sparrows Point Historical Society, recalled a previous attempt at a similar project in 2011 that failed due to a state risk assessment deeming it too hazardous. “In the end, the state says there’s no way we’re not going to buy this; it’s just too risky with this toxic dredge,” he said.
Tradepoint Atlantic asserts that they received approval from the Maryland Department of the Environment to conduct comprehensive risk assessments. Tomarchio says they have also developed an environmentally responsible dredging plan, which is currently under review by federal agencies.
“The data and the empirical evidence we have show that this site is being cleaned up properly, and the approach we have to developing the container terminal is going to be very community-focused and going to be environmentally responsible,” said Tomarchio.
Trade Point Atlantic has outlined four potential options for dredged sediment disposal that they call a “blended approach.”
USEPA Ocean Placement
• 157M CY of material meets the MPRSA criteria for ocean placement.
• If selected as a preferred option, the SEPA must issue a formal concurrence that the material meets the Section 103 MPRSA requirements, and the USACE must issue a Section 103 permit before the transport and placement of material at the Norfolk Ocean Disposal Site (NODS), a USEPA-designated facility.
Coal Pier Channel
• Potential capacity: 750,000 CY
• Naturally occurring containment area—uses existing native terrain and infrastructure
• Existing distressed waterway
• Very constructive
High Head Industrial Impoundment
• Industrial facility: used by Baltimore City for Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant to discharge industrial
• Non-jurisdictional onsite placement within Sparrows Point and TPA property
•1.25M CY of potential capacity in an upland facility to be built
• Will require construction of a berm wall and dikes.
Use of Existing Capacity at an Existing Maryland Port Administration Dredged Material Containment Facility
• 1.25M CY at either Cox Creek or Masonville DMCF
• Placement would occur over four years FY26- FY29
“We’re not trying to stop that process; what we want is for Trade Point Atlantic to do it cleanly,” urged Taylor.
In January, a draft environmental impact statement documenting sediment testing data will be released by Tradepoint Atlantic. Following this, several permits, including state discharge and federal water appropriation, will be required, paving the way for the project, which is expected to be completed by 2028.