CURTIS BAY, Md — In 2022, people living in Curtis Bay sued CSX after an explosion at a coal exporting facility in December 2021.
Recently, the company reached a settlement with the community for $1.75 million in a class action lawsuit.
But neighbors say that money will not solve their problems.
In December of 2023, a scientific study confirmed the presence of coal dust in the air.
David Jones, who has been advocating for this issue for years, says it's been difficult for the community to fight the company on its own.
He says he wishes the community had support from elected officials.
“We can’t get our governor to come here. We couldn’t get the mayor to come here. We couldn’t get any elected officials to show up today, and what does that show you? That shows they don’t care about us unless they are getting our vote," says David Jones.
The community decided to take matters into its own hands.
“We had our signs, and we had our banners and stuff, and we rallied here first at the pavilion over there, and we took it down the street," says Angela Shaneyfelt.
They placed signs, banners, and an eviction notice on the fence at the CSX facility.
The facility quickly removed all of the signs after the rally.
WMAR reached out to CSX for a response to the rally. It said, quote:
“CSX is proud of its nearly 200-year history in Baltimore and the Curtis Bay area. Our coal pier operations adhere to strict regulatory standards, and we regularly invest in technologies and practices that go above and beyond those standards set by federal and state governments, and maintain our own operational standards for environmental management....
it’s our focus to continue constructive discussions with the Maryland department of the environment that can lead to a better understanding of our commitment to sustainability as well as collaborative efforts to address community concerns.”
Anglea Shaneyfelt says she just wishes the company would find a better way to keep coal dust out of the air, but she says since they haven’t, she and her neighbors will continue to push back against the company.
“This has been going back and forth, and this has been crazy, like we can’t let up. That's the main thing the main focus and we’ll just have to grow our numbers," she says.
The change the neighbors say they want to see is a much more stringent permit for the company and an immediate phasing out of coal.
“And they need to stop taking profits over health and safety, bottom line, and we need our people who are put in these positions to protect us to do their job," says Jones.
The next step for the community is to take its efforts to Annapolis and plead with elected officials for help so the community can have clean air.
