BALTIMORE, Md. — Nonprofit 'Blue Water Baltimore' announced Tuesday it plans to sue 'Fleischmann's Vinegar Company' for violating federal and state clean water laws.
The nonprofit will be represented by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance. In the suit, it accused Fleischmann's of polluting the Jones Falls over multiple years.
The Falls feeds into the Patapsco River in Baltimore.
The suit alleged that the pollution comes from breaks in the building that houses Fleischmann's vinegar plant. The building sits 1,000 feet upstream from a popular trailhead for the Jones Falls Trail.
Blue Water said the pollution is very acidic and blamed it on two 'fish kills' that happened in Sept. 2021 and Oct. 2022.
In a release, Blue Water said while investigating the first fish kill, it alerted the Maryland Department of the Environment, who found that the de-chlorination system at Fleischmann's plant was not working properly.
Blue Water called on the company to fix its Baltimore plants and stop the acidic discharge from seeping out of the building.
In a release, the nonprofit said that filing the lawsuit started a 60-day notice period that's required by the Clean Water Act. After the 60 days is up, the Chesapeake Legal Alliance will look into enforcement steps against Fleischmann's.
“This action puts the power of enforcement in the hands of the people,” said Alice Volpitta, Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper with Blue Water Baltimore in its news release. “Local residents first alerted us to these problems, and we gathered the data to back up those observations. Now, we are exercising our rights under the Clean Water Act to hold this company accountable and protect the Jones Falls on behalf of our members.”
