FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts
[email protected]
410-576-7009
Settlement Provides Funding for Community-Driven Remediation
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Serena McIlwain today announced a $4.1 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit against the Ridgely's Reserve housing development for water pollution that harmed the Gunpowder River.
The settlement with the developer, homebuilder, and contractor over muddy runoff from the construction site requires enhanced measures to prevent pollution and achieve compliance with environmental laws. It also includes a $2 million civil penalty and another $2.1 million for community-driven remediation projects to improve water quality and restore aquatic habitats in the Foster Branch and Gunpowder River drainage basins, including competitive grants to non-profits, community associations, and local governments for projects designed to improve water quality and restore aquatic habitats in the watersheds.
“Maryland's rivers and streams are public resources that belong to every resident of this State, not dumping grounds for construction runoff," said Attorney General Brown. “This settlement holds polluters accountable and directs meaningful funding into the communities and waterways that were harmed."
“These violations were not minor. They were repeated. They were preventable. And they caused real harm to the Gunpowder River and the communities that depend on it," said Secretary McIlwain. “This settlement holds these companies accountable, stops the damage, and directs meaningful resources back into the communities and waterways that were impacted. We also thank the Gunpowder Riverkeeper for their role in this case."
D.R. Horton, Inc., Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group Inc., and Kinsley Construction, LLC are the defendants that agreed to the settlement.
The state first inspected the 121-acre housing development and related sewer line project in the Joppa area of Harford County site in 2022 in response to citizen and riverkeeper complaints about sediment-laden water downstream. MDE filed a lawsuit in September 2024 alleging that construction activities at the sites led to the unpermitted discharge of sediment into Foster Branch and the Gunpowder River. The Department asserted that these discharges caused harmful impacts to water quality and marine life, the loss of underwater grasses, and physical topography changes and habitat disruption in Foster Branch and the Gunpowder River.
The Gunpowder Riverkeeper subsequently intervened as co-plaintiff in the suit and is party to the settlement.
###