Just 24 hours after demanding they stop, a Baltimore County judge allowed the operators of the Sparrows Point shipyard to resume dredging what activists say is toxic sediment on the bottom of the Baltimore Harbor Tuesday.
Circuit Court Judge Dana Levitz lifted the temporary restraining order he issued Monday when the Greater Dundalk Alliance could not come up with enough collateral to convince a bonding company to back a $750,000 bond Levitz required.
Alliance members must wait until Friday, when Levitz will rule on permanent sanctions. The dredging, which the shipyard operators began Dec. 8, is disturbing toxic sediments settled in the harbor, they said.
“The people who are directly affected by this are low-income, and it?s hard to defend ourselves against corporate America,” said Sharon Beazley, who is also spearheading an effort to derail a proposed liquid natural gas facility at the shipyard.
Levitz required the bond to enable the shipyard operator to recoup its losses if he lifted the restraining order after a hearing, said Alan Silverberg, the community association?s attorney. He estimated the minimum cash needed to post the bond at $37,500 and said the group solicited funds from Baltimore County.
The county was unable to identify a legal vehicle to post the bond, said spokeswoman Ellen Kobler, but is reviewing other options.
Attorneys for the shipyard operator and its president, Vincent Barletta, declined to comment after Monday?s closed-door proceedings.
State officials said they will not renew a contract with Barletta to use nearby Hart Miller Island for dredge disposal. That gives the company until Jan. 31 to dredge.
Barletta maintains the dredging is to accommodate larger tankers at a ship-repair facility. But Dundalk activists said the dredging is related to the $400 million LNG facility proposed by Virginia-based AES Corp.
