Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold wants to extend by one year the ban on dumping coal fly ash, a material that hascontaminated wells and sparked political controversy.
“This is the right course of action to take. I am very concerned about the long-term effects fly ash dumping poses to county residents and our environment,” Leopold said in a statement.
He has introduced legislation that would extend the ban until October 2009.
The current ban will end this October.
The ban was a result of well contamination in Gambrills after the ash used to reclaim two former gravel pits leached into the water table.
Constellation Energy, which owns the ash, had stopped dumping fly ash prior to the ban and now is shipping tons of the material to Virginia. Some of the ash is produced by power plants in Anne Arundel.
The ban prohibits any dumping of fly ash, which requires a state permit.
County officials have battled with the state government on tougher regulations and reimbursing Anne Arundel for helping in the fly ash investigation.
