BALTIMORE, MD (March 17, 2005) - The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) today issued an administrative complaint and penalty for repeat violations of State sediment and water pollution control laws at the Safeway site located at 1912 Main Street in Chester, Md.

“After receiving repeated MDE site inspection reports, contractors at the site did not complete corrective actions to install approved sediment controls,” said MDE Secretary Kendl P. Philbrick. “These are continuing violations of Maryland’s sediment and pollution control laws and we must act now to protect Macum Creek and the Chester River, which lead to the Chesapeake Bay.”

MDE inspectors have been on site regularly to monitor the contractor’s actions to address the sediment control violations. The sediment control deficiencies observed during MDE inspections caused sediment to be discharged to a drainage ditch that leads to Macum Creek, a tributary of the Chester River, which is designated for shellfish harvesting.

MDE is assessing a total penalty of $43,600 against Safeway for the violations.

The Safeway site involves close to 10 acres of earth disturbance for the construction of a new grocery store and associated roadway and parking areas. During construction, Safeway and its contractors violated the approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and the approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Stormwater Permit for Construction Activity. Violations occurred on each day that the site remained in violation from Sept. 22, 2005 through Jan. 12, 2006.

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