For Immediate Release: June 4, 2026
Contact: Theaux M. Le Gardeur (410) 967-3526
Gunpowder Riverkeeper, Gunpowderriverkeeper@gmail.com
White Marsh, Maryland. – On May 27th, 2026, Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® filed a Petition for Judicial Review in Baltimore County Circuit Court in Towson, Maryland for the Maryland Department of the Environment Discharge Permit for the Days Cove Rubble Landfill (State Permit No. 12DP3782) to ensure that the Tidal Gunpowder River and Bird River receive the protection they deserve from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® sought judicial review of MDE’s permit for Days Cove Rubble Landfill based on a belief that the permit violates the Clean Water Act by failing to set adequate concentration pollution limits for discharges into Day Cove.
“The Gunpowder and Bird Rivers are important tidal waterways which deserve to be fully protected for fishing, swimming, drinking water, recreation, and wildlife habitat,” said Theaux Le Gardeur, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper. “It is unfair for the state of Maryland to subject Marylanders to pollution when a stronger permit or a no discharge alternative would have resulted in a quicker cleanup to meet minimum water quality standards was and still is attainable.”
The Gunpowder and Bird Rivers are used by boaters and swimmers, especially along the Hammerman area of Gunpowder State Park. It’s a great area for fishing and crabbing along the Chesapeake Bay and is host to crabs, 26 species of fish including the Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon. Although the waterways have been recognized for years as impaired by various pollutants and we have lost significant Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the tidal basin, MDE chose to issue a permit that will degrade water quality further in the basin.
In early 2025, Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® received word that the Days Cove Rubble Landfill was applying for a new discharge permit. With assistance from the Widener University Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® began advocating for a much stronger discharge permit than what the operator was seeking. After alerting MDE about two flawed public notices, RIVERKEEPER® requested a public hearing. Over 200 attendees including elected officials and members of Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, Sierra Club, Joppa Development and Heritage, West Twin Rivers, Rumsey Island, and concerned, adjacent landowners gave testimony at Perry Hall Library. Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® requested and MDE issued a thirty-day extension to the comment period to allow the community to continue to voice their concerns. In October, Theaux Le Gardeur testified before the Baltimore County council which led to an unanimous resolution opposing the MDE discharge permit. Harford County Council passed its own unanimous resolution opposing the permit shortly thereafter. In the interim, Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® provided MDE and DNR with data regarding gaps present in the EPA ECHO database that reports compliance of discharges into the critical area that have occurred seemingly without state permission since 2023. Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® penned a letter to the Board of Public Works opposing the renewal of the lease in January and again in May expressing concerns that the discharge at Days Cove violated the critical area rule.
Notably, soon after the Petition for Judicial Review was lodged in the Baltimore County Circuit Court, Gunpowder Riverkeeper was informed by MDE that due to the restrictive nature of the final discharge permit the operator had terminated the permit. This termination of the newly issued discharge permit is a clear victory for clean water in answer to what Gunpowder Riverkeeper and the majority of the 700 public commenters voiced during the public comment period:“a no discharge alternative into Days Cove.”
According to the letter to interested parties from MDE, “the permittee has elected to end direct discharges and will now transport the leachate to an authorized wastewater treatment facility for disposal. This termination will take effect on June 26, 2026.”
Gunpowder Riverkeeper is represented by the Widener University Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. For the past two years Clinical Director Sarah Everhart, student attorneys Kate Schiller and Nick Smith, and Clinic Volunteer Attorney Alexandra Olah have served as counsel for Gunpowder Riverkeeper in this matter.
The Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN # 27-1517453 is categorized by the IRS under natural resource conservation and protection and was founded in 2010 by a grassroots group of fishing guides, hikers and boaters who enjoyed the natural beauty of the Gunpowder River. Our focus is on regulatory reform and compliance. We hold polluters accountable by prompting enforcement of water laws. This work strengthens public notice and public engagement in permits impacting waterways and addresses threats that include; invasive species (Didymo algae was discovered in 2008) loss of agricultural and forested land caused by residential development pressure, overuse of State Parklands, and unchecked industrial pollution along the river corridor.
