Posted on 07/06/2016 9:10:03 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Business owners in White Marsh are suing Baltimore County and the state over highway improvements and environmental projects that they say have caused chronic flooding on their properties.
The Maryland Transportation Authority spent $1.08 billion widening Interstate 95, adding express toll lanes and reconfiguring exit ramps between Interstate 895 and White Marsh Boulevard. Baltimore County has spent $15.5 million on White Marsh Run over the past two years.
The work was intended to improve the flow of highway traffic through the area and reduce runoff into local waterways. County officials say the stream restoration was designed so that it could not increase the flooding downstream. But property owners say flooding has worsened.
"It is really a safety hazard," said Joyce Ciampaglio, whose company owns a building next to White Marsh Run. "It really gets scary."
Workers have repeatedly been trapped by floods, Ciampaglio said. One storm pushed water levels over four feet high, sending it through a loading dock and into the building. Ciampaglio's company, Standard Realty, spent thousands repairing the damage and some of the tenant's equipment was also damaged.
Next door, Better Engineering has lost dumpsters that were washed away after heavy rainfall. The owners have built a wall around an electrical transformer to keep floodwaters away, and are paying $20,000 a year for flood insurance — though the site is not officially in a flood plain.
Business owners say the problems began after a series of state and local construction projects. They are suing to try to force a fix and to recover damages for lost property value.
Baltimore County re-engineered a 1.5-mile stretch of the stream and created new wetlands to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution that flows from the stream into the Bird River.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
After millions spent on improvements to highway, stream, White Marsh business owners say flooding has worsened
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Don’t worry, the EPA will claim it’s now a “navigable waterway” and fine them into bankruptcy.
It seems as if the county has succeeded in reducing the runoff flow into local waterways.. I guess they forgot the water has to go somewhere.
Repent!!!! Not so hard.
ironic...in the past few years my city spent billions to improve traffic flow and it’s only gotten worse...there’s has to be a correlation.
Hint to property owners...
Don’t build on a location named for a marsh.
My first interview after resigning was at Better Eng!
They make massive cleaning equipment and would be disastrous to have flooding ruin it.
Figures. I hate the new “express” lanes as is. Totally confused from the old days of straight-forward directions on 95. Never mind their nonsense of trying to preserve evrything for The Environment(TM), which doesn’t work half the time.
It has been a major business area for decades. This is a very recent issue.
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