Hart-Miller Island May Again Be Filled With Dredging From Port Expansion

Press release from Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski:

SPARROWS POINT, MD (Aug. 1, 2024) — Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski today announced the appointments of nine community members to serve on the recently-announced Hart-Miller Island Community Benefit Agreement Steering Committee which will be tasked with leading a robust public engagement process regarding the development of a potential new community benefit agreement to support Hart-Miller Island.

“As we continue supporting the reinvigoration of our regional economy following the reopening of the Port of Baltimore, we are exploring every opportunity to come back stronger than ever,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “As someone familiar with the history of Hart-Miller Island — and deeply passionate about its future— my administration is focused on leading a community-centered conversation that ensures any efforts to bolster our economy also includes significant benefits to our neighborhoods and our people.”

This past legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed HB343, which requires an approved Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) to directly support to Hart-Miller Island as a threshold component of efforts to accelerate a major port infrastructure project at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point.

To support this work, a community-led Steering Committee will be responsible for leading open discussions with core members and other stakeholders to develop options for the framework of a community benefit agreement. The Steering Committee will consist of the following nine appointees announced today:

• Paul Brylske, Chair, Hart-Miller Island Citizens Oversight Committee
• Brian Hall, Long-time community activist, Boat Captain
• Frank Neighoff, President, Chesapeake Bay Association
• Gloria Nelson, President, Turner Station Conservation Teams
• Scott Pappas, President, Fort Howard Community Association
• Josh Sines, President, Essex Middle River Civic Council
• Fran Taylor, President, North Point Peninsula Council
• Sam Weaver, Member, Hart-Miller Island Citizens Oversight Committee and Marine Trades Association of Baltimore County
• Karen Wynn, Member, Hart-Miller Island Citizens Oversight Committee and Baltimore County Commission on Environmental Quality

Due to the overwhelming interest in serving on the Steering Committee, a focus group meeting will be scheduled at a later date to capture additional input from community members who expressed an interest in membership on the committee.

Hart-Miller Island (HMI) was originally part of a chain of three islands that suffered from severe erosion for decades. In 1970, the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) proposed using dredged material to address erosion issues and restore the remnants of the two larger islands, Hart Island and Miller Island.

A dike joining Hart Island and Miller Island was constructed in 1981, and the impoundment received dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor shipping channels from 1984 to 2009. The Maryland State Legislature required the final closure of HMI in 2009.

Under the legislation approved by the Maryland General Assembly, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) could consider the placement of dredged material at the Hart-Miller Island Dredged Material Containment Facility, contingent on the approval of a Community Benefit Agreement to support Hart-Miller Island and its surrounding communities—as well as pending state regulatory compliance. Material placement would be limited to no later than December 31, 2027.

Temporary dredging material placement at the existing Hart-Miller Island Dredged Material Containment Facility would accelerate major port infrastructure efforts currently underway at Tradepoint Atlantic (TPA), the 3,300-acre global multimodal logistics hub and industrial center located at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Sparrows Point whose marine terminal remains open and is continuing to accept arrivals and provide additional capacity for redirected cargo.

In late 2022, TPA announced a joint investment and partnership with Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest shipping company to establish the Sparrows Point Container Terminal (SPCT) an on-site 165-acre container terminal with an on-dock rail facility at Coke Point.

The facility would nearly double the Port’s container capacity and serve as an additional access point for international shipping vessels to enhance and support the long-term growth of the Port. The new port is expected to directly employ 1,100 longshoreman and support 6,000 additional port-related jobs. Currently set to open in 2028, expedited removal of dredged material would significantly accelerate the new container terminal project’s timeline.

Under the legislation, TPA must enter into a Community Benefit Agreement with Baltimore County in consultation with the Hart-Miller-Pleasure Island Citizens Oversight Committee and subject to approval of the Baltimore County Council—prior to applying for dredging approval from MDE.

If a CBA is not approved by December 31, 2024, efforts to apply for approval to place of dredged material at the Hart-Miller Island Dredged Material Containment Facility would lapse.

The first meeting of the Hart-Miller Island Community Benefit Agreement Steering Committee will be held on Wednesday, August 7 at 6 p.m. at the Sparrows Point High School (7400 North Point Rd, Sparrows Point, MD 21219).

Interested community members can learn more about the Hart-Miller Island Community Benefits Agreement Steering Committee and provide feedback by visiting here.

This press release was produced by Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. The views expressed here are the author’s own.