Ben Grumbles Leaves Maryland Department of the Environment to Run Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
Failed environment secretary lauded for visionary leadership
By Pat Elder
May 26, 2022
Ben Grumbles Photo - ECOS
On May 9, 2022, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) announced the sudden departure of Ben Grumbles as secretary. On the same day, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) announced the selection of Grumbles to lead the influential agency. ECOS says they’re delighted to have a visionary leader of Ben’s caliber.
Grumbles says he hopes to “advance the human health and environmental protection mission” of ECOS. This would be a departure from his record in Maryland where he has served as environment secretary since the start of the Larry Hogan administration in 2015. Grumbles will also direct the Environmental Research Institute of the States (ERIS). ERIS runs the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC).
MDE’s awful record under Grumbles
The Chesapeake Accountability Project (CAP) has done an excellent job documenting MDE’s poor performance under Ben Grumbles in its CAP Enforcement Scorecard. The report looks at the Water & Science Administration (WSA) within the MDE that is meant to hold polluters accountable to rules that protect our waterways.
Maryland’s Water and Science Administration (WSA) under Grumbles has increasingly delegated enforcement responsibilities to local jurisdictions without accompanying financial or technical support.
Overall, from FY2016 through FY2021, compared to the period 2010-2015, MDE’s WSA:
Took 67% fewer water-related enforcement actions;
Identified 70% fewer significant violations involving environmental or health impacts;
Resolved 48% fewer significant violations; and
Collected 47% less in water-related penalties.
Last year, WSA inspected just 24% of the sites inspected in 2007 under Governor Glendening.
The Baltimore Brew has also been documenting the abysmal environmental track- record of the Maryland Department of the Environment under Secretary Grumbles. Shen’s coverage encompasses the environmental catastrophe caused by Maryland’s corporate-friendly leadership.
Shen reported in an article on March 9, 2022, Water pollution enforcement took a nosedive under Hogan. This is how Shen captures it:
Last year, when Blue Water Baltimore discovered that the city’s Back River and Patapsco wastewater treatment plants had been releasing millions of gallons of partially treated human waste into area waterways – in some cases, 400% above permit limits – the natural question arose:
“Where has the oversight been?” Blue Water’s Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Alice Volpitta asked at the time. It has steadily declined over the last two decades and plummeted sharply during the Hogan (Grumbles) administration.
“Water pollution enforcement took a dramatic nosedive in the past six years under Governor Hogan,” said Courtney Bernhardt, director of research at the Environmental Integrity Project. The report’s authors faulted MDE for failing to crack down on “rampant non-compliance” with industrial storm water permits.
Between 2017 and 2020, roughly three-quarters of inspections found that industrial facilities with storm water pollution permits were not complying with the permit terms. But during that period, MDE took formal enforcement actions against less than 1% of non-compliant sites.
MDE officials had a sharp response to the report. “MDE has not been afforded the courtesy of a pre-review of the report and is unable to provide a specific response,” said communications director Mark Shaffer in an emailed statement. Silence speaks volumes.
Mark Reutter of Baltimore Brew offers this May 10 account of Grumbles’ departure: Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles leaves under a cloud. His seven-year stint ends amid criticism over lax enforcement and mismanaged sewage treatment plants that have polluted Baltimore area waterways. Ben Grumbles, under fire for ignoring the mounting pollution problems at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, announced his resignation as Maryland’s secretary of the environment yesterday.
“I’m glad there is accountability,” said Delegate Robin L. Grammer Jr. (R-Middle River), who had called on Gov. Larry Hogan to remove Grumbles.
The legislator’s request followed reports on Back River in March.
“Hopefully, the Maryland Department of the Environment will return to the straight and narrow – something that has not occurred over the last several years,” Grammer told The Brew, noting that Grumbles had acknowledged he was aware of high bacteria levels and other problems at the facility dating back to 2019.
A similar deterioration of water quality standards has afflicted the city’s Patapsco treatment plant on Asiatic Avenue in Fairfield, an issue exposed last summer by Blue Water Baltimore.
MDE’s own inspection reports have detailed broken equipment at Back River – plus treatment tanks clogged with vegetation and floating solids – that Grumbles admitted had left the facility susceptible to catastrophic failure.”
The Bay Journal’s Jeremy Cox recapped the numerous lapses found under Grumbles:
“The state’s shortage of drinking water inspectors; the lack of penalties handed down to chicken farms that run afoul of pollution controls; the agency’s failure last fall to warn of a sewage spill before more than two dozen people fell ill from eating contaminated oysters. That sewage spill contaminated St. George Creek just south of St. Mary’s City where oysters are harvested. St. Mary’s County officials immediately told MDE of the spill. Two weeks later, papers reported that 27 people had become ill. Only then, did MDE close the creek for shellfish harvesting.
Drone images posted last year by ShoreRivers, a coalition of Eastern Shore riverkeeper organizations, actually managed to get MDE to sort of act on illegal discharges by Valley Proteins, a poultry rendering plant.
Drinking Water
Maryland’s Attorney General Brian Frosh questioned the adequacy of Grumbles’ Water Supply Program oversight in a letter to Governor Hogan dated December 1, 2021. Frosh cited a critical report commissioned by the EPA.
Specifically, Frosh wrote, the study found that MDE “needs approximately 187% more FTEs [full-time employees] than currently staffed, and 93% more funding than currently available to effectively implement the program and ensure safe drinking water for the public.” The report further found that the Water Supply Program under Grumbles had 27 vacancies out of a staff of 71 full-time positions. "Maryland's drinking water remains at risk," wrote Frosh. "This threat to the public health should not continue one more day."
My experience with MDE under Grumbles
Although MDE says it is proud of its record on PFAS, the agency has sampled 194 public water systems for PFAS. This is about 5% of the 3,653 public water systems in the state. Their sampling program has managed to stay away from many industrial and military areas throughout the state. Many drink from wells that are just a few thousand feet from known PFAS releases.
The Navy has refused to test the wells of the predominately African American community of Hermanville near the intersection of MD RT 235 and Hermanville Rd. The community straddles the southwest corner of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station where releases of AFFF were documented by the Navy. MDE never responded to requests to test the wells. The Maryland Department of Health has refused to test the water outside of the base stating they trust the Navy’s judgement in these matters.
In February, 2020 I tested the waters of St. Inigoes Creek in St. Mary’s City and found 1,894 parts per trillion (ppt) of 12 PFAS compounds. I pointed to the Webster Field Annex of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station as the cause of the high levels in the creek and the cause of the foam that builds on the beach almost every day. The base is 1,800 feet across the deep saltwater creek from my place.
An MDE spokesperson responded that contamination in the creek, if it exists, could have another source, like the county’s landfill or local fire departments.
Yeah, Right. The closest landfill is 11 miles away while the closest firehouse is 5 miles away. The firehouse on base where the PFAS-laden foams were regularly tested for more than 20 years is about 2,000 feet from my beach. The state is covering for the Pentagon and it ain’t right.
PFAS-laden foam travels across St. Inigoes Creek from Webster Field to my dock. My photo - Jan. 2021
Using Eurofins, I tested Oyster, Crab, and Rockfish and found 2,070 ppt in oysters; 6,650 ppt in crabs, and 23,100 ppt in rockfish. I don’t eat it. No one should.
I later tested the foam and found 4,812. ppt of total PFAS, with 2,529 ppt of PFOS
It is important to study the “fate and transport” of PFAS. Our beach sits on a cove north-northeast of the navy base while the prevailing winds blow from the south-southwest - that is, from the base to our beach. The foams gather with the tide on many days. Sometimes we can see the line of foam begin to form as it gets close to the shore. If the waves are too high, the foam dissipates. Within about 1-2 hours of high tide, the foams dissolve into water, like dish detergent bubbles left alone in the sink. Many of the chemicals are still present in the water until the tide takes them out again.
I have shared my work with Grumbles and his staff as well as many in Maryland’s Department of Health and the General Assembly, where Del. Sara Love and Sen. Sarah Elfreth are doing excellent work.
I sent an “open letter” to Maryland Health department officials asking, “Is it OK for my daughter, who may become pregnant, to eat the seafood from our river if it is highly contaminated with PFAS? - Yes or No, please!”
I received the following response from Kathy Brohawn, Environmental Program Manager, State of Maryland:
“Currently there are no known thresholds for natural waters or oyster tissue for PFAS. Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) does not currently have any advisories for contaminants in oysters. The only known PFAS thresholds are associated with drinking water, where the risk of exposure is greatest. The Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is currently researching the issue and MDE looks for their guidance.”
Quite often, the risk from PFAS in fish is greater than the risk from drinking PFAS-contaminated water. Apparently, the state says it’s OK to eat the seafood from St. Inigoes Creek, even though the levels of the carcinogens in oysters, crabs, and fish dwarf European consumption thresholds.
After I reported high levels of PFAS in oysters, the MDE hired Alpha Analytics. They said the water was fine and the oysters were “No Detect” for PFAS. The analytical method employed was unable to detect any one PFAS present in oysters at an amount less than 1,000 parts per trillion. Why Alpha Analytics? The firm was fined $700,000 by Massachusetts for falsifying hazardous waste data.
The MDE just shrugged its shoulders three years ago when the U.S. Geological Survey sampled a Smallmouth Bass and found PFAS blood plasma concentrations of 574,000 ppt. That was where Antietam Creek empties into the Potomac. Right now, people are catching and eating poisonous fish in Maryland. The MDE claims to be keeping drinking water levels under 70 ppt while they know where the real danger lies.
The MDE and fish and deer
Jenny Herman, Remedial Project Manager, Maryland Department of the Environment, (MDE) addressed the St. Mary’s County public during a Restoration Advisory Board meeting held by the Navy in April, 2021.
When asked if the seafood is OK to eat, MDE’s Herman said she is not aware of largescale studies of fish in this area. The state’s top regulatory agency, charged with instituting studies to ascertain the threat to public health from potential sources of contamination, says the fish are OK to eat because there are no studies suggesting the fish are dangerous.
Someone asked if it was OK to eat deer meat caught near the bases. Many states have reported deer meat poisoned by PFAS. Herman said the Webster Field groundwater is brackish, an unlikely drinking source for deer. Actually, deer can tolerate much higher levels of salinity.
Joint Base Andrews and Piscataway Creek
In mid-September, 2021 the DOD released shocking new figures that identified the scale of PFAS contamination at 95 installations across the country. J.B. Andrews was one of them. The Air Force had previously reported levels of 30,000 ppt for PFOS and 4,500 ppt for PFOA in groundwater at Joint Base Andrews. Those numbers were revised upward to 33,000 ppt for PFOS and a staggering 435,000 ppt for PFOA. Only 3 bases nationwide had higher levels of PFOA.
Although the PFOA will devastate the environment in southern Prince George’s County, Maryland forever, the PFOS released by the Air Force along Piscataway Creek poses a more immediate threat to health because the compound travels in water and wildly bioaccumulates in fish.
On October 21, 2021 MDE managed to issue its first and only fish advisory for PFAS. It’s a whopper.
A year earlier I published a story on JB Andrews about the high levels of PFAS the Air Force reported in groundwater. The article focused on the contamination of Piscataway Creek and it implored MDE to test the waters. The source of Piscataway Creek is located at the runway on J.B. Andrews, close to a fire training area that used PFAS-laced foams. The creek empties into the Potomac River at the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park. It’s bad.
View looking northwest to the spot where Piscataway Creek flows out of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Notice the containment boom inside the base that may be used as a temporary floating barrier to sort of contain oil or chemical leaks. My photo
I teamed up with local resident Sherman Hardy to test the water in Piscataway Creek as it flowed from J.B. Andrews. We also tested four miles south, where the creek empties into the Potomac directly across from Mt. Vernon., VA.
MDE also tested the water.
We found 2,781 ppt of total PFAS and 894 ppt of PFOS.
MDE found 3,193 ppt of total PFAS and 1,100 ppt of PFOS.
At the mouth of Piscataway Creek
We found 234 ppt of total PFAS and 93.9 ppt of PFOS.
MDE found 207 ppt of total PFAS and 74 ppt of PFOS.
Minnesota says PFOS may bioaccumulate in fish up to 7,000 times the levels of PFOS in the water. The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes limits PFOS in some lakes to .05 ppt for PFOS. The European Union regulates PFOS at .65 ppt.
Predictably, MDE’s Fish Consumption Advisory adopts weak standards that fail to protect public health, but goes a long way in protecting fishing, restaurant, and tourism industries.
MDE recommends that adults and children should consume no more than 1 meal per month of Redbreast Sunfish from the affected area. An adult serving is 8 ounces. A Redbreast Sunfish was found to contain 359,000 ppt of PFOS and 374,850 ppt of total PFAS.
MDE recommends consumption of no more than 7 meals per month (for children only) of Yellow Bullhead Catfish. A child’s serving is 3 ounces. The Yellow Bullhead Catfish had 24,700 ppt of PFOS and 29,180 ppt overall. That’s concentrations of 204,260 ppt. allowed per month for children.
Largemouth Bass - Photo - MD DNR
Finally, MDE recommends that adults should limit their consumption of Largemouth Bass to 3 meals per month. A Largemouth Bass had 94,200 ppt of PFOS and 100,690 total PFAS. The state allows total concentrations up to 302,070 ppt monthly.
The MDE says it’s OK for a pregnant woman to consume 8 ounces of fish containing 64,000 ppt of PFOS 48 times a year. If the filet of the fish contains 64,000 ppt of PFOS, that’s 64 parts per billion, which is the same as 64 nanograms per gram. So, 64 ng/g x 227 g = 14,528 ng of PFOS. Is it really OK for a pregnant woman to consume 14,528 ng of PFOS 48 times a year? Please, show us the science.
I have found thousands of parts per trillion of PFAS in surface water flowing from several military installations in the state. This is where cancers come from.
I have received no reply from MDE or MD Dept. Health other than to say they’re waiting for the EPA to act.
They know my rant about how PFOS bioaccumulates in seafood. They don’t want to hear it. They ought to be warning women who are pregnant or may become pregnant not to eat Maryland’s seafood until MDE can get around to testing the water and the seafood.
MDE rubber stamps pretty much every engineering report regarding PFAS contamination by the DOD. 8 million parts per trillion of PFOS in subsurface soils on the banks of the Chesapeake deposited by the Navy in Chesapeake Beach? Not a problem under Grumbles. 6,000 ppt of PFAS draining into the Chesapeake in Chesapeake Beach? Don’t worry be happy. The Navy can continue to hide the levels of PFAS contamination in the Potomac River at Indian Head and the Army can punish the Chesapeake with a host of toxins in Aberdeen as long as Maryland allows it. The Grumbles era has been tragic.
The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
Did ECOS drop the ball in hiring Ben Grumbles? Did they not practice due diligence in their selection of an executive director?
Not hardly. ECOS knows who Ben Grumbles is. He’s the best in the business. He may be the best for business.
ECOS has pushed for expanded state assumption of the Clean Water Act §404 Program. Ben and his supporters will like that.
The National Law Review reports on the April, 2022 meeting of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS). You can discern the ECOS playbook on PFAS here:
“Several states also expressed concerns regarding the impact that a CERCLA designation for PFAS types would have in their states and on their constituent companies.” (CERCLA is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known also as Superfund.)
“The state environmental leaders discussed with EPA representatives how the EPA would view companies in their states that fall into categories such as waste management and water utilities, who are already facing uphill battles in disposing of waste or sludge that contains PFAS.
Realizing that the EPA is likely set on its path to designate at least two PFAS as “hazardous substances,” though, industries are asking the EPA to consider PFAS CERCLA exemptions for certain industries, which would exempt certain industry types from liability under CERCLA. It is highly questionable whether the EPA has the authority to create such exemptions under CERCLA.”
Congress has that authority, although it’s not likely to wield it. The chemical industry has a lot of cash and new interpretations of the constitution mean they can openly help their friends get elected.
Ben Grumbles will also direct the Environmental Research Institute of the States (ERIS). ERIS runs the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC).
ITRC on PFAS
See the ITRC’s factsheet, Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF). Then compare it to IPEN’s 2018 publication, Flourine-Free Fire-Fighting Foams (3F) - Viable Alternatives to Fluorinated Aqueous Film-Forming Foams - Independent Expert Panel Stockholm Convention, Rome.
ITRC defends the use of carcinogenic PFAS-laden foams. The Europeans have largely switched to fluorine-free foams. Apparently, they got the memo about the cancers and the sick babies.
The Europeans say it’s indefensible to use PFAS in firefighting foams when suitable fluorine-free alternatives are available. They call out the U.S. Department of Defense for its stubborn adherence to military specifications that call for the continued use of PFAS in the foams. They point to airports throughout Europe and the world that have stopped using the carcinogenic foams.
The influential ITRC fact sheet is targeted to local, state, and federal regulators and tribes in environmental, health and safety roles as well as AFFF users at municipalities, airports, and industrial facilities.
Best Management Practices for Class B AFFF Use - ITRC
“Firefighting foams are an important tool to protect human health and property from flammable liquid fire threats. Proper management and usage strategies combined with the ongoing refinement of environmental regulations will allow an informed selection of the viable options to sustainably use firefighting foams.”
ITRC is legitimizing the use of these carcinogens. Here's more from their playbook, “Best management practices should be established for the use of any firefighting foam to prevent possible releases to the environment that can lead to soil, groundwater, surface water, and potentially, drinking water contamination.”
When PFAS foams are manufactured, they are released into the environment! We don’t know what to do with these chemicals after we use them. We don’t know how to destroy them, at least not in any economically feasible fashion.
Ben Grumbles will assume leadership over this apparatus. It’s not good.
ITRC says, “Foam replacement should include an evaluation of specific hazards and application objectives, a review of applicable performance standards, an understanding of engineering requirements for foam product storage and application, and a check to ensure that the foam product is approved for use for the specific hazards being mitigated.”
There is no hazard that necessitates the use of foams that cause fetal abnormalities or poor COVID outcomes. Sorry.
The latest Annual Report for ECOS, available online from 2016, shows income of a little over $5 million. $2.9 million is from federal government sources. The federal government keeps ECOS going. It ought to pull the plug.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has presidential aspirations and I just bet Grumbles would love to run the EPA in a Hogan administration. America ought to beware of this dynamic duo.
Gov. Larry Hogan, left and Secretary Ben Grumbles (The Daily Record / Bryan Sears)