Water Contaminated by Coal Ash Harms Maryland Community

From 2006-2007, dozens of drinking water wells in a suburban community between Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C. tested positive for excessive levels of contamination with compounds including arsenic, iron, manganese, barium, lead, aluminum, nickel, and selenium. These contaminants had leached into the underground drinking water system from a nearby coal ash disposal site.

After a lengthy investigation, including the retention of hydrogeologists — experts in the proper disposal of hazardous waste and the loss of property value — Murphy, Falcon & Murphy filed a class action against Constellation Power Generation on behalf of hundreds of families who resided in Gambrills, MD.

Murphy, Falcon & Murphy fought to ensure that these families were provided access to clean drinking water and compensated for damages due to the drop in value of their homes and the exposure they suffered from contaminants found in their drinking water wells.

In 2008, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy secured a landmark $45 million settlement on behalf of community residents, which included the connection of 84 households to public water, and the establishment of two trust funds in order to compensate affected property owners and to provide site enhancements in the neighborhood. The settlement also provided that Constellation would remediate and restore the dumpsite and cease any and all future deliveries of coal ash to the site.

Read more about this case in The Washington Post, and The Baltimore Business Journal.