The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and several concerned Baltimore County residents have filed a legal challenge against developers of Middle River Depot, a 53-acre property in Middle River, Maryland.
The lawsuit was filed against developers Eastern Boulevard LLC, an affiliate of the New York-based industrial real estate firm Reich Brothers, and TKG III Middle River LLC in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore County on March 20, 2025.
Neighbors claim they’ve seen pollution from the site the developers have already begun grading running off into a nearby creek and Middle River. In the complaint residents allege developers are violating sediment and erosion control rules and operating without an adequate stormwater management plan. People who live nearby are concerned about violations endangering the environment, their health, public safety, and about the potential release of hazardous materials.
“Progress shouldn’t require destroying something to make it better,” said Paul Treash, a plaintiff in the complaint and Middle River resident of 20 years. “The pollution and runoff this development has caused, and lack of oversight and transparency, needs a solution for the sake of our community, our environment, and our wildlife.”
Representatives from the Reich Brothers did not respond to Baltimore Fishbowl’s request for comment.
The property has an industrial history, as it was once the Martin Aircraft plant and during World War II, it was a B-26 bomber production site. In the 1950s and 60s, the former Navy Reserve Industrial Aircraft Plant reportedly used polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or forever chemicals) on the site.
“This site has a long history of toxic uses, yet there is no evidence based on the approvals the developer has received thus far that potential contamination has even been considered,” said Kathleen Gagnon, CBF Litigation Fellow. “Given the close proximity to residents and tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, this project should not move forward without appropriate controls and relief for nearby communities.”
The site has changed ownership several time in recent years. Proposals for the property have included office buildings, a sports complex called “Aviation Station,” and a Walmart Superstore, which the community opposed in 2017.
In 2024, Baltimore County issued the developers a grading permit, and the Maryland Department of the Environment authorized a general permit for the project’s sediment and erosion control plan for handling polluted runoff that might flow from the site into Middle River and its tributaries when it rains. Residents and CBF fear those permits alone aren’t enough protection.
CBF says parts of the property are within a Critical Area Buffer and a 100-year floodplain. Both require additional development provisions, but none have been offered. The site is within hundreds of feet from Frog Mortar Creek, a tributary to the Middle River, which in turns flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
Middle River has a history of impairment with metals, nutrients, and sediments. Since 2022, Middle and Gunpowder Rivers have lost around 1,500 acres of underwater grasses. Those grasses provide the habitat for fish and crustaceans. Toxic runoff from the Middle River Depot development could threaten the rivers’ ecosystem even more.
“The ongoing grading of this property that is disturbing an area of more than 1 million square of earth is of particular concern given the nearby proximity of the tributaries of the Bay,” said Stuart Kaplow, an attorney for residents. “Without adequate sediment and erosion control, the grading is having an adverse impact including deleterious effects on water quality.”
Roughly 30 percent of the nearby community lives below the federal poverty line. They have been disproportionately affected by environmental hazards wrought by the area’s industrial past. The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief from the developers to address their concerns.
