Residents and environmental advocates plan to rally Tuesday afternoon, July 22, in Ellicott City to oppose a proposed plastic incineration facility in Columbia.
The protest will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. outside the George Howard Building, the building that houses the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning offices, located at 3430 Court House Drive.
Organizers say they are calling on state and county officials to halt permitting for the facility until they complete a more thorough review of its community and environmental impacts.
The planned plastics incineration site, to be located on the W.R. Grace chemical campus on Grace Drive in Columbia, would be near the Cedar Creek neighborhood and adjacent to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area.
Opponents argue the project poses a threat to air quality and public safety, citing the potential release of volatile organic compounds and other pollutants. They also express concern about the risk of accidental discharges into the nearby Middle Patuxent River.
The Maryland Department of the Environment approved an air permit for the project on June 18. Less than two weeks later, on June 30, a Howard County hearing examiner overturned the county’s previous zoning approval for the facility and sent back the case to the DPZ, citing inadequate evaluation of community impacts.
W.R. Grace appealed the decision on July 15. The matter will now go before the Howard County Board of Appeals.
Councilmember Deb Jung, who represents the district where the facility would be located, called the hearing examiner’s decision a “big win for the community.”
Tuesday’s rally is organized by the Stop Grace Coalition, a local advocacy group that opposes the facility and plans to challenge the state air permit. It is urging the MDE to withdraw the permit in light of the zoning decision. Speakers at the rally are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and will include residents, advocates and local officials.
For more information about the protest and ongoing opposition efforts, visit stopgraceplasticpermit.my.canva.site.
