Judge weighs Gambrills coal ash settlement

A Baltimore judge on Tuesday could give his approval to a multi-million dollar settlement between residents of Gambrills and a subsidiary of Constellation Energy.

The residents claimed in a lawsuit last year that Constellation Power Source Generation contaminated their water supply by dumping coal ash near their homes for more than ten years.

The company deposited millions of tons of ash from two of its Anne Arundel County power plants into two Gambrills quarries from 1995 until last year. Last year, Constellation paid a $1 million fine as part of a consent decree with the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Plaintiffs’ attorney William Murphy estimates the settlement will cost Constellation $45 million.