Conowingo Dam's License Renewed Despite Protests From Groups

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — The Conowingo Dam, which spans Harford and Cecil counties in Maryland, has received federal approval for a new 50-year license. But environmental groups say the agreement falls short because it did not require Exelon, who operates the hydroelectric dam, to take more measures to stop contaminants from reaching the Chesapeake Bay via the Susquehanna River.

The dam can generate 572 megawatts of electricity, but sediment has filled in quite a lot of the reservoir behind the dam. When it storms and flooding occurs, pollutants flood over the dam, The Washington Post reported.

Three years ago, the Maryland Department of the Environment established a water quality certification with Exelon and required the company to develop a plan to cut back nitrogen and phosphorus pollutions in "amounts equal to what had been trapped previously." An alternative would be to pay an annual fee per pollutant that would total $172 million per year. But in 2019, the state and Exelon agreed that the dam operator would instead spend $200 million on projects that would clean up trash and debris in the river while increasing grass and oyster plantings, the Post noted.

But the new license doesn't add any requirements that focus on reducing nutrient overflows or paying for them, the groups argue.