BALTIMORE CITY BRICK WASHER CONVICTED OF
WATER POLLUTION

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Michael Potter, 53, of the 600 block of South Monroe Street, Baltimore City, Maryland, has been convicted of illegally discharging a pollutant into the waters of the State of Maryland. The Honorable Jack I. Lesser, in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City, sentenced Potter to one year in jail and suspended the sentence in favor of two years of supervised probation. Potter was ordered to complete one hundred hours of community work service. Judge Lesser also imposed a fine of $5,000 of which he suspended $4,000. The maximum penalty for the offense, which is a misdemeanor, is up to one year in jail and a $25,000 fine.

The conviction results from Potter illegally discharging reddish wastewater containing lead into a storm drain at 3400 Fait Avenue in Baltimore City, while brick washing a building at that location. On October 27, 2004, an Inspector of the Pollution Control Section of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works observed the discharge from the work site entering a nearby storm drain. He traced the discharge to its source, a drilled hole in a wooden containment dike. Three other holes, blocked by sludge and debris were also discovered. A sample of the discharge revealed that the reddish wastewater contained lead.

Storm drains are waters of the state and most storm drains in Central Maryland ultimately drain into the Chesapeake Bay. The conviction follows an investigation conducted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General, The Pollution Control Section of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works and the Baltimore City Police Department.