Fort Meade to Burn Gas from Garbage

Discussed here almost a two years ago, the idea of Fort Meade utilizing landfill gas to fuel operations at the base appear close to being formalized.

According to the Sun, county officials have confirmed that methane gas, produced as a result of garbage decomposition at the Millersville landfill will be pumped, via a 5-mile pipeline, to Fort Meade. Currently, the gas is just burned off at the landfill, but the new arrangement will allow the County to raise revenue through the sale of the gas to the base.

This is a great use of the tens of thousands of cubic feet of methane generated by the garbage on a daily basis, and represents, at least in the near term, a renewable source of fuel based right here in the County.

I would urge the County Executive, the Council, and those at the Department of Public Works to consider the potential capture and sell methane gas being produced at the other County landfill facilities in Glen Burnie and Sudley as well.

Methane Mandates Meade Mobilization

The Sun reports that 12 families were evacuated from homes built adjacent to a former landfill at Fort Meade because of concerns about a methane leak. Despite having found the buried World War II-era landfill three years ago, the private developer, Picerne Military Housing, built the homes before the area could be fully assessed.

Perhaps Ft. Meade officials should be put in touch with someone at the EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP).

Anne Arundel on NPR

You think traffic and overdevelopment are a problem now? You haven't seen anything yet. Fort Meade is about to get 5,000+ more people, and the Queen of Sprawl can't get enough of it. Listen online at Morning Edition on the Web.

BONUS: 2,060 Age-restricted homes planned for Odenton.