This is part five of nine in the Paving Paradise series. To read the full article click here.

The harm caused by distribution centers comes not only from traffic, but from the warehouses themselves. These complexes often sit upon what was once agricultural or natural land, replacing it with impervious surfaces and necessary infrastructure for capturing and treating polluted runoff and managing stormwater during heavy precipitation events. Despite facilities meeting local stormwater regulations, residents claim distribution centers have exacerbated existing flooding concerns from rising sea levels and the increasing prevalence of intense storms, both of which are caused by climate change.

Stacy Stone, a Perryman resident and stormwater engineer, had to put her multi-generational family home along the Bush River on stilts after Hurricane Isabel struck in 2003. Even so, recent pictures on 3P’s website show her front yard submerged in nearly a foot of water; she said the flooding has gotten worse since the distribution centers have moved in. As a stormwater expert, she’s reluctant to draw causal conclusions between distribution centers and flooding without deeper analysis, but notes, “They surely can’t help.” Warehouse development and stormwater runoff impacts not only residents, but also the surrounding environment. What’s lost when distribution centers are built is the cropland, forest, and wetlands – crucial habitat for local flora and fauna.

Bush River Watershed

The Bush River to the north of Perryman — home to a Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and a critical player in sustaining local fisheries — was listed as impaired twice, from nutrient runoff in 1996 and from Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in 2014. In fact, the River has suffered immensely from the region's rapid development. Estimates from The Commons using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) indicate that between 2001 and 2019, the Bush River watershed increased its impervious surface coverage by 13%. Developed land represented over a quarter of total land cover in 2019. Theaux Le Gardeur, executive director of the Gunpowder Riverkeeper which works to conserve and protect the Bush, Bird, and Gunpowder Rivers and their watersheds, said “the Bush is on the brink” because impervious surface coverage exceeding 25% will likely cause “ecosystem collapse.” The Bush River and its wetlands provide habitat to iconic bird species like Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons, in addition to serving as spawning grounds for 26 migratory fish. In a 2008 report, researchers found the Bush River ranked highest in fish diversity when compared to other ecosystems sampled by the Department of Natural Resources. However, the report notes the watershed’s fragility and points to a “high degree of impervious surface within it” as the main culprit. The report goes on to say, “land-use planning must be evaluated carefully in the Bush River watershed to minimize potential impacts to water quality and the fisheries.”

Despite research from the State indicating the need for comprehensive watershed-wide development plans and restrictions on impervious surfaces, Perryman and other areas within the watershed have seen significant declines in natural land acreage. Between 2001 and 2019, the Bush watershed lost 588 acres of deciduous forest and 28 acres of wetlands. Just a few miles south of Perryman in nearby Abingdon, a project aims to clear 330 acres of mostly deciduous forest crucial to the Bush watershed to make way for yet another mega warehouse. A two-year effort by local residents to stop the project has been largely unsuccessful, despite extensive public comment and lawsuits by residents and regional organizations. Chesapeake Legal Alliance filed suit on behalf of the Gunpowder Riverkeeper against Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for approving a Nontidal Wetland and Waterway permit without adequate opportunity for public comment, citing insufficient social and ecological impact plans proposed by the developer.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also sued, contesting the cutting of large “specimen trees” found within Abingdon Woods. Despite suits winning an additional public comment period, the permits in question received approval. Tracey Waite, the head of Save Abingdon Woods, holds out hope, noting a requisite Army Corp of Engineers permit that's set to expire if certain aspects of construction are not completed by September 30, 2022. The Bush River is not the only natural resource threatened by impervious surfaces and mega warehouse development. Beneath the Perryman Peninsula lies an aquifer roughly 100 to 200 feet beneath the surface. This aquifer is tapped by nine municipal wells and provides drinking water to 90,000 residents of Harford County. The wells are protected by a buffer zone known as the Perryman Wellfield Protection District, an area of roughly 3,500 acres which stipulates development restrictions like banning hazardous waste storage, mining, landfills, and petroleum-based product manufacturing, all in an effort to “protect the quality and quantity of the groundwater and surface water that provide drinking water to the general public.”

To see the next section in the Paving Paradise series, Poison in the Wells click here.