Page 20 - Port of Baltimore Magazine March/April 2011

[20] The Port of Baltimore ■ March/April 2011 To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com
The MPA also is working
on capping the upland portion
of Masonville Cove, which
contains old contaminants,
pioneering a method that
preserves trees, vegetation
and wildlife habitat.
“We’ve developed a system
that saves the major trees,”
Hamons explained. “Normal
procedure is to go in and cut
down the trees. We’ve looked
at various ways — you can’t
just fill up around a tree —
but we’ve proposed several
features that will provide
the capping needed while
preserving the trees. We
knew the neighborhood didn’t
want to see us go in and cut
down the trees because it is a
wildlife habitat.”
The site will be modified
in three phases, and the MPA
hopes to complete Phase
I this fall. As part of the
modifications, a pier will be
constructed to accommodate
groups such as the Living
Classrooms Foundation,
which uses natural and
maritime resources to provide
young people with hands-on
education and job training.
Cox Creek, a 100-acre
site just south of the Francis
Scott Key Bridge on the
Patapsco’s western shore, has
been renovated and is also
receiving dredged materials.
Some private contractors
have deposited materials from
smaller jobs there, and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers will
COX CREEK is a 100-acre dredged
material containment site just south of
the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
kathy bergren smith
Maryland Environmental service