Statement regarding store located at 3711 Federal Hill Road, Jarrettsville, MD

December 2, 2020

In early November 2020, High’s of Baltimore notified the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) of slightly elevated levels of petroleum-related elements in one of four wells that are regularly monitored at this location. It is important to note that during subsequent testing of the wells later in November 2020, no actionable levels of these elements were detected and there is no evidence of a recent, current or ongoing discharge at this location.

Monitoring of groundwater at this site dates back to September 2007 when the station was under different ownership and a likely vapor leak from the storage tanks at the property was discovered.

Since taking ownership of the store in 2012, High’s of Baltimore has cooperated fully with the MDE to dramatically reduce associated petroleum-related elements and resolve this case, which was closed by the Department in 2015. Since that time, measurements of petroleum-related elements in monitoring wells continue to decrease, but those measurements have fluctuated moderately from time to time, as elements from the likely vapor leak from 2007 continue to break down in the soil.  

Out of an abundance of caution, we have expanded our sampling and testing to include supply wells at the U.S. Post Office to the north of the location and an adjacent shopping center to the south. We are also engaging two third party environmental consulting firms to coordinate testing and to help us evaluate the occasional fluctuations.

We will continue to keep MDE, Harford County Department of Health and the surrounding community updated on any new developments or changes to monitoring levels at this location. The storage tank system on site has passed third party tightness testing and we continue, as we always have, to operate in full compliance with MDE standards.

We take our commitment to operating in an environmentally safe and compliant manner very seriously and we look forward to serving the Jarrettsville community for years to come. If you have any questions or additional concerns please contact our Environmental Director, Herb Meade, at 410-261-5450 or Herb.Meade@carrollfuel.net.