A portion of Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena was closed Wednesday and Thursday because of a large sewage spill, according to the Anne Arundel Department of Health.

The health department was notified about the spill at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, after the Department of Public Works Bureau of Utility Operations received a report of an overflowing manhole. At the site, DPW workers discovered a “privately owned pump station” connected to the Brandon Shores Power Plant overflowing.

Because the overflow did not happen on county property, DPW employees notified the plant’s operator, Talen Energy, then cordoned off the area to “ensure no one drove or walked through the wastewater,” said Matt Diehl, spokesperson for Anne Arundel County Public Works. Approximately 10,000 gallons of sewage were released, according to a Wednesday news release .

The area from the intersection of Fort Smallwood Road/Wagner Station Road to Brandon Shore Road was closed as of Thursday evening, according to Megan Pringle, spokesperson for the Anne Arundel Department of Health.

Brandon Shores Power Plant is a coal-fired facility in the Curtis Bay Industrial area. The plant was scheduled to “retire,” or close, at the beginning of June, according to Pennsylvania-based Talen Energy; however, that timeline was extended to 2029 as part of an agreement “to provide the power necessary to maintain grid and transmission reliability in and around the City of Baltimore until necessary transmission upgrades to provide reliable power to the area from other sources are complete,” according to a January news release.

Asked if the overflow affected other sewage systems, Pringle said that it was contained to the property. Talen Energy did not return a request for comment.

By Wednesday morning, the county reported the overflow had stopped, according to Jay Apperson, spokesperson for the Maryland Department of the Environment. MDE inspected the pumping station associated with the overflow yesterday and “saw evidence of sewage along Wagner Road but no overflows were occurring,” he said.

Apperson said inspectors “saw mechanics working on repairs to the pumping station.”

The overflow was caused by a malfunctioning pump, Pringle said, adding the pumping station was in “disrepair.” While no roadways were damaged, the pumping station has “severe damage due to neglect.”

“The MDE investigation continues to determine the owner of the pumping station and the appropriate enforcement action,” Apperson said.

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