National Group to Study Health Impact of Freight Facility

A national nonprofit that focuses on public health issues announced Tuesday that it plans to study the broad health implications of a major freight facility that may be built in greater Elkridge.

Nearly a year after the  they were considering building a train-truck depot called an "intermodal facility," possibly in greater Elkridge, the National Center for Healthy Housing will begin a review of the four sites where the depot may be built. Among the locations being considered are sites in Jessup and Hanover.

"The facility poses potential health concerns to neighboring communities that include air and noise pollution, as well as substantial increases in local truck traffic leading to safety risks," the Columbia-based health organization said in a March 6 press release.

The intermodal facility would draw up to 900 trucks daily, according to project cosponsors CSX and Maryland Department of Transportation.

Serving as a hub where trains and trucks can exchange cargo, the facility will also be a place where electric cranes can double-stack freight containers on trains.

and  have protested that their neighborhoods are inappropriate for the industrial facility.

The health group's news release stated there may be an upside to the intermodal facility.

"Its construction and operation may also benefit health by creating local jobs and generating community tax revenue that supports services essential to health," according to the statement.

According to the release, the NCHH hopes its health impact assessment will improve "both the consideration of health and the implementation of specific mitigation measures to protect health in the final project decisions."

The study is supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project and The Kresge Foundation.

The Health Impact Project, a national initiative to use data to guide policy decisions around health, selected 15 recipients for its grants this year. The NCHH study of the intermodal project was the only one in Maryland, according to a March 6 announcement of the recipients.

"Decisions about how goods are moved across the state and across the country are made every day,” said Rebecca Morley, executive director of NCHH. “Only in a few instances are those decisions looked at through the lens of public health. This project will enable NCHH to use its research expertise to help residents of Maryland understand the anticipated impact of the intermodal transfer facility on their health and provide input into the decision-making process."

The NCHH said that its health review, called a "health impact assessment," will run "parallel to the [National Environmental Policy Act] process," a federally mandated study that has been  since last year.

NCHH will host three community forums to discuss the project.

• March 14 at the Enviro Center in Jessup, 6:30–8 p.m.
• March 19 at Prince George's County Library, 6:30–8 p.m.
• March 21 at , 6:30–8 p.m.