It’s a county of opposites: home to both a 13,000-acre wildlife refuge and some of the most technically advanced air and spacecraft at Andrews Air Force Base and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Mirant's Chalk Point Generating Plant, the largest power plant in Maryland, helps support this thriving economic hub with sensitivity to the pristine environment at its back door.
Natural Resources for over a decade. Chalk Point's numerous
wildlife and fishery programs have earned certifications from the Wildlife
Habitat Council since 1991.
The 40-year-old plant is ISO 14001:2004 certified, which means it meets
a widely accepted international standard for environmentally responsible operation.
At present there are fewer than 5,000 such certifications in the United States.
Chalk Point employees work alongside their colleagues at three other Mirant Mid-Atlantic plants to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries through various projects, including raising and releasing threatened fish species, oyster plantings, and habitat conservation. As an example, Chalk Point's aquaculture facility raises and releases 150,000-200,000 fish each year, and has been raising 70 Atlantic sturgeon for the Maryland Department of
Environmental Highlights
- Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Installation to begin in 2007
- Emissions-reducing scrubbers to be installed beginning 2007
- Use of electrostatic precipitators designed to remove 98% of flyash during
start up and 99.2% during normal operation
<
LI>Use of stack monitoring equipment for opacity (smoke), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), SO2 and NOx
- Unit 1 & 2 boilers equipped with low-NOx burners with separated over-fire air
- Selective autocatalytic reduction (SACR) technology currently being installed on Unit 2
- Closed circuit cooling tower system in place
- Plant discharge points monitored for contaminants
- All plant drains, storm drains, coal pile run-off and cooling tower sediments and solids enter one of two sediment basins
Community Outreach
Making a House a Home
Employees from Chalk Point, Morgantown and the Piney Point Pipeline amassed a houseful of furniture for a needy family with two special needs children. Employees donated what they had on hand and rallied support from a local church for more contributions. The home was constructed by the state of Maryland for a single father and his four children.
Patuxent River Shoreline Cleanup
Chalk Point employees removed hundreds of pounds of debris from a two-mile length of shoreline in their fourth annual Patuxent River Shoreline Cleanup event, held in April 2006.
Wildlife Adventure Day
Chalk Point employees team up with their Morgantown and Piney Point Pipeline colleagues to host Wildlife Adventure Day each May. The annual event teaches youth about environmental conservation practices, and features demonstrations from local wildlife experts.
Charitable Donations
- CMH Foundation
- Hughesville Baseball Association
- Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department/Rescue Squad
- Maryland Sheriff's Institute
- Mechanicsville Optimist Club
- Southern Maryland Hospital Center
- Teague's Point Road Crime Watch Association
- Town of Eagle Harbor
- Adopt a Family
- Alexandria Chamber of Commerce
- Alexandria EMT
- Alexandria Fire Department
- Alexandria Hazmat
- Alexandr
- Alice Ferguson Foundation
- Baden/Aquasco Citizen's Association
- Baden Aquasco Little League
- Baden Volunteer Fire Department/Rescue Squad
- Benedict Volunteer Fire Department
- Brandywine Volunteer Fire Department/Rescue Squad
- Calvert Memorial Hospital
- Cedar Haven Association
- ia Public Schools
- Alice Ferguson Foundation
The Benefits of Competition in Maryland