Tower Painting Company Fined $100,000 for Lead Paint Discharge in Baltimore City

Skyline Tower Painting, Inc., a Colorado-based company, and its president, Christopher Mecklem, have pleaded guilty to criminal charges for illegally releasing lead-containing paint into the environment while working on a television tower in Baltimore City. The company and its president will pay a combined $100,000 in fines, which will be allocated to Maryland’s Clean Water Fund and Hazardous Substance Control Fund. The investigation into these actions was spearheaded by the Attorney General’s Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit.

The illegal discharge occurred between late May and late June of 2022. During this period, Skyline Tower Painting was contracted to work on the 888-foot television tower located at 3723 Malden Avenue in Baltimore City. The tower, owned and operated by Television Tower, Inc. on behalf of local television stations WBAL, WJZ, and WMAR, is situated in an area characterized by both residential and commercial properties, and lies approximately 400 yards from the Jones Falls River.

Evidence presented in court indicated that on or around June 5, 2022, Skyline employees, under the direction of Mecklem, utilized power washers to remove existing paint from the tower. Critically, the company did not employ containment measures or collection devices to capture the paint debris generated during this process. Residents in the vicinity documented and photographed the work, observing paint chips falling from the tower. These red paint chips, originating from the lead-based paint, dispersed over a roughly half-mile radius, impacting residential yards, businesses, roadways, forested areas, playgrounds, a community garden, and a daycare center.

The Attorney General’s Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit launched an investigation following the reports. Investigators interviewed residents and collected samples of the discarded paint chips from various locations, including residential properties, roadways, storm drains leading to the Jones Falls River, and wooded areas. Laboratory analysis of two paint chip samples revealed lead concentrations of 19.6 mg/L and 6.2 mg/L. Under Maryland law, a substance is classified as a controlled hazardous material if its lead concentration exceeds the threshold of 5.0 mg/L, meaning the waste generated by Skyline’s work met this classification.

Both Skyline Tower Painting and Christopher Mecklem entered their guilty pleas before Judge Jeannie J. Hong in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Mecklem pleaded guilty to two counts of improperly handling solid waste and two counts of discharging a pollutant into Maryland’s waters. The State has requested a one-year suspended jail sentence and a $100,000 fine for Mecklem, with $50,000 to be paid to the Maryland Clean Water Fund, along with three years of probation. Sentencing has been deferred to December 4, 2026, to allow Mecklem to pay the fine in advance.

Skyline Tower Painting, Inc. entered a guilty plea to one felony count of illegal disposal of a controlled hazardous substance. For the company, the State is seeking a $100,000 fine, with $50,000 designated for the Maryland Hazardous Substance Control Fund, three years of probation, and proof of revised Standard Operating Procedures. These revisions are to address lead paint projects, local permitting, debris containment, and the lawful management and disposal of waste. Sentencing for the company was held pending further review.

In addition to these criminal proceedings, a separate civil lawsuit filed in 2023 by the Maryland Department of the Environment against Skyline and Television Tower, Inc. is ongoing. A trial date for that civil case has been set for March 2, 2026.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General.

---