Maryland, Virginia Congressional Delegation Enters the Fray Over Massive Potomac Sewage Spill

Congressional lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia are pushing for a “rigorous” environmental remediation plan, public briefings, and continued bacteria monitoring in the wake of last month’s spill of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River.

A photo of the sewage spill near Cabin John from late January, shortly after the rupture was discovered. DC Water officials expect it will take weeks to bring the problem under control. (Photo courtesy DC Water)

The lawmakers’ letter to DC Water, the owner of the broken pipe, comes amid continued sparring between President Donald Trump (R) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) about who’s responsible for the devastating sewage leak near Cabin John and who’s responsible for its cleanup.

“While we appreciate the ongoing emergency response, we remain deeply concerned about the near-term public health and environmental impacts of this spill,” said the congressional lawmakers’ letter. “Independent testing … as well as DC Water’s own testing, have revealed alarming contamination levels in the river, and the full scope of the environmental damage is still not fully understood.”

The leak began Jan. 19, when a roughly 60-year-old pipe collapsed, sending millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the river. The pipe transports human waste from Dulles International Airport in Virginia and surrounding communities, as well as part of Montgomery County, to the Blue Plains treatment plant in Southwest Washington.

On Jan. 24, DC Water announced that a bypass system was in place to direct the sewage into a lock of the C&O Canal instead of into the river. But by then, the spill had already dumped an estimated 243 million gallons into the Potomac, placing it among the most devastating sewage spills in recent memory.

Overflows of sewage still remain a possibility. After pump failures on Feb. 8, about 600,000 gallons leaked into the environment.

DC Water estimates it will take four to six more weeks to reroute sewage through the pipe after a large boulder was discovered inside it. A permanent fix to the pipe is an estimated nine months away.

In their letter, the lawmakers worried that cold temperatures and ice cover could slow bacteria’s die-off. And thawing ice could result in delayed releases of bacteria, as could any disturbances that churn up the bacteria trapped in sediment on the river bottom.

That’s why continued testing is necessary, the lawmakers wrote, “to detect any delayed contamination from frozen sewage and sediment-trapped pollutants. Testing results should continue to be released to the public on a regular basis.”

DC Water officials told the lawmakers that they plan to continue testing, but haven’t determined how long.

The letter was signed by Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, both Democrats, by Maryland Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-5th), Jamie Raskin (D-8th), Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), April McClain Delaney (D-6th), and Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-2nd), and Virginia Democratic Reps. Suhas Subramanyam, Eugene Vindman, and James Walkinshaw.

In a statement on Wednesday, DC Water said it had received the letter and is in communication with Van Hollen’s office.

Federal lawmakers are urging DC Water to conduct an environmental evaluation of the Potomac River and the C&O Canal, a popular hiking and recreation area. In the letter, they worry not just for humans coming into contact with the water, but also for wildlife. There have already been credible reports of fish kills downstream, they wrote.

“The introduction of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into this ecosystem risks cascading harm to fish populations, aquatic invertebrates, and the wildlife that depend on them,” they wrote.

DC Water officials say the cost of responding to the spill will be split between its wholesale customers: WSSC Water in the Maryland suburbs, and Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia.

Trump chimed in on the spill Monday afternoon with a social media post that blamed Moore for the environmental disaster and asserted that he would send federal assistance via the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Moore fired back, arguing that because the broken pipe was owned by DC Water, the federal government is its regulator. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment had already been on-site.

Moore also pointed to a hearing Friday before a General Assembly subcommittee, which EPA declined to attend, saying in a message to lawmakers that DC Water and Maryland were “leading the response and public communications.”

Since then, the governor and the president have continued trading barbs, though Trump modified his message slightly on Tuesday.

“Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, must get to work, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they can’t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed.”

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Moore expressed frustration that Trump planned to send federal support to the Potomac, but declined federal disaster assistance for rural Western Maryland after historic floods there last spring.

“If he really wants to focus on helping us, I would love to talk to him about Western Maryland and the fact that, months ago, we had historic flooding that they have turned down financial support for — financial support that the people of Western Maryland earned, and the people of Western Maryland need,” Moore said.

Maryland Republicans have pushed for Moore to take more action on the spill. In a news release on Wednesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that “Maryland taxpayers and residents cannot wait for finger-pointing” between Washington, D.C., and Annapolis.

Speaking at the Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday, Moore indicated he wouldn’t request assistance.

“If the President wants me to ask nicely, our response is this: Please, Mr. President, do your job,” Moore said.

by Christine Condon, Virginia Mercury

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