Washington, D.C

Pepco to pay $57 million over “toxic pollution” of Anacostia River in D.C.’s largest-ever environmental settlement

Published

1 year ago

October 5, 2023

Pepco to pay million over “toxic pollution” of Anacostia River in D.C.’s largest-ever environmental settlement

A century-old electric company that serves hundreds of thousands of customers in the Washington D.C. area spent decades allegedly releasing toxic pollutants into the Anacostia River. Now, in a historic settlement, the Potomac Electric Power Company will have to pay more than $47 million to help clean it up, and another $10 million in fines, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia announced this week.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the settlement – the largest environment settlement in the district’s history – on Tuesday, saying the company was responsible for “persistent toxic pollution” in the river, which runs through D.C. and Maryland.

The Anacostia River is one of the “most heavily altered and contaminated watersheds” in the Chesapeake Bay, according to NOAA, with runoff and hazardous waste sites contributing to “decades of pollution.” The agency says that the river’s watershed, while home to hundreds of thousands of people, dozens of fish species and hundreds of bird species, is also home to numerous hazardous waste sites.

This map, provided by NOAA, shows the Anacostia in Washington, D.C.

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NOAA

Those sites have resulted in heavy metals, pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the waterway, the last of which are industrial products that were banned in the country in 1979. According to the EPA, they are known to cause cancer and issues involving the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. in animals. In humans, they are considered “probable human carcinogens,” according to the EPA.

It can take decades for those chemicals to break down.

Schwalb said that the Potomac Electric Power Company, known as Pepco, played a large role in this issue. Two of the company’s previous facilities, Buzzard Point and Benning Road, as well as some of their transformer vaults, “resulted in spills, equipment leaks and intentional release of petroleum and hazardous substances,” including PCBs, the attorney general said.

At the company’s Benning Road Facility, the attorney general’s office said Pepco released pollutants into groundwater and soil. That site was run from 1906 to 2012 and has been under an environmental investigation since 2011.

A photo from the National Archives shows a Pepco power plant along the Anacostia River in 1973.

National Archives/Environmental Protection Agency

At Buzzard Point, Pepco is accused of spilling or releasing petroleum and other substances into the soil and groundwater across decades since it began operations in 1938.

“Until 2013, at a rate of at least twice per month, Pepco intentionally pumped the pollutants in its containment structures – intended to prevent spills and leaks – into storm sewers that emptied into the Anacostia River,” the attorney general’s office said. “While internal company policy recognized that discharges to storm sewers should never occur, in practice the company continued to discharge pollutants into storm sewers for years.”

The final major pollution point was at the roughly 60,000 underground Pepco transformer vaults, which the attorney general said are often filled with polluted runoff. The company spent decades pumping that water, which contained PCBs and petroleum among other things, into sewers that led to rivers and streams, the attorney general says.

“For decades, Pepco routinely discharged hazardous chemicals into soil, groundwater, and storm sewers, which fouled the Anacostia River, deprived us of the river’s many benefits, and endangered public health and safety,” Schwalb said. “And as is too often the case, communities of color East of the River bore the brunt of the company’s illegal conduct.”

In 2012, a study partially funded by NOAA found that almost half of those who lived near the river – an estimated 17,000 people – were unaware of the dangers that came with eating fish from the river. The agency has recommended people not to eat eel, carp or striped bass from the river because of the high levels of contaminants, as well as recommended limiting other types of fish from its waters. The local fishermen consuming the fish were disproportionately Black, Latino or Asian, the study found.

Schwalb said that while Pepco played a large role in the river’s pollution, it isn’t “solely responsible” – and should receive credit for accepting formal responsibility. Along with paying $10 million in civil penalties, the utility company will have to pay $47 million to help Washington, D.C. clean up the Anacostia River.

Li Cohen

Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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Related Topics:environment Featured pollution Washington D.C.Water Conservation

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Washington, D.C

Washington Commanders stadium talks may come down to Maryland-DC deal

Published

7 hours ago

December 4, 2024

Press Room

Washington Commanders stadium talks may come down to Maryland-DC deal

JACK AYLMER: As the NFL’s Washington Commanders look to build a new stadium, they’re exploring a different type of trade negotiation. One that involves the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the federal government.

The team is looking for a new venue to replace their aging stadium in the DC suburb of Landover, Maryland.

DC has been trying for years to get the Commanders back into the District, using the prospect of re-developing the site of the team’s former home of RFK Stadium. The venue closed in 2019 and has been gradually deconstructed since then. And although demolition isn’t complete yet, the building itself is in disrepair, with the site around it largely empty.

But DC doesn’t own the stadium or the land. The *federal government* does. And the stadium fight found itself at an intersection with Congress’s annual must-pass bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

Now, the Washington Post is reporting Maryland’s senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin are offering DC’s government and the Commanders a trade of sorts.

They’ll allow DC to control the RFK Stadium site, But want DC to hand over one of its two Air National Guard squadrons… specifically the one with F-16 fighter jets… to Maryland. The Senators also want the Commanders to put out a statement, making clear where they want their next stadium to be and committing to help re-develop the site of the existing stadium in Maryland.

Maryland wants a National Guard flying mission, because the Air Force plans to convert Maryland’s into a ground-based mission.

DC leaders are wary. DC’s congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton released a statement saying, “D.C. rightly deserves to benefit from the land where RFK Stadium sits falling into disrepair and the exchange for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the campus to D.C. should not come at the expense of the DCNG’s aviation resources.”

The Post reports NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders owner Josh Harris met with congressional leaders and Maryland’s senators this week. Congress will likely decide in the next few weeks whether to include the stadium’s status in the NDAA bill.

And while getting the RFK Stadium land would give DC a leg up in stadium talks, DC and the Commanders would still need to negotiate a deal before construction starts on a new stadium.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Jack Aylmer.

And for all the latest updates on this and other top stories, download the Straight Arrow News app.

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Washington, D.C

National Christmas Tree Lighting to prompt road closures in DC

Published

14 hours ago

December 4, 2024

Press Room

National Christmas Tree Lighting to prompt road closures in DC

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said the National Christmas Tree Lighting will be taking place in D.C., prompting some road closures. On Thursday, many roads around the District will be closed to traffic and parking in observance of the tree lighting. These roads will be posted as Emergency No Parking from 9:30 […]

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Washington, D.C

String of morning robberies across DC leaves residents shaken

Published

22 hours ago

December 3, 2024

Press Room

String of morning robberies across DC leaves residents shaken

DC police searching for suspects in string robberies

D.C. police are asking the public for help tracking down those suspects responsible for the string of early morning robberies in the nation’s capital.

WASHINGTON – D.C. police are asking the public for help tracking down those suspects responsible for the string of early morning robberies in the nation’s capital.

The seven attacks happened in just under two hours on Monday morning. FOX 5’s Sierra Fox spoke with some of the victims by phone who say they’re still processing those terrifying encounters.

The thieves got away with eight iPhones, an iPad a Macbook, several wallets with hundreds of dollars worth of cash inside and even credit cards.

MORE FROM FOX 5: Rash of retail break-ins across DC causes concern amid holiday shopping season

“Definitely very, very concerning. I hate to hear that in the city in which I live for sure,” one DC resident said.

The first robbery happened just after 6 a.m. on 10th Street in Northeast. In that instance, three suspects threatened a family.

The next attempt at 3rd and K Street in Northeast happened at 6:30 a.m. The robbery was unsuccessful because the victim fought back.

Just 25 minutes later at 6:55 a.m., one of the suspects held up someone at gunpoint and demanded their personal belongings on East Capitol Street in Northeast.

At 7 a.m., the thieves approached a victim on Burke Street in Southeast and did the same thing.

Thirty minutes later, the suspects assaulted a man and took off with his technology and money. Then at 7:46 a.m., a person was robbed at gunpoint on Constitution Avenue in Northeast.

MORE FROM FOX 5: Woman shaken, confused after man randomly punches her in Northeast DC

“When you get any density of people together, I think it’s going to be difficult. People are going to have difficulties and try to take advantage of each other,” another D.C. resident said.

Investigators believe the suspects used this white getaway vehicle caught on surveillance cameras. In addition, they say these individuals allegedly used the stolen credit cards from a robbery to purchase items.

The victims tell FOX 5 that the persons of interest appeared to be teenagers.

One person who lives nearby the incidents said, “I would definitely discourage any young people from doing that kind of activity. I don’t think it’s helpful for their futures or helpful for people now. If you’re doing it for selfish reasons, it’s not going to be good for you, it’s not going to look good for you and it’s harming others and that’s really never a good thing.”

D.C. police are offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. If you recognize the suspects, contact authorities right away.

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