Maegan Vazquez
Washington: President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for the District of Columbia, permitting federal agencies to provide disaster assistance to tackle a massive sewage spill in the Potomac River.
The spill began in mid-January, when part of a major DC Water sewage pipeline called the Potomac Interceptor collapsed, flooding the Potomac River with about 886 megalitres of wastewater. The sewer line carries about 227 megalitres of wastewater daily from the Virginia and Maryland suburbs to DC for treatment. The cause of the spill remains under investigation.
The US Environmental Protection Agency will lead the federal response to the spill, according to a news release from the agency. The EPA is co-ordinating with DC Water to ensure measures are taken “to protect public health and prevent additional overflows until the pipe is repaired and the Potomac Interceptor is fully functional again”. Repairs are due to be completed by mid-March, before events in the region celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US are set to begin.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also be “deploying a team to support incident management” and “working directly with local officials and federal partners to co-ordinate federal resources”, a social media post from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
FEMA said the assistance would be directed to DC and the area where the district has responsibilities in Maryland and Virginia.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency on Wednesday (Washington time) and requested federal help with the clean-up. She also requested a presidential disaster declaration and asked the federal government to reimburse the DC government and DC Water for costs associated with the spill and recovery effort.
DC Water chief executive David Gadis estimated the repair and remediation would cost $US20 million ($28 million).
Trump, who previously criticised Bowser and other Democratic elected officials in the region over mishandling the spill, signalled on Thursday that the federal government would help with the recovery.
Bowser had faced questions over the timing of her emergency declaration, coming a month after the spill began. She said she took the actions, in part, after recent signals from the Trump administration that federal officials might support the request, and maintained that the response to the spill had been urgent from the start.
In his Truth Social post last week indicating that he would respond to Bowser’s request for aid, Trump continued to rail against Democratic governors Wes Moore (Maryland) and Abigail Spanberger (Virginia).
“Governors of Virginia and Maryland must get moving, quickly,” he wrote. “If they can’t do the job, all they have to do is call, be polite and respectful, and the federal government will handle it, and bill them for services rendered, at a later date.”
Authorities have advised against boating, fishing and touching the Potomac River since the spill, but DC officials said last week that they hoped to lift the guidance on March 2, subject to change based on water quality, as testing has shown the level of E. coli in the DC portion of the river consistently hovering under safe recreational limits.
There has not been sewage overflow into the river since February 8.
Officials with DC Water, the public utility responsible for water and sewage in the region, have said drinking water remains safe. But officials have issued warnings for people and pets to stay out of the water near the spill site and downstream in the district.
Washington Post