Anacostia Boat Trip Sails As Norton Gets Federal Investment in the Polluted River (9/21/07)

Anacostia Boat Trip Sails As Norton Gets Federal Investment in the Polluted River
September 21, 2007

Washington, DC-Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will join Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and others in a delegation of 40 federal, District, and area officials on a boat tour of the Anacostia River, today, Friday, September 21 at 9 AM, to focus on regional efforts to clean up the "forgotten river." The two-hour tour, led by Rep. Hoyer, the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership, and the Anacostia Watershed Society, will take off from the James Creek Marina at 2nd and V Streets, SW.

These efforts are buoyed by Norton's Anacostia Watershed Initiative, supported by the regional House and Senate delegation, requiring the development of a 10-year comprehensive plan for the restoration and protection of the Anacostia and its tributaries, with the Army Corps of Engineers coordinating with regional partners. This initiative and other Norton provisions are included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), passed by the House and Senate and now going through conference consideration. Norton also got for the District a total of $55 million for the river cleanup and combined sewer overflow improvements.

"The federal government must help the District deal with long-term, dangerous and chronic water problems resulting from our century-old infrastructure," Norton said. "The federal development on the Anacostia, including the Southeast Federal Center and Department of Transportation headquarters, and the new baseball stadium all demand no less. The comprehensive Anacostia plan and these new federal funds will help jump-start the much-needed river clean-up, allowing residents, regional neighbors and visitors to enjoy this precious body of water."