Norton Amendment Increasing Funding for Anacostia River Cleanup Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that her amendment to the fiscal year 2020 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill to increase funding for the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Program by $5 million passed the House of Representatives today. Building on Norton's work to restore the Anacostia River, the funding would help sediment remediation in the Anacostia watershed with the goal of removing toxins from the river bottom and river banks. Sediments are an ongoing source of contaminants that must be addressed before the Anacostia River can be returned to a fishable and swimmable river. Norton appreciates that the amendment was cosponsored by several regional friends, Representatives Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Anthony Brown (D-MD), and David Trone (D-MD).

"As one of the prized assets of the District's ecosystem, we must continue efforts to ensure the Anacostia River is clean enough for residents and visitors to enjoy and for wildlife to thrive," Norton said. "The Army Corps of Engineers will now have more funding to help restore and rehabilitate this vital part of our ecosystem. Thank you to all the members who helped achieve this important step for the river."

Cleaning the rivers is even more important now, given Norton's ongoing work redeveloping the District's Wharf and Capitol Riverfront areas. She got a provision included in the enacted Water Resources Development Act of 2007, that directed the Secretary of the Interior to develop a 10-year action plan to restore and protect the ecological integrity of the Anacostia River and its tributaries, in partnership with the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Governor of Maryland and the county executives of both Montgomery County and Prince George's County. One of Norton's major economic development bills, the Capitol Riverfront, created new development and economic activity along the Anacostia River while fueling new cleanup efforts. Norton also secures special federal funding for DC Water each year for ongoing work to control flooding in the District and for cleanup of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and Rock Creek. Last Congress, Norton introduced a resolution designating 2018 as the "Year of the Anacostia."

Norton is the lead sponsor of the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2019, which would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to include the District and make D.C. eligible for federal coastal zone management funding.

The Anacostia River watershed contains recreational resources considered vital to the District and boasts ecological diversity of over 500 unique species of wildlife, including rare and endangered species. Yet, an estimated 17,000 people eat toxic fish from the Anacostia River watershed each year, many for subsistence. With over a million people living along the watershed, ongoing efforts to clean the Anacostia River are vital to the region.