Norton Announces Funding for Long Awaited Anacostia Cleanup Plan (11/21/07)
Norton Announces Funding for Long Awaited Anacostia Cleanup Plan
November 21, 2007
Washington, DC-As the Anacostia River cleanup continues at the CSX train derailment site, and the river continues to be threatened by damaging pollution, the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA) that recently became law following a veto override, includes her Anacostia Watershed Initiative (AWI), requiring the development of a 10-year comprehensive plan for the restoration and protection of the Anacostia and its tributaries.
The Anacostia Watershed Initiative requires the Army Corps of Engineers to coordinate and produce over the next year a cleanup plan with the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Governors of Maryland and Virginia, and the County Executives of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. The AWI, which has been Norton's top environmental bill for years, was held up because of repeated failures to pass the WRDA bill. The November 9th accident that sent six rail cars into the river has heightened her concern. Last Wednesday, Norton asked top congressional and federal officials to tour the derailment site for answers from CSX on next steps for the cleanup and for preventing further train mishaps. Norton also got $20 million for Anacostia River clean-up and an additional $35 million for the combined sewer overflow problem, which significantly imperils the Anacostia, in WRDA.
The District's antiquated combined sewer system, built by the federal government in the late 19th century, serves most major federal office buildings, the White House, the U.S. Capitol complex, the Supreme Court, and much of the downtown area, in addition to hometown D.C. Norton said, "The Corps built the system, and the federal government, including the Capitol complex, contribute significantly to polluting the waterways when the system overflows. It follows that the federal government must become fully engaged in upgrading the system." She said that the federal development on the Anacostia, including the Southeast Federal Center, the Department of Transportation headquarters, the Homeland Security Department at St. Elizabeths, and the city's new baseball stadium all demand that the federal government work with the District on the sewer overflow problem.