Norton Will Explore Wide Ranging Greening, Water Contamination and Sewer Issues at Hearing (4/14/08)

Washington, D.C. - The Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia will hold its annual hearing on the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority and Washington Aqueduct tomorrow, April 15, at 2:30 PM, in room 2154, of the Rayburn House Office Building, to examine a wide range of issues providing drinking water and sewer services to the District and neighboring counties, including Maryland and Virginia. Important issues include the state of lead contamination uncovered by this committee several years ago; the questions raised about partial replacement of lead pipes; new water treatment processes installed in recent years; and the long term solutions to the combined sewer overflow problem, which is chiefly responsible for pollution in the Anacostia river.

Norton the principle sponsor of H.R. 2509 - the Anacostia Watershed Initiative Act, passed last year, as part of the Water Resources Development Act in Congress will also focus on the importance of Anacostia upgrading in her broader greening efforts for the D.C. and the National Capitol region.

She is holding as chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, the "First in a Series: Greening Washington and the National Capital Region" hearing on Thursday, April 17. Norton said, "There can be no greening of the Capitol that leaves out the Anacostia River, one of the most contaminated rivers in the United States, whose run-off pollutes not only the Potomac River, but the entire Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries."