WASHINGTON – Federal environmental regulators have taken legal action against the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority following a catastrophic pipe failure that sent massive amounts of untreated sewage flowing into the Potomac River.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced Monday they have filed a federal complaint against D.C. Water over the January incident. A major section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer system failed, releasing more than 200 million gallons of raw sewage directly into the waterway.
Federal officials claim the utility company violated provisions of the Clean Water Act through the massive discharge. The government’s legal filing demands monetary penalties along with comprehensive infrastructure assessments, repair projects, and environmental cleanup efforts to address the contamination.
The timing of the federal action coincided with Maryland’s attorney general launching a separate lawsuit against D.C. Water on the same day over the sewer system breakdown.
