Pepco To Pay D.C. $57 Million Over Anacostia River Pollution

A clean-up team at Anacostia’s Diamond Teague Park. Image source: DCist.

From DCist:

For decades, Pepco knowingly discharged toxic chemicals into the Anacostia River, using the river and other District waterways as a “cost-free dumping ground,” according to lawsuits filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

Today Schwalb announced a $57 million settlement of the suits — the largest environmental settlement in D.C. history. The money includes $10 million in civil penalties, plus $47 million to clean up contaminated sediment in the Anacostia River. Under the settlement, the power company is also on the hook for possible additional costs to clean up its old, decommissioned power plants along the river, at Benning Rd., and Buzzard Point. Those costs will be determined after further study of what needs to be done at the sites.

The money will go towards initial work to clean up toxic chemicals in the most polluted hotspots on the river bottom. These chemicals include polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which are likely to cause numerous health problems in humans, including cancer,immune system suppression, and neurological defects. PCBs can take decades to degrade in the environment, and they can bioaccumulate in fish, making it dangerous to eat anything caught in the Anacostia — one of the reasons a fish consumption advisory is in place in the District.

“For nearly a century, Pepco regularly dumped toxic hazardous chemicals directly into our waterways, including directly into the Anacostia River. It dumped waste into the land, which then seeped down into groundwater and stormwater and again ultimately into our rivers,” Schwalb said during a press conference at Kingman Island today, with the muddy river in the background.