Background

The Anacostia River

The Washington, DC office of Earthjustice office has been working for many years to protect and restore the Anacostia River ecosystem. Flowing from Maryland through Washington, D.C., the Anacostia was once a great scenic, recreational and wildlife resource. Unfortunately, the river has been abused for decades, making it one of the most polluted watercourses in the nation. Working with civic and conservation groups, Earthjustice has undertaken numerous initiatives to protect the Anacostia.

Each year more than a billion gallons of raw sewage is dumped into the Anacostia from the District of Columbia's sewer system. These discharges contain bacteria at levels thousands of times more toxic than permitted by public health standards. Since public officials have failed for decades to address this problem, Earthjustice filed suit hoping to force compliance with the Clean Water Act. Clients in the case are the Kingman Park Civic Association, Anacostia Watershed Society, Friends of the Earth, American Canoe Association and the Sierra Club.

Federal law requires the District of Columbia to set pollution caps, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs for the Anacostia River. Since the D.C. Government has failed for more than 20 years to adopt the required TMDLs, Earthjustice sued, on behalf of Kingman Park Civic Association, Anacostia Watershed Society and Friends of the Earth to force the EPA to step in and prepare the limits. We ultimately worked out the adoption of TMDLs for the Anacostia in phases from 2001 through 2003. Earthjustice has also filed a second suit on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to require TMDLs for Maryland's portion of the Anacostia River.

Discharges from the District's separate storm sewers contain a dangerous mix of heavy metals, oils, pesticides, bacteria and other harmful pollutants. Without proper treatment, these substances permeate the environment and drain into the Anacostia River from industrial sites, construction lots, urban streets and residential areas. Earthjustice charges that a federal permit governing these discharges is far too weak, allowing violation of water quality standards and delays in clean up action. On behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and Friends of the Earth, Earthjustice has appealed the permit to the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board.

Earthjustice has filed administrative and court actions to curb discharges of metals and PCBs into the Anacostia River from the Washington Navy Yard and adjacent Southeast Federal Center, the site of a 200-year old shipbuilding yard and ordnance factory. These actions have led to substantial clean up efforts. Clients have included Barry Farms Residents Council, Kingman Park Civic Association, Anacostia Watershed Society and Friends of the Earth.

In the wake of litigation filed by Earthjustice, the federal and D.C. governments abandoned plans to build a new freeway across the Anacostia River. The proposed freeway would have destroyed several acres of parkland along the river and would have subjected the Anacostia area to increased traffic, air pollution, runoff and noise. More than one hundred million dollars slated to be spent on the project have since been redirected for use on other D.C. transportation projects.

Plans to convert a natural island in the Anacostia to an intensive, for-profit theme park were recently abandoned by the District of Columbia, after many years of opposition from Earthjustice and others. A highlight of Earthjustice's participation was an important court victory that found that the National Park Service had not properly analyzed the environmental impacts of the theme park proposal.