Conservation Group Files for Injunction to Stop Potomac River Dumping

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Conservation Group Files for Injunction to Stop Potomac River Dumping

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, Apr. 18 -/E-Wire/-- The National Wilderness Institute (NWI), a Washington-based conservation organization, has asked a federal court to grant an injunction to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from dumping sediment into the Potomac River. One EPA official calls the Corps' dumping "the most toxic discharge that I have seen."

NWI Director Rob Gordon said the millions of pounds of sludge that is pumped from the Washington Aqueduct into the Potomac each year would fill 25 truckloads of sediment every day if hauled over land. "These midnight dumpings that have gone on for years are a clear violation of the Endangered Species Act and put the survival and recovery of the shortnose sturgeon and the dwarf wedge mussel in jeopardy," Gordon said. "It is crucial that the Corps be stopped from further dumping immediately." In February, NWI filed suit in U.S. District Court to force the Corps of Engineers to find an alternative to the dumping and this motion requests a temporary injunction until that case is settled.

Although NWI recently requested it, the Corps has refused to voluntarily refrain from dumping into the Potomac citing financial and physical limitations. Gordon said internal memos from EPA and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) show concern over the dumping by the Corps and its effect on fish habitat but that no action to halt the practice was ever taken.

Another report shows that a legally required endangered species consultation has never taken place. Gordon pointed out the Corps' permit for the dumping expired in 1994 and has had to be extended on a year-to-year basis. "Unless this stops it may result in the extinction of the shortnose sturgeon in the Potoma," Gordon said. "The Bush Administration needs to step in and put an end to Washington's midnight dumping." The court motion describes how the Corps processes the drinking water used in the District of Columbia and Virginia generating millions of pounds of sediment and flocculent laced with alum that are deadly to fish and habitat.

It charges that the agencies involved, particularly the Corps and EPA "have seemingly allowed local political pressure to influence their compliance with the Endangered Species Act" by extending the dumping permit after it had expired.

Gordon said his organization could not stand by while crucial fish habitat on the Potomac is destroyed. The area in which the Corps dumps is believed to be the primary if not only spawning ground for the highly endangered shortnose sturgeon as well as spawning grounds for many other important anadromous fish species.

"What is going on here is absolutely inexcusable," Gordon said. " We're determined to force these government agencies and Washington, DC to live by the same laws that are applied to others across the country on a daily basis."

NWI is a non-profit conservation organization, which contributes to public understanding of environmental issues through educational programs. Website: www.nwi.org. Email: [REDACTED-EMAIL]. Phone 703/836-7404, Fax 703/836-7405. NATIONAL WILDERNESS INSTITUTE P. O. Box 25766, Washington, DC 20007

National Wilderness Institute

Rob Gordon or Jim Streeter 703/836-7404, Larry Hart 202/547-1175

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