‘A moment to celebrate’: EPA on final repairs to Potomac Interceptor pipeline
On the heels of wastewater flow being restored to the Potomac Interceptor over the weekend, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a press conference Tuesday to highlight the emergency repair that was completed a week ahead of schedule.
Joining the EPA at the press conference at Lock 10 of the C&O Canal were representatives from D.C. Water, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office and other federal agencies involved in the reconstruction effort.
Workers have been working around the clock since Jan. 19, when a 72-inch rupture in the 54-mile pipeline sent an estimated 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.
Gregg Phillips, associate administrator for FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, thanked those whose “tireless work and coordination made this rapid recovery possible.”
“We also deeply appreciate the collaboration of the Army Corps of Engineers, Health and Human Services, CDC, the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, D.C. Water and all the local agency partners,” Phillips said.
Jessica Kramer, assistant administrator for the Office of Water at the EPA and the senior response official in the federal response to the Potomac interceptor, said President Donald Trump “pledged that the Potomac interceptor would be fixed by March.”
“His administration delivered ahead of schedule, despite multiple and significant intervening severe weather events; and the results speak for themselves,” Kramer said. “Our next step is completing environmental remediation work in time for America 250 activities, and I have full confidence that we will achieve that goal.”
David Gaddis, D.C. Water’s CEO, mentioned “a few of the wins,” during his remarks.
“We no longer need the canal bypass that was created on Jan. 24,” Gaddis said. “That bypass kept close to 2 billion gallons of wastewater from reaching the Potomac River.”
Gaddis added that testing shows bacteria levels “are trending in the right direction.”
During the press conference, Kramer said the EPA has officially “taken over water quality sampling from the (D.C. Department of Energy and Environment),” and that they would continue to be done at EPA’s Fort Meade lab.
Before the press conference wrapped up, Kramer noted that the wastewater flow in the pipe was “a moment to celebrate.”
“A milestone that we’ve achieved, but we will be here with our foot on the gas until the site is fully remediated,” Kramer said.