Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a disaster emergency for the Potomac sewage spill, requesting that the Trump administration provide federal assistance in the matter.
According to the order, city officials are to “activate, implement, and coordinate mutual aid agreements between the District of Columbia and federal, state, or local jurisdictions as needed to assist in the District’s response to the Incident.” Agencies may also take actions under the District Emergency Operations Plan “without regard to established operating procedures relating to the performance of public works, entering into contracts, incurring obligations, employment of temporary workers, rental of equipment, purchase of supplies and materials, and expenditure of public funds.”
The matter stems from a January collapse of the Potomac Interceptor, which led to the release of more than 240 million gallons of untreated wastewater entering the river.
Bowser also sent a letter to President Trump, urging his administration to take action on the matter, seeking a “100% reimbursement for costs incurred by the District and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), such that emergency response, repair, and remediation costs are not incurred by ratepayers in any impacted state or the District.”
Earlier this week, President Trump responded to the sewage crisis, stating that the disaster stems from the “Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland.”
“A sewer line breach in Maryland has caused millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped directly into the Potomac River, a result of incompetent Local and State Management of Essential Waste Management Systems,” he wrote on Truth Social. “This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a Bridge. It is clear Local Authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity.”
