NRDC Sues the EPA Over Anacostia River Waste Cleanup Plan

The plan calls for a certain amount of trash to be removed from the river, or prevented from entering the river, each year.

Waste360 Staff, Staff

September 21, 2016

1 Min Read
NRDC Sues the EPA Over Anacostia River Waste Cleanup Plan

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving a questionable waste cleanup plan for the Anacostia River. Instead of complying by the law requirements of establishing a “maximum load” on the amount of trash that can enter the river, the plan calls for a certain amount of trash to be removed from the river, or prevented from entering the river, each year.

With the new plan, the District of Columbia and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland are now required to remove their portion of the baseline trash load as conditions of their stormwater permits.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has the details:

Today NRDC sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving a flawed clean-up plan for trash in the Anacostia River.

The Anacostia—which flows from Maryland, through the District of Columbia, and eventually into the Potomac—is one of the few waterways in the country that’s legally designated as “impaired” by trash. The river is choked with plastic bags, food wrappers, plastic bottles, Styrofoam, and other rubbish that’s washed into its waters by stormwater pipes or dumped directly on its banks.

Read the full story here.

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