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EPA, DOJ File Complaint Over Potomac River After Sewage Leak

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – The ⁠Trump ⁠administration on ⁠Monday filed a complaint against ​the District of Columbia Water and ‌Sewer Authority (D.C. Water) after ‌the collapse of ⁠a ⁠major sewer pipe caused overflow of wastewater into ​the Potomac River.

• A section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line ​was ruptured in January and led to ⁠more ⁠than 200 million ⁠gallons ​of raw, untreated sewage was discharged into ​the river.

• ⁠The complaint, filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice’s Environment ⁠and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), alleges D.C. Water violated ⁠the Clean Water Act.

• The federal government is seeking financial penalties, sewer assessment and rehabilitation projects, and pollutant mitigation work to remedy the issue, the Justice Department said.

• The complaint was ⁠filed the same day Maryland’s attorney general sued D.C. Water over the sewer line collapse.

(Reporting by ​Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing ​by Caitlin Webber)

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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