Attorney General Schwalb Announces Washington Gas Will Cease Pollution of Anacostia River

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Washington Gas has agreed to contain hazardous pollution actively seeping into the Anacostia River at the former site of the company's East Station, a gas plant that operated on the banks of the river for nearly 100 years.

An investigation by the District's Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) uncovered evidence that toxic chemicals-byproducts of gas manufacturing at the shuttered plant-are currently bubbling up from the contaminated riverbed and seeping into the water from polluted soil on the riverbank. OAG alleges that Washington Gas has failed to take adequate steps to prevent the ongoing release of pollutants. Under the terms of a new settlement agreement, the company must install a new floating boom to contain pollution on the surface of the water; install new barriers to prevent the release of pollutants from the riverbed and riverbank; submit to ongoing monitoring by the District; and face fines for any noncompliance.

"For generations, widespread pollution of the Anacostia River has deprived District residents of the use and enjoyment of the river and threatened the health and safety of communities living along its banks," said Attorney General Schwalb. "Washington Gas has failed to stop dangerous chemicals from continuing to degrade the river, and now it must take action to stop further pollution while the larger environmental investigation and remediation process continues."

Washington Gas, now a subsidiary of Alta Gas Ltd., is a public utility that serves approximately 1.1 million customers in the metropolitan Washington area. From the 1880s until the mid-1980s, Washington Gas manufactured natural gas from coal and oil at East Station, a plant that was located on the banks of the Anacostia River just east of what is now Washington National Stadium (south of M Street SE and east of 11th Street SE on the western bank of the river). Washington Gas's operations at the site created toxic byproducts-including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, benzene, and toxic metals-that contaminated the soil and migrated into the river. This pollution poses risks to human health and the environment.

In 2011, the District and the United States of America filed a lawsuit against Washington Gas to address hazardous contamination from operations at East Station. To resolve those claims, Washington Gas entered into a consent decree, approved by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in 2012. The consent decree required Washington Gas to remove some contaminated soil and conduct a long-term investigation at the site. The agreement also allows the District to require Washington Gas to take additional action to prevent continued pollutant releases.

Recent investigations indicate that pollution linked to Washington Gas's former East Station operations is currently being released into the Anacostia River in two ways:

• Pollution is leaching into the river from the contaminated shoreline. Chemicals matching waste generated by a gas manufacturing plant are present in the soil and groundwater directly adjacent to the seawall that separates the East Station property and neighboring properties, including the Eastern Power Boat Club and the District Yacht Club, from the Anacostia River. These chemicals are actively seeping into the Anacostia River. Since May 2021, the District has observed, and Washington Gas has documented, oil sheening in the Anacostia River next to the East Station seawall on a near-daily basis.
  
• Pollution is bubbling up to the surface of the water from the contaminated riverbed. Hazardous contaminants consistent with gas production are also present in the sediment at the bottom of the river adjacent to the former East Station. These pollutants are actively bubbling to the surface of the water and creating an oil sheen, in a process known as "ebullition."

The Office of the Attorney General alleges that Washington Gas has failed to take adequate steps to prevent this ongoing pollution from migrating into the Anacostia River. Under the terms of a new settlement agreement, Washington Gas will take the following steps:

• Install a new floating boom to contain pollution on the surface of the water. Washington Gas will install a new containment boom on the surface of the river in the areas that are experiencing surface sheens and ongoing pollution. This floating physical barrier will contain pollutants for periodic removal. Within 30 days of the settlement, Washington Gas must submit a plan for placement of the barrier, and the barrier must be installed within 60 days of receiving approval and necessary permits and permission for installation from two adjacent boat clubs, the Eastern Power Boat Club and District Yacht Club. The boom is expected to be installed in late 2025 or early 2026.
  
• Install filters on the riverbed to prevent pollution from bubbling into the water. Washington Gas must place filter material, known as reactive core mats, on the riverbed to help prevent the release of pollutants into the water from contaminated sediment. The installation is expected to take place in 2027.
  
• Install a new barrier in the soil at the shoreline to prevent pollution from leaching into the river. Washington Gas must place a barrier in the contaminated soil at the shoreline to prevent the release of pollutants from the soil into the river. This permeable reactive barrier will help to neutralize contaminants and prevent them from spreading further. The installation is expected to take place in 2027.
  
• Submit to ongoing monitoring by the District. After installing the new pollution mitigation measures, Washington Gas must submit monthly monitoring reports documenting the effectiveness of the measures and documenting any observed releases of pollutants.
  
• Pay penalties for any noncompliance. If Washington Gas fails to comply with the terms of its agreement with the District, it will face civil penalties that could total thousands of dollars for each day the company is not in compliance.

A copy of the settlement is available here.

A copy of the District's complaint, filed along with the settlement agreement, is available here.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Wesley Rosenfeld, Senior Assistant Attorney General David Hoffmann, and Joanna Wasik, Chief of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section.

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