Filed Date: Jan. 10, 2025
Case Ongoing
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On January 10, 2025, the District of Columbia (“the District”) sued the United States of America in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The District alleged that the federal government was liable for over 150 years of pollution of the Anacostia River under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and the District of Columbia Brownfield Revitalization Act of 2000 (the “Brownfield Act”). The District sought costs related to the District’s new Anacostia River revitalization plan, as well as natural resource damages arising from the contamination. The complaint also sought declaration of future liability against the U.S. arising from the District’s investigation of contamination of the Anacostia. The case was assigned to Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.
In its complaint, the District alleged that generations of residents had not been able to enjoy the use of the River due to decades of contamination, and that the U.S. has been the biggest polluter of the River. The complaint stated that several federal government projects and agencies had contributed to the River’s contamination. For example, the complaint alleged that the federal naval operations at Washington Navy Yard, including shipbuilding and gun manufacturing, polluted the River with heavy metals and other toxic chemicals. In addition, the District cited the Arms Corps and Department of Interior selection of Kenilworth Park, an area on the banks of the River, as a burning waste dump site as another example of harmful treatment. Starting in 2013, the District began to investigate and eliminate contamination in the River, and confirmed that hazardous substances increased the risk of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes and asthma. As a result of the independent investigation, the District planned to implement an extensive cleanup project to decontaminate the River, starting in 2025.
As of February 2025, the case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Isabel Bysiewicz (2/17/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69533268/parties/district-of-columbia-v-united-states/
Friedrich, Dabney Langhorne (District of Columbia)
Rosenfeld, Wesley Franklin (District of Columbia)
Gange, Heather E. (District of Columbia)
Higgins, Elliot (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69533268/district-of-columbia-v-united-states/
Last updated July 7, 2025, 5:56 a.m.