WASHINGTON (AP) – A Virginia boater is suing a Washington water utility company for negligence over a leaking pipe that collapsed. Millions of gallons of untreated sewage Enter the Potomac River.
The class action lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, comes weeks after a sewer pipe collapsed in an area just north of Washington, D.C., in January, sending sewage from the ground into a river. The spill was considered a serious environmental disaster and resulted in extensive litigation. focus of political controversy The breach occurred between President Donald Trump and the Democratic-led state of Maryland.
Plaintiff Dr. Nicholas Lyrus, a Virginia resident and recreational boater on the Potomac River, is seeking compensation for those whose “property interests, use, and enjoyment of the Potomac River have been impaired by defendant’s conduct.”
The complaint alleges that as the owner and operator of the ruptured pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, it is DC Water’s responsibility to maintain the pipe in a “reasonably safe condition and to prevent foreseeable harm to persons or property.”
The complaint says preliminary data indicates there are thousands of people who own property or boats in the affected areas of the Potomac River.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew Liebtown said in an interview Monday that business owners, property owners and recreational users are all concerned about the potential damage caused by the Jan. 19 collapse and leak, and it will take time to get the full range of information.
“Some businesses are going to lose business because their customers are sitting next to an open sewer system instead of sitting next to the Potomac River,” he says.
The amount of damages was not disclosed in the lawsuit. DC Water spokesman John Lyle said in a statement that the Potomac interceptor crash was “a serious and unexpected event, and our team remains focused on response, environmental protection and recovery efforts. As this matter is the subject of ongoing litigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency On February 18, he asked President Donald Trump to provide federal resources to help the city fight a leak that dumped 250 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River in its early stages. Days later, the president approved emergency aid to help the city deal with the emergency.
DC Water said the pipe, which was first installed in the 1960s, is aging and that repair work began in September and recently completed about 400 meters from the break. The burst pipe was scheduled to be repaired this summer.
According to the latest information from DC Water, emergency repairs are more than half done and there is no flow to the river.
At a public conference last week, utility officials said they were investigating the cause of the rupture, including whether the way the pipeline was originally constructed contributed to the emergency. DC Water CEO David Gaddis said at the briefing that while it was too early to say definitively, “there are indications that this incident may have been highly unusual.”
