D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against the federal government for its role in polluting the Anacostia River. 

“The US government has treated the Anacostia River as its dumping ground for toxic waste and chemicals,” Schwalb wrote on X. “We are fighting to hold it accountable to clean the devastating pollution it caused.” 

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The Anacostia River is just nine miles long and flows between Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland. The Supreme Court has ruled that rivers and waterways belong to the public, meaning that citizens have a right to access and use the waters. In the case of D.C., the federal government owns and controls the Anacostia riverbed.

In a press release, Schwalb stated how, for 150 years, the federal government has had a laissez-faire approach to preventing pollution in the river, and it has also actively participated in dumping pollutants in the river. The lawsuits cites the dangerous chemicals from the U.S. Navy’s operations at Washington Navy Yard being dumped from the Kenilworth Landfill, in an effort to prove the federal government is playing an active role in worsening the health conditions of the city’s poorest population.

“The federal government’s blatant disregard for human health and safety has wreaked havoc on generations of Washingtonians – diminishing what should be a pristine resource for swimming, fishing, and wildlife, and disproportionately harming communities of color living East of the River,” Schwalb said in a statement.

The lawsuit states that many of the pollutants in the Anacostia River don’t break down and have caused “long-lasting harm to the environment, aquatic wildlife, and human health.”

These serious health issues include cancer, birth defects, asthma, diabetes, and neurological and developmental disorders, among a myriad of other issues — disproportionately impacting people of color.

D.C.’s Ward 7 — a predominantly black area located along the Anacostia River — is home to waste sites and industrial facilities, leading to residents experiencing higher levels of particulate matter — or pollution. This leads to worse maternal heath and outcomes, and higher rates of asthma. Black Americans are 40% more likely to have asthma than white people.

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 “There are two rivers that flow through the District of Columbia, but for too long the Anacostia River has remained a troubled and contaminated body of water,”  Carmel Henry, President of the NAACP DC Branch said in a statement. “The District of Columbia deserves full enforcement of the Clean Water Act and all applicable laws to ensure the full restoration of the Anacostia River and associated waterways.  As the nation’s Capital, the District should be a premier model for residents to access waterways which are safe, swimmable and fishable.”

Clean-ups for the river have already been underway. The city has also made a $3.29 billion sewer upgrade, which has already reduced overflows into the river by 91%, according to D.C. water. Known as the Anacostia Tunnel System — the final section of the tunnel system went online in 2023. The Anacostia Tunnel System is expected to reduce overflows by 98%.