The Justice Department and the Maryland Department of the Environment have filed separate lawsuits against D.C. Water over the pollution of the Potomac River due to a massive sewage spill from a ruptured pipe back in January.

Maryland is seeking penalties and damages for costs associated with the historic sewage spill that sent millions of gallons of untreated sewage sent into the Potomac River in Montgomery County.

According to a news release from the office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the civil complaint alleges D.C. Water was “aware that the over half-century-old Potomac Interceptor showed signs of corrosion yet failed to properly assess the risks and delayed initiating capital improvements.”

In March, D.C. Water CEO David Gadis testified before the D.C. Council that the collapsed portion of the Potomac Interceptor pipe was not at the risk level for imminent failure based on a 2024 assessment report. Two more sections of the pipe near the site of the failure were rated the same or worse, on a one-to-five point scale, than the section that ruptured.

Earlier this month, an investigation by The Washington Post found that D.C. Water had planned to reinforce the aging section of the 6-foot-wide pipe years ago, but delayed construction efforts as environmental agencies looked into some ecological concerns. The repair project fell behind schedule as early as 2019, when it was already recorded as 255 days delayed. The delay stemmed from an ongoing federal environmental review by the National Park Service, which also said D.C. Water repeatedly revised its reconstruction plans — sending them to restart the environmental review process again.

“The Potomac River belongs to the people of Maryland, and we expect it to be fully restored to health,” Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain said. “The utility must take full responsibility for the damage caused and take immediate and lasting action to prevent future spills. The river is part of our identity, our economy, and our way of life.”

The Maryland complaint alleges D.C. Water violated state water pollution laws through “unauthorized discharges” — the contaminating pollutants in the river — and is asking for a penalty of $10,000 per day for each violation. The sewage spill and subsequent emergency repairs took about 55 days, meaning D.C. Water could owe up to $550,000 to Maryland.

The complaint also orders D.C. Water to pay for all the environmental testing done and cleanup costs, cover damages for the lost value of the state’s natural resource and enter an injunction to “permanently stop any future unauthorized sewage discharges.”

The Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, also filed a civil complaint Monday alleging D.C. Water violated the Clean Water Act for the sewage spill.

The complaint seeks financial penalties, among other requests, to help recover from what it called D.C. Water’s “failure” to operate and maintain its sewer system in compliance with the Clean Water Act and “in a manner that keeps untreated sewage out of the Potomac River.”

“As cities grow and infrastructure ages, cities must invest in their wastewater system to prevent such catastrophes. This complaint seeks to secure DC Water’s commitment to properly maintain its foundational sewage infrastructure,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

In response to both lawsuits, D.C. Water issued a statement reiterating its commitment to the rehabilitation of the Potomac River, and said that doing work on the pipeline on federal land requires close collaboration with the National Park Service.

“Since 2018, DC Water has worked with NPS on site assessments, environmental reviews, and emergency repairs on portions of the pipeline to ensure environmental protection and public safety. DC Water will renew its requests for streamlined environmental reviews to allow rehabilitation of the interceptor to move forward more quickly,” the statement reads, in part. “DC Water previously requested a categorical exclusion for this section of the pipe previously, but it was not approved.”

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