Leaders unveil restoration plan

Federal, state and local leaders pledged to protect the Anacostia watershed through a $2.7 billion restoration plan unveiled at a pre-Earth Day event Monday.

"The issue here today is keeping the river here in the state that God would want it," said Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville, who organized the event at Bladensburg Waterfront Park.

Hoyer, along with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), Congress members and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), pledged to implement a coordinated effort among the governments for environmental projects, create regulation reforms and install pollution controls to help the Anacostia River.

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) did not attend. A spokesman said he was working on his State of the Economy speech scheduled for today.

The watershed plan took two years to create and was developed by the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership, a coalition that reviewed ways to help the Anacostia River, which is considered to be one of the most damaged waterways feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. The plan calls for more than 3,000 projects and other measures that would be funded by the federal government.

Partnership officials estimate the cost of the projects at $2.7 billion, none of which has been allocated.

The Anacostia River spans 8.4 miles and is fed by a network of smaller creeks in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The river passes through southeastern Washington, D.C., before emptying into the Potomac River.

Ongoing development and aging sewers that overflow near the Anacostia River have contributed to its pollution, environmentalists say.

"Let's call it what it is," said U.S. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-At Large) of Washington, D.C. "There are fish in this river found with cancerous tumors. We have heavy metals, toxic chemicals, sediments ... I'm not going to let the federal government forget that it is their sewers that contribute to the overall pollution. We should foot the bill."

Hoyer and Norton, along with Maryland Reps. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington and Donna Edwards (D-Dist. 4) of Fort Washington said they will work to draw federal funding for the projects.

State officials said they are seeking $60 million for projects in the next federal budget.

O'Malley praised the collaborative effort and pledged to issue new daily pollution control limits on the river. He also called on both counties to stick to planned stormwater regulations that will lessen pollution caused by rain runoff at developments and renew efforts for restoring the river.

"Yes, it's very easy to be cynical about the latest plan," O'Malley said after praising Leggett's work to pass stormwater regulations in Montgomery County. "But we should not doubt the good that can come about when people come together."

Charlie Wilson, director of the county Department of Environmental Resources, said after the event the county has worked for more than 20 years on river projects and stormwater controls, and he noted there is no federal funding for the project.

Engineers with the department said the county has completed 25 stream restorations since 2003, and is designing five more restorations that could be finshed in two years.

The new watershed plan was overseen by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Edward Graham, water resource director for the Council of Governments, acknowledged that restoring the stream will be a massive undertaking.

"It's an urban watershed. This is a big job," he said. "It's unprecedented."

Staff Writer Megan McKeever contributed to this story.