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Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) today led 11 National Capital Region Representatives to demand the full authorization and funding of federal programs to repair and modernize critical water infrastructure nationwide, including urgent repairs to the Potomac Interceptor. The request follows a failure in the Potomac Interceptor pipeline which resulted in nearly 250 million gallons of sewage spilling into the Potomac River.

In a letter addressed to leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Members requested specific funding to rehabilitate and modernize the Potomac Interceptor, in addition to the reauthorization of and increased funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund which helps states and localities repair and modernize wastewater infrastructure. Members also urged the prioritization of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) comprehensive study to identify a backup water supply for the Washington region, which currently lacks a secondary water source. 

“Congress must play a role in solving this crisis, investing in our nation’s wastewater infrastructure, and preventing this and similar crises from recurring. The failure of the Potomac Interceptor is an acute crisis for our region…” wrote the Members. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that ‘our water infrastructure is aging and in need of repair to withstand the challenges of the 21st century.’ EPA’s most recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey found that our wastewater infrastructure will require more than $630 billion in repairs and updates over the next two decades, far outpacing local and state capacity.”

“These steps are essential to respond to the devastating sewage spill from the Potomac Interceptor, and to spare other communities from facing similar crises in the future, which will inevitably occur without immediate investments in our nation’s water infrastructure.”

The letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Eugene Vindman (D-VA), and James Walkinshaw (D-VA). 

Full text of the letter follows below, and a signed copy is available here. 

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Dear Chair Graves and Ranking Member Larsen:

As Members of Congress from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, we write to urge the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Committee) to take urgent action to repair and modernize the Potomac Interceptor, a major regional wastewater conveyance pipeline for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Since January 19th, and escalating since February 7th, a failure in the pipeline has resulted in nearly 250 million gallons of sewage spilling into the Potomac River, creating serious environmental and health concerns for our constituents. 

We have been closely monitoring the spill since it occurred, and are thankful that local partners and governments have already taken steps to manage its most immediate impacts and have remained in regular communication with our offices. The University of Maryland and local partners like Potomac Riverkeepers have monitored water quality and provided consistent public updates. The Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Health, and the D.C. Department of Energy & Environment, have all issued public notices or advisories to inform the public about the quality of the river. Meanwhile, D.C. Water has implemented emergency measures to prevent sewage from further spilling into the Potomac River while it installs medium- and long-term repairs. While those repairs will take time and cannot reverse the environmental and health impacts of the spill, they are essential steps toward ending this crisis.

Now, Congress must play a role in solving this crisis, investing in our nation’s wastewater infrastructure, and preventing this and similar crises from recurring. The failure of the Potomac Interceptor is an acute crisis for our region, but its failure was caused by the same aging infrastructure that exists across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that “our water infrastructure is aging and in need of repair to withstand the challenges of the 21st century.” EPA’s most recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey found that our wastewater infrastructure will require more than $630 billion in repairs and updates over the next two decades, far outpacing local and state capacity. Like other infrastructure included in that survey, the Potomac Interceptor’s age made it vulnerable to failure. The conduit, which runs from Virginia and Maryland to D.C. Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, opened in 1964—more than 60 years ago.

We therefore request that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure urgently act to repair the Potomac Interceptor. We also ask that you fully authorize and fund federal programs that prevent these crises for our region and others nationwide. Specifically, we request that the Committee:

1. Reauthorize, and increase authorized funding levels, for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The CWSRF was specifically designed by Congress to help states and localities repair and modernize wastewater infrastructure like the Potomac Interceptor. Reauthorizing this program at or above the levels set in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is essential to enabling communities across the country to avoid wastewater spills and other crises.
2. Authorize specific funding to rehabilitate and modernize the Potomac Interceptor. Unlike other water systems nationwide, the Washington region’s system includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a major infrastructure owner and manager. As the Committee prepares the biennial updates to USACE’s funding priorities and projects as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), we ask that you authorize urgent funding for comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization of the Potomac Interceptor. That funding will allow for structural repairs, pipe lining, ventilation improvements, access structure replacement, odor and corrosion control upgrades, and modernization of monitoring systems.
3. As part of WRDA 2026, direct USACE to prioritize the execution of the comprehensive study on a backup water supply for the Washington region required by section 8201(a) (14) of WRDA 2022 as modified by section 1351 of WRDA 2024. Unlike other major metropolitan areas, the region lacks a secondary water supply, which would provide critical redundancy in the event of a future crisis. The region cannot afford a delay in identifying that second source or a narrowing of the study to focus only on near-term or small-scale measures.

These steps are essential to respond to the devastating sewage spill from the Potomac Interceptor, and to spare other communities from facing similar crises in the future, which will inevitably occur without immediate investments in our nation’s water infrastructure. To deliver those investments, we also ask the Appropriations Committee’s subcommittees on Energy and Water Development, and on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, to fully fund the CWSRF and authorized Potomac Interceptor repairs as they prepare Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations bills.

On behalf of the communities facing the most severe impacts from the failure of the Potomac Interceptor, we thank you for your attention to this urgent issue. We are willing and prepared to work with the Committee to secure real, long-term solutions to our region’s, and our country’s, wastewater infrastructure issues.

Sincerely,