Fort Myer Construction to pay $450K, make upgrades after years of water pollution violations: OAG
Fort Myer Construction will pay $450,000 and make extensive upgrades to its Ward 5 storage and maintenance yard to resolve a lawsuit alleging years of violations of D.C.’s water pollution laws, Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced.
What we know:
A consent order filed Friday requires the company to submit progress reports to the District for three years and imposes additional penalties if it fails to comply.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused Fort Myer of allowing polluted runoff from its Ward 5 storage and maintenance yard on 33rd Street to flow into nearby waterways, including Springhouse Run, which feeds into the Anacostia River, for nearly a decade.
According to the complaint, the Department of Energy and Environment repeatedly inspected the facility beginning in 2015 and issued notices, warnings and orders directing the company to apply for a federally required discharge permit.
Despite those actions, officials said Fort Myer failed to address conditions at the yard and continued discharging pollutants such as petroleum, soap, salt, sediment and other substances into the stormwater drainage system.
Fort Myer Construction Corporation (Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb)
Under the agreement, Fort Myer must pay $450,000, including $225,000 directed to DOEE’s Water Quality Enforcement Fund. The company is also required to make extensive improvements to prevent future pollution, including installing new runoff control structures, drains and filters; upgrading drainage infrastructure; removing decommissioned equipment and vehicles; and performing maintenance under a negotiated Environmental Management Plan.
The company must conduct weekly compliance inspections, test water quality from stormwater outfalls, and submit monthly reports with lab results, monitoring photos and inspections. Any failure to meet compliance inspection, testing or infrastructure requirements could result in additional penalties.
"We sued Fort Myer because it flouted D.C. laws and polluted D.C. waterways for years, threatening the health and safety of D.C. residents," Schwalb said in a statement. "In addition to holding Fort Myer accountable for the damage it caused, this agreement ensures the company makes much-needed and long overdue changes to its equipment and business practices to protect the District, our environment, and our residents moving forward."
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb.