WASHINGTON — Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) is being sued by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has accused the utility company of dumping more pollutants into the Anacostia River than allowed.
The civil suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, wants PEPCO to stop allowing pollutants such as iron, zinc, lead, copper and cadmium (similar to zinc), and total suspended solids — solids in water that can be trapped by a filter — to rise above permitted levels into the Anacostia River.
The EPA alleges the pollutants are coming from stormwater discharge from PEPCO’s service center at 3400 Benning Road in Northeast, D.C.
The federal agency is asking for $37,500 for each day of violation and claims there were 131 incidents since Jan. 12, 2009, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also asks that PEPCO develop and implement a plan that addresses the violation issue.
Matt Likovich, a PEPCO spokesman says the company is cooperating with the EPA and is working on a solution. “PEPCO has made extensive efforts to address the EPA’s concerns,” Likovich says.
