Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),
President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration Saturday for the District of Columbia following a massive raw sewage spill into the Potomac River, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced.
The White House named the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the lead federal agency in response to at least 240 million gallons of wastewater discharged from the Potomac Interceptor sewage line into the waterway last month. Trump blamed local leaders for not respondingadequatelyto the crisis, while governors blamed the federal government.
There is no impact to the drinking water provided to the Washington, D.C., metro area, according to an EPA news release.
However, watersamplescollected from the Potomac River have returned high levels of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes staph infections, according to University of Maryland researchers.
“The Potomac Interceptor collapse and overflow is a sewage crisis of historic proportions,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in the news release.
At Trump’s direction, both the EPA and FEMA will collaborate with local and state partners on the Potomac River spill.
Zeldin additionally appointed Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer as the senior response officer for the emergency.
“We will work thoroughly and efficiently to support the long-term health of the Potomac, the region’s water supply, and local residents and communities,” Kramer said in the EPA news release.
Initially, state and local leaders did not request federal assistance.
Source: ZeroHedge News
