Trump approves disaster assistance to DC to help with sewage spill into Potomac River

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has approved emergency assistance to Washington, D.C., to help the city address a sewage system leak that dumped at least 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Trump’s approval on Saturday, allowing FEMA to provide equipment and resources to help with the response to the Jan. 19 spill after a pipeline ruptured.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had requested the federal help on Wednesday and declared an emergency.

Trump’s approval of the disaster relief request comes after he criticized the handling of the spill, blaming local Democratic leaders and focusing especially on Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

At a dinner later at the White House for governors, where no Democrats were spotted, Trump brought up the spill and said, “We have to clean up some mess that Maryland and Virginia have left us. We’re going to be cleaning it up. It’s unbelievable what they can do with incompetence.”

He said in his social media posts criticizing the response that local officials had not asked for emergency help and he intended to step in.

However, the federal government was already involved in the repair and assessing the impact of the leak through the Environmental Protection Agency.

The 72-inch (183 centimeter) pipeline, known as the Potomac Interceptor, burst on Jan. 19, sending 250 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River just north of Washington in the first five days.

The leak is largely under control, but it could take months to repair the pipe fully. The local water utility, DC Water, along with the EPA, has been working to repair the leak and monitor the impact on the river.

Officials have said the area’s drinking water is safe, but people who use the Potomac River for recreation are being cautioned not to have direct contact with the water.