Congress Expands Investigation into Potomac Interceptor Sewage Spill
Congress has broadened its inquiry into the sewage spill from the Potomac Interceptor and is now looking into the repair contract between DC Water and a construction firm, based on a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
House Republican Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, along with Chairmen John Joyce and Gary Palmer, sent a letter to David Burkhart, CEO of Gurney Companies, seeking information on the two-year reclamation contract linked to the Potomac Interceptor (PI). The letter mentions that DC Water was in talks for an emergency master services agreement with Gurney, intended to commence on May 15, 2025, though a final deal was never solidified.
“The segment of DC Water’s PI sewer line that collapsed resulted in what has been referred to as ‘one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history,'” said Guthrie, Palmer, and Joyce in a joint statement. “The repercussions of this spill are still being assessed, and we remain concerned about potential impacts on public health, safe drinking water, the environment, interstate commerce, and tourism.” They emphasized the importance of resilient wastewater infrastructure and expressed a desire to understand the risks that were identified before this incident and how future occurrences might be prevented.
The letter outlines that the contract with Gurney was meant to cover program management, preconstruction, and emergency construction services to restore and enhance the reliability of the Potomac Interceptor.
The House committee requested that Gurney provide all documents and communications about the proposal made to DC Water, the pending emergency master services agreement, and information about the PI collapse site in order to uncover any known risks before the spill occurred.
Burkhardt did not respond immediately to inquiries from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
On January 19, a section of the PI failed, releasing an estimated 240 million gallons of sewage into the Potomac River. A report from the Potomac Conservancy indicated that water samples showed alarming levels of E. coli contamination—60 times higher than safe levels for human exposure, with some reports suggesting it might have been 100 times worse.
Potomac River Administrator Dean Nauyokus pointed to infrastructure failures as a key factor in the disaster and expressed doubt about the effectiveness of DC Water’s response efforts to manage and clean up the spill.
In February, President Donald Trump announced that the federal government would intervene to help address the cleanup of the Potomac River. He stated that FEMA would play an essential role in coordinating the response, while also blaming local Democratic leaders, particularly Maryland Governor Wes Moore, for “gross mismanagement.”
Jessica Kramer, Assistant Secretary for Water at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mentioned that restoring wastewater flow to the PI is a significant step, noting that the EPA would maintain a presence and continue working diligently until the site and surrounding area are fully restored.
