{"id":2572254,"date":"2026-02-21T13:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-approves-emergency-for-dc-over-potomac-sewage-spill\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T13:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:37:00","slug":"trump-approves-emergency-for-dc-over-potomac-sewage-spill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-approves-emergency-for-dc-over-potomac-sewage-spill\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump approves emergency for DC over Potomac sewage spill"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-approves-emergency-for-dc-over-potomac-sewage-spill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572254&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump approved a FEMA-assisted emergency declaration for the District of Columbia after a major Potomac River sewage spill, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >enabling federal support<\/a> for DC and nearby areas in Maryland and Virginia.The emergency followed the Jan. 19 collapse of a 54-mile Potomac Interceptor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-and-google-deploy-army-of-shills-to-fight-regulation\/\" title=\"Amazon and Google Deploy Army of Shills to Fight Regulation\">sewer line<\/a> near Cabin John, Maryland, which released hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the potomac.DC Mayor Muriel Bowser had requested the declaration, and FEMA will help cover response costs in the district and the areas DC is responsible for in Maryland and Virginia. DC Water estimates four to six weeks of emergency repairs and a total remediation cost around $20 million. In the first five days, about 250 million gallons spilled, and E. coli levels spiked\u2014initial measurements were later revised upward to show a much larger increase. A second overflow occurred on Feb. 8, with no new overflows reported since then. Officials attributed the overflow to pumps being out of service for cleaning after clogs from non-disposable wipes, reducing pumping during a high-flow period. Trump criticized Maryland Governor Wes Moore for not acting more decisively and asserted that the federal government can fix the crisis, noting the deployment of FEMA assets to contain the spill. Bowser also sought full federal reimbursement for city and DC Water spending and declared a local state of emergency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump approves emergency declaration for DC over Potomac sewage spill<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2510483\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> on Saturday approved District of Columbia Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/muriel-bowser\/\">Muriel Bowser<\/a>&rsquo;s request for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-gives-unclear-response-on-whether-he-will-visit-texas\/\" title=\"Biden gives unclear response on whether he will visit Texas\">emergency disaster declaration<\/a>, addressing what is considered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-moore-play-blame-game-over-potomac-waste-spill\/\" title=\"... and Moore play blame game over ... waste spill\u00a0\">largest sewage spill<\/a> in U.S. history.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that Trump authorized the agency to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from the major 54-mile sewer line that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4456243\/potomac-river-spill-wastewater-spill-history\/\">collapsed into the Potomac River<\/a> on Jan. 19. Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage were released into the waterway when the section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed at a point off Cabin John, Maryland.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4465644\/kathryn-ruemmler-obama-counsel-goldman-sachs-epstein-scrutiny\/\">Who is Kathryn Ruemmler? Former Obama White House counsel is all over the Epstein files<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4464176\/rnc-fundraising-100-million-cash-on-hand\/\">RNC raises $16.4 million in January and has $101 million in cash<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4465570\/trump-says-gorsuch-barrett-tariff-vote-embarrassment-to-families\/\">Trump says Gorsuch and Barrett tariff vote is an &#8217;embarrassment to their families&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>FEMA&rsquo;s assistance will cover the nation&rsquo;s capital and the areas in Maryland and Virginia where the District of Columbia has responsibilities, the agency said.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4466081\/energy-commerce-republicans-investigate-dc-water-potomac-river-sewage-spill\/\"><strong>ENERGY AND COMMERCE REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATE DC WATER OVER POTOMAC RIVER SEWAGE SPILL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The development comes after Bowser on Wednesday evening accepted <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4460058\/trump-dc-potomac-river-sewage-spill-cleanup\/\">Trump&rsquo;s offer <\/a>to provide further federal assistance, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4463272\/bowser-federal-help-potomac-sewage-spill-public-emergency\/\">sending a letter <\/a>to the administration seeking <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/mayor.dc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/dc\/sites\/mayormb\/page_content\/attachments\/DC%20Request%20for%20Presidential%20Emergency%20Disaster%20Decleration%202.18.26.pdf\">full reimbursement <\/a>for the money the city and local utility DC Water are spending on repairs to the sewer line. Bowser also declared her own local State of Emergency inside the district on Wednesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>DC Water says it will take <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcwater.com\/about-dc-water\/media\/news\/dc-water-advances-work-repair-damaged-section-potomac-interceptor\">four to six weeks<\/a> to conduct emergency repairs. The city department estimated the total cost of repair and remediation for the spill to be $20 million.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Within the first five days of the Jan. 19 collapse, the leak sent 250 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River. The collapse led to a spike in E. coli in the surrounding area, which DC Water initially underestimated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4453365\/dc-water-e-coli-rate-potomac-sewage-spill\/\">by a sweeping margin<\/a>. DC Water reported levels of E. coli coming from the overflow at 2,420 MPN\/100mL on Feb. 6, but later changed the number to a sum&nbsp;9,900% higher than the initial estimate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A further overflow of the sewer line <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcwater.com\/about-dc-water\/media\/potomac-interceptor-collapse\/potomac-interceptor-updates\">occurred on<\/a> Feb. 8.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The overflow event occurred when multiple pumps were out of service for required cleaning and maintenance after becoming clogged by non-disposable wipes that were flushed into the system. This reduction in pumping capacity coincided with a high flow period in the sewer system contributing to the event,&rdquo; DC Water said in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcwater.com\/about-dc-water\/media\/news\/update-potomac-interceptor-collapse-february-9\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There have been no new overflows since Feb. 8, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcwater.com\/about-dc-water\/media\/news\/update-potomac-interceptor-collapse-february-20\">according to <\/a>DC Water.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump has accused officials, particularly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4462550\/wes-moore-trump-do-your-job-potomac-river-sewage-cleanup\/\">Maryland&rsquo;s Gov. Wes Moore<\/a> (D-MD), of failing to adequately step up during the crisis, and suggested they could have done more to prevent the infrastructural nightmare from occurring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The president reiterated those sentiments on Tuesday, when he said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-feds-are-helping-register-al-prisoners-to-vote\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Feds Are Helping Register AL Prisoners To Vote\">federal government &#038;ldquo<\/a>;can fix&rdquo; the sewage crisis.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, must get to work, IMMEDIATELY,&rdquo;&nbsp; Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4457305\/tom-homan-becomes-trumps-de-facto-dhs-secretary-absolutely-saved-the-day\/\">wrote on<\/a> Truth Social, days after announcing the deployment of FEMA assets to contain the spill. &ldquo;If they can&rsquo;t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed. The Federal Government is not at all involved with what has taken place, but we can fix it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump approves DC Potomac sewage emergency declaration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2572255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26020739700718.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50501,4469,49462,3634],"class_list":["post-2572254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-dc-2","tag-emergency","tag-potomac","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26020739700718.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572254"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572258,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572254\/revisions\/2572258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}