It鈥檚 not new: The U.S. Navy has been discharging weapons into the Potomac River, south of the Harry Nice Bridge, since 1918.
But as the Navy plans to expand its test range beyond the more than 50 miles stretching from just below the Harry Nice Bridge to the mouth of the Potomac River where it meets the Chesapeake Bay, two environmental groups, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council, are suing.
Dean Naujoks, who serves as the Lower Potomac Riverkeeper, told WTOP in an interview that the lawsuit, filed in federal court, doesn鈥檛 seek to end the weapons testing. Instead, the goal is to force the Navy to obtain a permit, 鈥渓ike every other entity is required to do to discharge into the Potomac River,鈥� or U.S. waters.
Naujoks said that more than 33 million pounds of ordnance has been discharged into the Potomac for over 90 years 鈥渨ithout any permit, without any limit鈥� and the lawsuit argues that鈥檚 a violation of the Clean Water Act.
鈥淭he fact that we are on the nation鈥檚 river, literally 50 miles from Washington, and the Navy has continued to operate without a Clean Water Act permit is kind of baffling, to be honest with you,” Naujoks said.
The Navy did an environmental impact study in 2013, but, Naujoks argues, since the study relied on modeling, it didn鈥檛 go far enough.
The has information on the operations of the Potomac River Test Range that explains 鈥淭hese facilities are used by our military to conduct munitions testing and should be avoided while testing is in progress.鈥�
The website mentions that the testing has the potential to produce 鈥渧ery loud noise” in communities surrounding the Naval Support Facility at Dahlgren, Virginia.
Along with environmental issues, the suit is concerned with the impact that the discharge of munitions has on commercial fishing.
鈥淲e know that watermen are pulling these projectiles out of the river when they鈥檙e out there harvesting oysters or pulling crabs up,鈥� said Naujoks.
鈥淭he Department of the Navy does not comment on ongoing litigation. Inquiries regarding litigation should be referred to the Department of Justice,” the U.S. Navy Office of Information said in a statement to WTOP.
