Mariah Cain, Staff Writer
The city of Alexandria has agreed to clean up toxic pollution along the Potomac waterfront as a part of a settlement with the nonprofit, Potomac Riverkeeper. The lawsuit by the nonprofit claimed that the city had been polluting the river since 1975.
Coal tar, creosote, and other pollutants have been leaking from sewers into the river from the city’s old coal gasification plant in Old Town, Alexandria. Though the plant has been shut down for years, the coal tar is still on the site and has been seeping through the pipes. Under the settlement, the city has to install new wells, liners, and clean the contaminated sediment in the river.
