The Anacostia River may not (yet!) be the most pristine urban waterway in America, but it’s on its way. Several government agencies are creating plans to clean it up, and many milestone projects and decisions are on track to be completed next year. The cleaning up of these areas is important because not only because remediation will heal the natural environment and improve human safety, but also because the planning processes for these areas will pave the way for the redesign and/or redevelopment of these sites. While Poplar Point may someday be developed to combine ecological restoration along the shoreline and mixed-use development near the Anacostia Metro station, areas like Kenilworth Park may someday be designed to combine expanded forest cover with additional recreational space and better access to the waterfront.

Last month, the DC Office of Planning extended the public amendment period for the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. This means that residents have until June 23, 2017 to submit proposed amendments to the existing plan that could make it into an updated document in 2018. If you have any sort of vision for what you think your neighborhood—or the Anacostia River waterfront—should look like over the next 20 years, then you’ll want to make sure your vision is reflected in the document!

Washington DC is a leader in the Chesapeake region and nationally when it comes to stemming the tide on urban stormwater pollution through a combination of regulatory, market- and incentive-based programs.

The forecast for Thursday morning was gray, rainy and cold – but the Anacostia Waterfront Trust was joined by nearly 40 friends and supporters to celebrate the completion of its first RainPay green infrastructure project.

Representatives from the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Anacostia Riverkeeper, Casey Trees, Greening Urban, Environmental Quality Resources, Green Scheme, neighborhood organizations and many more groups huddled together under tents graciously provided by Casey Trees.

On Thursday, May 11th, the Anacostia Waterfront Trust will be hosting a ribbon cutting event at the national headquarters of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) in Ward 7. The event will mark the completion of the Trust’s first bioretention (or rain garden) facility, located on what is known as the “Holy Hill”. This garden is part of RainPay, our triple-bottom-line program designed to bring tangible improvements to the Anacostia River and watershed communities while providing financial benefits to the neighborhood. Come out if you can and help us celebrate this momentum!

Chairperson Cheh and members of the Transportation and Environment Committee, thank you for convening this public hearing and giving me the chance to offer you my thoughts on the District’s efforts to characterize and remediate the legacy toxic contamination in and along the shoreline of the Anacostia River. The Anacostia means a great deal to me; I lived and worked in Ward 6 for 30 years, have been paddling the river recreationally since the early1990s, and have been working professionally to clean up and revitalize it in one way or another since 1997. 

The Anacostia Waterfront Trust has partnered with the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) at its Nannie Helen Burroughs property in Northeast where a rain garden has been erected to capture water that can be used as credits and sold to developers to apply to their rain pay tax.

Increasingly, public discourse pits environment protections against jobs and local economic development. Yet communities within the Anacostia watershed demonstrate how environmental regulations and directives create jobs and spur investment in local communities.

On April 4th, the Anacostia Waterfront Trust held a public forum about the future of the Anacostia waterfront in partnership with the Committee of 100 on the Federal City.

Former DC Mayor Anthony Williams, who focused the District government’s attention on the Anacostia river during his 8-year term, provided opening remarks and called for the parkland along the Anacostia river to become Washington’s 21st Century urban waterfront.

World Water Day is an annual United Nations designated holiday, celebrated around the globe every March 22nd. I’m a little embarrassed that it sneaked by me again. It was created at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. I was there.