Environment Washington Dc

Thirty years ago, acid runoff from West Virginia mines, raw sewage from Maryland and garbage from everywhere had turned the Potomac River, the nation's river, into the nation's sewer. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared it a national disgrace. Over the next 20 years, $1 billion in government spending and tireless work repaired half a century or more of abuse. Swimming is still not advised.

Thirty years ago, acid runoff from West Virginia mines, raw sewage from Maryland and garbage from everywhere had turned the Potomac River, the nation's river, into the nation's sewer. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared it a national disgrace. Over the next 20 years, $1 billion in government spending and tireless work repaired half a century or more of abuse. Swimming is still not advised.

"White House Must Reject Navy's Assault on the Oceans" (Commentary, Aug. 22) incorrectly suggests that no environmental analysis will be performed for the Navy's Low-Frequency Active Sonar, a system developed to detect ultra-quiet ship-killer submarines at long distances. The Navy has delayed deployment of this submarine detection technology for six years in order to conduct an environmental analysis, which included a two-year, $10-million research project conducted by scientists from Cornell University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, among others.