Report: Potomac is nation's most endangered river

A new report has named the Potomac River the nation’s most endangered river as legislation pending in Congress threatens to loosen environmental protections to the waterway in the heart of the nation’s capital.

According to conservationists, several pieces of legislation are pending in Congress that could lessen the impact of the Clean Water Act on its 40th anniversary after it was enacted, partly in response to the poor state of the Potomac River. The report by American Rivers called the Potomac “emblematic” of the problems several major rivers in the United States face if federal lawmakers limit protections for the tributaries to these rivers.