press room

AWO PARTICIPATES IN "CAPITAL RIVER RELIEF" CLEANUP

AWO and Coast Guard participants display the results of their cleanup efforts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the American Waterways Operators (AWO) participated in the "Capital River Relief" cleanup of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers on Tuesday, April 20. The project, "Capital River Relief: Team Up to Clean Up," was organized by Chad Pegracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cleaning and restoring national waterways; Doug Siglin, director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Anacostia River Initiative; and Koch Industries. The cleanup ran from April 1 to April 24 in Washington, D.C. AWO was an official sponsor of the project, as were several AWO members. McDonough Marine Service provided a 140-foot barge on which the approximately 70 tons of garbage collected was deposited and Moran Towing Corporation donated tugboat services to bring the barge to Washington from its berth in Norfolk and return it.

The project brought together an extraordinary coalition of corporate, association, government and environmental groups partnering to clean 30 miles of the rivers. At AWO's invitation, volunteers from the U.S. Coast Guard helped in the April 20 cleanup as well, working alongside AWO members.

Thousands of volunteers for the project included Members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff, local sports celebrities, stars Jenna Morasca and Ethan Zohn from CBS's Survivor All-Stars, members of local environmental organizations, college students, church groups, and employees of government agencies and local businesses. For more information on the project, go to www.capitalriverrelief.org.

###