Photo by ctankcycles.

The District Department of the Environment will receive $7.5 million in cleanup funds from CSX Transportation Inc. after the freight corporation agreed to pay to cleanup leaks into a Fort Dupont stream that flows into the Anacostia River. Michael Neibauer reports that CSX was accused of “unpermitted discharges” of petroleum products — sidebar: as opposed to “permissible” oil leaks? — but will not admit liability under the terms of the now-confirmed deal, instead settling to pay for DDOE “to clean up the river, track pollution and to build new systems to find polluters.” CSX will also pay a civil penalty of $500,000 to the District as part of the deal, which was agreed to in principal last September. The leaks into the tributary were believed to have begun in 2004, if not earlier.