(Washington, DC ) - District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer today asked the DC Superior Court for and was granted a consent order that requires within 21 days the removal of an illegal open solid waste storage facility located within a short walk of the District’s new baseball stadium.  The dump occupied approximately two city lots.

In a complaint filed by Singer’s office in Superior Court on October 12, the office requested that the court order that defendants John Henry Davis and John Reginald Davis cease using the large vacant lot located at 1800 Half Street, S.W. as a dumping ground for the open storage of abandoned cars, an abandoned boat, trucks, construction debris, old tires, discarded auto batteries, discarded storage tanks and other hazardous waste materials. 

Also on October 12, Singer requested a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) asking the court to shut down the dump.  The court today entered a consent order that requires the defendants to clean up the property.  The defendants did not have a certificate of occupancy to operate a solid waste storage facility or any other business entity.

“The illegal storage of waste material will not be tolerated anywhere in the District,” Attorney General Singer said. “The area surrounding the stadium and the nearby neighborhood is expected to be a new and exciting entertainment destination, not a junkyard.”

Inspectors from the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and Department of Health (DOH) discovered the illegal dump during routine inspections this summer.  The defendants had been issued a number of citations by District inspectors but ignored demands to clear the property, resulting in the suit by Singer’s office.