News & Events

Public Comment to NPS: The Diverted Water Has to Go Somewhere

  • Jun - 02 - 2023

Updates from the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee on Advocacy Work to Preserve the FDR Memorial (Most Recent First):

On June 1, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee Advisory Board Member Senator Tom Harkin (retired) and Co-Founder and Executive Director, Mary Dolan, and our consulting scientists, Dr. Jim O'Donnell and Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson, testified to the National Capital Planning Commission regarding the ongoing concern with the proposed plan to rehabilitate the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls. 

To review the meeting agenda, NPS materials, and testimonies, please use this link https://www.ncpc.gov/review/agenda/
 
To read the FDR Committee testimonies, please use the following links:
 

On April 5, 2023, the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee submitted a public comment and petition to Jeffrey P. Reinbold, Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service, regarding the Rehabilitate Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park Seawalls – Environmental Assessment, Geo Tech, and Memorandum of Agreement. 

Our argument is that treating flooding in one area, does not address the increased and very real flooding concerns in other areas of the Tidal Basin and in fact puts those cultural and historic sites – the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial, the Martin Luther King (MLK) Memorial, the Japanese Pagoda and Japanese Lantern – at risk. The diverted water has to go somewhere.

The full submission can be found below. 

Public Comment Submission

Supporting Material for Public Comment (Maps)

NPS Petition with Signatories