The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is set to be refilled over the next few days, a court filing shows, unveiling the full effect of a recent dark-blue paint job.
Work to resurface the Reflecting Pool was completed Wednesday and the pool is expected to be refilled no later than Sunday, according to a court filing from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s attorneys.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday afternoon that water would begin to flow “shortly,” in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“Excitingly, the final coat of protection will be completed on the Reflecting Pool that sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial, at 4 P.M., today,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “The water will start flowing, shortly thereafter. The walking paths outside of the Pool will, likewise, be cleaned, sandblasted, and finished soon. This will be the first time since the day it was built, 1922, that it has worked, and worked wonderfully, indeed!”
As of Thursday morning, 海角精品黑料’s Neal Augenstein reported the surface appeared dark blue, and several work vehicles remained behind the construction fencing.
Interior Department pushes back on lawsuit
A lawsuit over work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has turned into a fight over historic preservation, public process and the color blue.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation and other plaintiffs sought emergency relief in federal court last month, arguing that federal officials are painting over a historic landmark without proper review or public notice.
In a joint status report filed in U.S. District Court for D.C. in mid-May, the plaintiffs said 鈥渨ith every additional day, further irreparable harm is accruing鈥� as work continues on the Reflecting Pool.
They noted they were willing to agree to a longer briefing schedule if the U.S. Department of the Interior, listed as defendants in the filing, agreed to temporarily halt the painting while the court considered their motion. But the federal government would not agree to that pause.
On May 21, the court directed the Interior Department to share updates on the challenged project, according to Wednesday’s filing.
The Interior Department has previously pushed back on lawsuit, saying it appeared to be based on 鈥渁 fundamental misunderstanding鈥� of the project. The defendants said the bright blue color cited by the plaintiffs was only a primer layer 鈥� not the finished coat.
According to the federal government, the final coat will be 鈥渁 very dark blue,鈥� low in chroma, consistent with the Reflecting Pool鈥檚 historic character and intended to improve its reflectivity.
Defendants also said the color could be changed later by applying a new coat of primer and tinted epoxy.
Both sides disagree over whether required reviews were completed under the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Plaintiffs said federal officials did not conduct the required reviews before moving forward.
Defendants said they completed a streamlined Section 106 review under an existing programmatic agreement and used a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act.
海角精品黑料’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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