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Prince George's County officials are discussing measures to reduce the area's organic waste and methane deposits among ways to help improve the health of the Potomac River watershed.

The Alice Ferguson Foundation's fourth Potomac Trash Summit was held Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C., to generate brainstorming of ways to eliminate trash from the Potomac by 2013.

The event was attended by more than 35 elected officials from jurisdictions throughout the Potomac River watershed region and featured roundtable discussions on pollution led by representatives of County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).

The event was organized by the Alice Ferguson Foundation, an Accokeek-based nonprofit that hopes to raise awareness about keeping the river clean, as the Potomac supports 5 million people throughout the region.

"We are thrilled with the tangible trash-free actions and accomplishments by many of our government leaders, businesses, communities and citizens, and we will focus key actions of individual responsibility needed by all citizens of the watershed that will take us to our audacious goal of a trash-free Potomac by 2013," said Tracy Bowen, the foundation's executive director.

Michael Herman, Johnson's chief of staff who also led a discussion on reducing trash runoff, said the summit aimed to bridge the gap in communities along the river in Prince George's and Montgomery counties and the District in efforts to reduce pollution.

"The trash summit is about taking all the various communities [near the Potomac River] and trying to achieve that one goal of a trash-free Potomac," he said.

David Byrd, Johnson's deputy chief administrator, said the county is pushing to pass tougher restrictions that would limit pollutant discharge into waterways. The county's MS-4 permit, which regulates pollutant discharge into the river, expired in October, Byrd said, and the hope is to make the permit more restrictive.

"We believe that getting up trash from the Potomac is a part of the Livable Communities Initiative," he said.

While no definite decisions were reached during the summit, Bowen said she was particularly pleased by discussions with Prince George's County officials, whom she said have pledged stronger efforts in reducing river trash and runoff by possibly adding compost pile trash pickup.

"They're going to get really aggressive on how they're letting trash flow into the streets and into the storm drain and into the river," she said. "We feel like this effort is maturing — instead of convincing people that there is a trash problem that needs to be solved, now it's being solved."

U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Dist.8) of Kensington said in a statement that trash in the river is the most obvious sign of community carelessness and neglect.

"The idea is as simple as it is profound. By removing the trash ... we as a community begin to reclaim the Potomac River, and our communities," he said. "We will continue to work together towards our ambitious goal of a trash-free Potomac by 2013."

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.