According to multiple reports, the U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil complaint against the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and local electric utility company Eversource over an electric cable that was laid under Boston Harbor 26 years ago. In a suit filed in US District Court in Boston, the government charges that when Boston Edison, the predecessor to Eversource, received authorization to install a 115-kV cable from a substation on K Street to the MWRA’s sewage-treatment plant, the electric company agreed to bury the cable a minimum of 25 feet below the harbor floor. The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges the cable, which provides power to the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, was not placed at the required 25 feet below the bottom of two shipping channels. In fact, when the company installed the cable the depth beneath the channels was less than the required 25 feet and as little as 12 feet. The government wants the court to order Eversource to remove the cable and to levy penalties on both the company and the MWRA. The complaint says that the cable became a problem after Congress authorized the deepening of Boston Harbor, including those channels, in 2014. The federal government is seeking a court order requiring the authority and the utility to fix the problem to protect the cable from dredging equipment and ship’s anchors. Eversource spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said the company is disappointed that an agreement could not be finalized before the complaint was filed, but remains hopeful the parties can reach an amicable resolution of the issue.