The federal government last month agreed to call a halt to a civil rights investigation on the condition that Alabama finally do something about wastewater pooling in yards in rural Lowndes County.

The investigation targeted the Alabama Department of Public Health. And it marked the first-ever civil rights settlement between the feds and a state over environmental justice, and probably the first time a state health department has ever been forced to provide sewer access for people who can’t afford it on their own.

Here’s the full story: https://www.al.com/news/2023/06/alabama-black-belt-becomes-environmental-justice-test-case-is-sanitation-a-civil-right.html

The precedent-setting agreement will likely have lasting impacts in Alabama and across the country, as the government declares that not providing sanitation for impoverished, minority communities is a violation of their civil rights.

Here are seven takeaways from we know so far:

1. A long-standing problem will finally be addressed

Perhaps first and foremost, thousands of Lowndes County residents will escape an endless cycle of sewage overflows and potential health hazards. Many homes in Lowndes are connected to septic tanks or sewer systems that don’t work, in part due to the geology in the area, and some resort to “straight piping” waste away from their homes. These conditions have caused generations of Lowndes residents to move away, tanked property values in the area and hampered any kind of economic development in the area between Selma and Montgomery.

2. Feds say Alabama engaged in ‘a consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect’

The U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services said their investigation showed that Alabama had engaged in “a consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with raw sewage,” in Lowndes County. The state had made efforts in the past to address wastewater issues in Lowndes County, but the federal departments determined it wasn’t enough.

3. Alabama agreement could set precedent

Lowndes County has become a national poster child for poor sanitation conditions, at one point earning a visit from a United Nations delegation. But it’s hardly the only place that struggles with poor sanitation. Will Alabama be forced to clean up sewage problems in other rural counties? Will other states find themselves in the crosshairs of discrimination complaints over sanitation issues in remote communities?

“This is the first time the federal government has done this, which is significant,” said Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office of Human Rights for the Department of Health and Human Services. “And this is not the last.”

4. How will Alabama fix it? Questions remain

Over the next six months, ADPH will conduct detailed surveys of Lowndes County to figure out exactly how many homes have failing sewage systems and how best to fix them. Some may be connected to nearby sewer systems, some may get new septic systems, or join hybrid systems being developed by researchers from the University of Alabama, Auburn University and the University of South Alabama. Until those surveys come back, it’s nearly impossible to estimate how difficult this project will be and how much it might cost.

5. Lowndes residents need to opt in

The program is mandatory, but ADPH can’t install anything on private property without the owners’ consent. Lowndes residents will have to participate in ADPH surveys to let the department know what their needs are and they’ll have to cooperate as the system is installed.

6. Mostly federal money, but nothing is free

The federal agencies say Alabama should seek federal infrastructure funding. But with the price tag still undetermined, it’s impossible to tell whether federal funding would be enough, or if Alabama would have to seek out funding from elsewhere, or pay for some of the projects with state money. Even if federal funding is enough to cover the Lowndes project, it would likely come at the expense of other parts of the state. Alabama has already been given more than $1 billion in infrastructure funding to work on water and sewer projects across the state, but it’s had more than $3 billion in applications for funding from local water systems.

7. What’s next? Sewer lines aren’t the only environmental justice issue

Environmental justice isn’t limited to sewage treatment and even that isn’t limited to Lowndes. Other parts of the Black Belt, like Uniontown in Perry County, also have issues with wastewater treatment and with businesses like major a cheese processing plant, a catfish processing plant and one of the state’s largest landfills.

The 35th Ave Superfund site in Birmingham could clearly be seen as “neglect and inaction,” as residents have had to live in the shadows of heavily polluting industrial facilities for decades. And large landfills have also been a target of complaint, as they tend to operate near poor, majority Black communities in rural Alabama.