The U.S. Department of Justice is ending a settlement agreement with the state of Alabama regarding sewage in Lowndes County.

“The DOJ will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a news release. “President Trump made it clear: Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect, and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria.”

Under President Joe Biden, the federal government opened two investigations into sanitation issues in the Black Belt and specifically Lowndes County. Residents of those counties frequently lack proper sanitation and some resorted to “straight piping” sewage into the ground.

In 2023, the DOJ reached a settlement agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health, agreeing to suspend investigation of possible civil rights violations in exchange for the department of health implementing significant changes, including suspending criminal penalties for improper sanitation and assessing possible wastewater or septic systems in the area.

But now the DOJ is terminating that agreement, effective immediately, according to the news release.

“The federal Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have terminated their Interim Resolution Agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) regarding sanitation concerns in Lowndes County,” Ryan Easterling, a spokesperson for ADPH, said in an email. “The installation of sanitation systems and related infrastructure is outside the authority or responsibilities conferred upon ADPH by state law. Nonetheless, ADPH will continue working with subgrantees on installation of septic systems as contemplated by the Interim Resolution Agreement until appropriated funding expires. After that time, ADPH will support and be available to provide technical assistance to other organizations that may choose to engage in this work.”

The termination comes as a result of President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” which forbid federal agencies from pursuing programs related to “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” according to the news release.

“Environmental justice,” a term used to describe disproportionate environmental threats to lower income or minority communities, would be considered “DEI” initiatives, according to the news release.

Under the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ is working to close cases like the Lowndes County case.

“Today’s closure is another step this administration has taken to eradicate illegal DEI preferences and environmental justice across the government and in the private sector,” according to the news release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened a second investigation related to sanitation in the Black Belt in 2023, when Biden was still in office. This investigation targets the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and whether the department discriminates against Black Belt residents when handing out grants as part of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

The investigation followed a complaint filed by Catherine Coleman Flowers, a native of Lowndes County and recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” grant for her environmental activism. Flowers filed her complaint in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

It’s unclear how today’s announcement would affect this investigation.

President Trump has worked to end “environmental justice” initiatives since returning to office. Last month, the EPA closed its environmental justice and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” offices at the direction of Trump.

Top officials in the Justice Department froze civil rights litigation in the weeks following Trump’s return to office, according to the Associated Press.