Sanitation Equity Fight In Alabama Could Set Precedent For Rural Communities Nationwide
A rural wastewater treatment battle in Alabama could come to impact infrastructure decisions nationwide as it draws federal attention and raises questions about how states fulfill the basic rights of their residents.
“Lowndes County is at the forefront of a landmark federal environmental justice case that could establish sanitation access as a civil right,” NPR reported. “The U.S. Justice Department intervened after several groups filed a complaint under the Civil Rights Act alleging racial discrimination in the way Alabama [manages] wastewater infrastructure, favoring centralized sewer systems over on-site sanitation. The Environmental Protection Agency has also opened a civil rights probe.”
The equitable delivery of drinking water and wastewater treatment services has been a focus of the U.S. EPA under the Biden administration, with administrator Michael Regan making repeated commitments to regain consumer trust in the wake of high-profile failings like the lead contamination issues in Flint, Michigan. Central to that mission has been renewed efforts to establish reliable infrastructure in more rural locations and communities of color, like Lowndes County, where residents say sewage infrastructure has been lacking for decades.
“A lack of wastewater infrastructure can have severe public health consequences,” according to Mother Jones. “One study from 2017 found that one-third of residents in Alabama’s Lowndes County are dealing with hookworm, an intestinal parasite that can cause anemia and stunt children’s mental development.”
Of particular issue in this rural section of Alabama is a state law that said residents had to be connected to a public system or maintain a functioning septic system. If not, the local health department had the right to put a lien on their property to finance a solution.
But now an interim agreement has been put into place to protect residents from that potential punishment, and as officials search for a permanent solution, the results may inform similar efforts in other parts of the country.
“Getting everyone access to adequate sanitation will require a range of solutions, and a lot of money,” per NPR. “Environmental activists hope the agreement can serve as a national model for sanitation equity.”
To read more about how wastewater systems manage their infrastructure, visit Water Online’s Sewers And Sewer Line Maintenance Solutions Center.