Whitey Ford
06-22-2023, 12:24 AM
Feds force Alabama to treat sewage in Black Belt: 7 takeaways
https://i.imgur.com/CfnXseh.jpg
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.
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.
Lowndes County has become a national poster child for poor sanitation conditions, at one point earning a visit from a United Nations delegation.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/06/feds-force-alabama-to-treat-sewage-in-black-belt-what-it-means-7-takeaways.html
https://i.imgur.com/CfnXseh.jpg
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.
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.
Lowndes County has become a national poster child for poor sanitation conditions, at one point earning a visit from a United Nations delegation.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/06/feds-force-alabama-to-treat-sewage-in-black-belt-what-it-means-7-takeaways.html