The Hill is reporting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into possible racial disparities in how the state of Alabama’s Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has distributed federal sewer dollars.
The complaints specifically allege that ADEM failed to conduct proper outreach to disadvantaged communities.
The accusation is that ADEM deprives Black residents of “an equal opportunity to compete for federal funding.”
ADEM and the State of Alabama have denied committing any wrongdoing and say it has “made addressing the wastewater and drinking water needs of disadvantaged communities a priority” in awarding federal funds.
While claiming to be small government conservatives, the state has eagerly gobbled up billions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and infrastructure bills, much of it ostensibly to address failing drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater system problems. When the State Legislature appropriated the ARPA money, they tasked ADEM with allocating the money for the specific projects – most of it through a competitive grant program that cities, counties, and public utilities could apply for.
In 2021, there was an investigation into Lowndes County’s longstanding wastewater problems, which left some residents with sewage in their yards. That case was settled earlier this year and required Alabama’s Department of Public Health to create a plan to improve access to adequate sanitation in Lowndes County.
Taking federal funds usually comes with “federal strings attached,” and the state of Alabama has a poor working relationship with the Biden Administration, so an investigation by the Biden EPA – which is also challenging the state and ADEM over ADEM’s plan to bury coal ash ponds – is tinged with political undertones.
The EPA gave little information about the investigation outside of the announcement that the EPA has launched an investigation and that ADEM denies any wrongdoing.
This is a developing story that Alabama Today is closely following.
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