Two federal agencies have reached an interim resolution agreement (IRA) with the Alabama Department of Public Health and a county health department in a nearly two-year environmental-justice investigation.

The Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced May 4 that its 18-month investigation found the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Lowndes County Health Department (collectively ADPH) didn't address sewage system failures that disproportionately affected Black residents. 

"ADPH cooperated throughout the investigation and agreed to the interim resolution agreement that puts ADPH on a path forward towards ensuring the development of equitable and safe wastewater disposal and management systems in Lowndes County," HHS states in the news release.

The DOJ and HHS launched an investigation in November 2021 into ADPH's enforcement of sanitation laws and its "consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with raw sewage," according to the news release. The investigation focused on whether ADPH's actions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits entities that receive federal funds from discriminatory practices based on race, color or national origin in federally funded programs. 

The agencies investigated also possible violations of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Section 1557), which states a person cannot be excluded from participating in or benefitting from federally funded health programs receiving federal financial assistance, the news release reports.

The investigation identified "areas of concern" in both ADPH's operations and its compliance efforts, according to the news release. 

"Specifically, the investigation revealed that ADPH’s enforcement of sanitation laws threatened residents of Lowndes County with criminal penalties and even potential property loss for sanitation conditions they did not have the capacity to alleviate," the news release states. 

ADPH also "engaged in a consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with raw sewage" and although ADPH was aware of both issues and the unfair hardship it placed on Black residents in Lowndes County, the ADHP "failed to take meaningful actions to remedy these conditions," the release reports.  

Under the IRA, ADPH has agreed to take actions to address public health in Lowndes County, such as suspending criminal penalties and liens against residents who cannot afford to replace failing septic systems; cooperating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to examine the public health risks in Lowndes County from exposure to raw sewage and to adopt CDC recommendations; and to launch an aggressive public-awareness campaign using multiple forms of outreach to make sure citizens receive critical safety information, among other measures. 

"Today starts a new chapter for Black residents of Lowndes County, Alabama who have endured health dangers, indignities and racial injustice for far too long," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in the announcement. "Our agreement puts Lowndes County on a path to long overdue reform as the state now takes steps necessary to provide access to basic sanitation services, end exposure to raw sewage and improve health outcomes for marginalized communities."

Clarke said the IRA is the first environmental justice settlement secured by the DOJ under civil rights laws.

"Our work in Lowndes County should send a strong message regarding our firm commitment to advancing environmental justice, promoting accountability and confronting the array of barriers that deny Black communities and communities of color access to clean air, clean water and equitable infrastructure across our nation," Clarke said in the release.