Wasting Time: The Undoing of a Two-Year Septic Improvement Agreement Between the Department of Justice and the State of Alabama

By Aamore Richards

The Trump administrations recent approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has posed a threat to environmental justice everywhere. Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order eliminating Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives from the foreign service, declaring them to be illegal and “immoral” discrimination programs. While it may appear that President Trump’s anti-DEI initiatives are limited to hiring protocols, the ideological premise behind this decision undermines the longstanding principals of environmental justice. At the front end of these environmental justice rollbacks is the state of Alabama.

Lowndes County, Alabama is a predominantly Black county with nearly 73% of residents being African American. In June of 2023, the Alabama Department of Public Health issued a press release detailing the issues with septic systems in Lowndes County. Septic systems serve the purpose of treating and disposing household wastewater in residences disconnected from a centralized sewer system. A properly functioning septic system should prevent sewage from backing up into homes, and therefore ease public health and sanitation concerns for community members. In Lowndes County, the septic systems are not designed or installed to work with Lowndes County Black Belt soil, a dark-fertile clay soil whose thickness makes it difficult for tradition septic systems to function. As a result, raw sewage from residents’ toilets have been washing up into their yards where children play. The incompatibility between the soil and system is leading to improper drainage of wastewater from homes—raising potential health concerns for residents from the exposure to raw sewage.

In 2023, to reconcile the sewage issue faced by Lowndes County residents, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services under the Biden administration reached a groundbreaking agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health. This exclusive legal agreement between the Department of Justice and Alabama Department of Public Health sought to “protect Black and low-income residents of Lowndes County” who: cannot pay to put in a functioning septic system, cannot afford to fix one, or are not on a municipal sanitation system.

In April 2025, the Trump administration abruptly reneged on this agreement. The Department of Justice has cited this decision as an expansion of President Trump’s executive orders forbidding federal agencies to perpetuate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The silent rationale from the Trump administration appears to be that the agreement between the Department of Justice and Alabama Department of Public Health, fits within the scope of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, by trying to be inclusive of low income and Black Lowndes County residents in subsidizing their inability to afford proper septic systems.

The consequences of the Department of Justice’s drawback from the agreement are clear. Black and low-income residents who have not already received support in fixing or installing a compatible septic system in their homes will continue to be plagued by washed-up raw sewage. This contact with raw sewage may deteriorate the quality of health of Lowndes County residents by exposing citizens to harmful microorganisms which cause illness.

The question on everyone’s mind is can they do this? Can the federal government breach a contract with a state agency? How might the State of Alabama proceed to fill a Department of Justice-sized vacancy in their support plan for their residents? What are the legal options remaining for the state to pursue?

The state of Alabama has two options. First, formulating defenses against the Department of Justice’s abandonment of their agreement. One option the state could consider is pursuing legal action against the Department of Justic in a civil suit for breach of contract. Damages received could be used by the state to supplement the costs of continuing to provide residents assistance with installing proper septic systems. The second, and most important focus of the Alabama Department of Public Health should be to take proactive measures to limit the impact health and disease on residents from the exposure to raw sewage. One way the County can do this is by providing a pop-up health truck offering regular checkups and care to potentially exposed low-income residents. By providing health care access assistance, the County can directly monitor and work to prevent the consequences of the failing septic systems.

The Department of Justice’s betrayal of Lowndes County residents is all the more reason why environmental agreements and initiatives ought not to be left to the whims of presidential administrations changes but engraved in the fabric of law. The County may consider filing suit against the federal government for breach of contract or for the County’s economic losses in beginning to facilitate the program. Costs may include any purchases of systems and contracting of employees to work on the implementation and installment of suitable septic systems. If successfully, the County may request the government fulfill its obligations or request compensation which can be used for the County to facilitate the program on its own.