The Department of Justice (DOJ) canceled a Biden-era settlement on Friday that forced the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) to provide septic and wastewater infrastructure in Lowndes County.
In November 2021, the DOJ and federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a civil rights investigation into the ADPH's enforcement of sanitation laws in Lowndes County.
The DOJ, HHS and ADPH reached an "interim resolution agreement" in March 2023 that required ADPH to prioritize properties in Lowndes County for septic and wastewater management systems based on their risk of exposure to raw sewage.
The program was being implemented by the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program with $3.5 million in federal funds.
However, the DOJ announced that its Civil Rights Division will immediately close the "environmental justice" matter on Friday.
According to the DOJ, the directive follows President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14151, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing," which forbids federal agencies from pursuing programs or initiatives related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including those related to "environmental justice."
"The DOJ will no longer push 'environmental justice' as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens," said assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "President Trump made it clear: Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect, and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria."
A DOJ spokesperson said in a press release on Friday, "Today's closure is another step this Administration has taken to eradicate illegal DEI preferences and environmental justice across the government and in the private sector. The Department is working quickly to close such cases in compliance with the Attorney General's directive."
An ADPH spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
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