It takes more than lawsuits to protect Alabama waters (no kidding)

Alabama Dep. of Environmental Management (ADEM) director Lance LeFleur penned an op-ed titled “It takes more than lawsuits to protect Alabama waters”

People swimming in Hurricane Creek

This is one time I fully agree with the Director. It takes a state agency dedicated to protecting the water and air instead of shielding the polluters who pay for permits.

We as Waterkeepers Alabama members do not sue for the fun of it and we don’t make money from suing. In most cases it costs the organizations much more than you might think. If the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) did their job with the due diligence it requires, we would not have to take action at all. ADEM routinely ignores chronic sewer overflows until groups like Tennessee Riverkeeper in this case are forced to file a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue. (NOIS).

As usual ADEM tried to step in and offer the city of Guntersville a deal by filing a suit with a “Consent Order” and lengthy timeline requirements, which basically allow the pollution to continue in some cases for years. Lance got his feelings hurt this time when the city turned ADEM down and decided the Tennessee Riverkeeper suit made more sense. ADEM consent orders rarely stop the pollution but simply buffer the polluter from citizen suits.

Lance makes the statement “The problem is, Guntersville already is taking steps to repair and upgrade its sewer system. With the technical assistance and oversight of ADEM. The problem is, Guntersville already is taking steps to repair and upgrade its sewer system. With the technical assistance and oversight of ADEM.” Guntersville was not taking adequate steps to curb the spills under ADEMs scrutiny so the Riverkeeper suit was initiated.

Technical assistance and oversight by ADEM is a joke. Take Uniontown for example. ADEM made a deal with them, gave them money to build a new spray field. As for oversight ADEM didn’t show up until the pipes were all in the ground and spray heads ready to attach.

They then showed up and said the system would not work since it was build just like the one currently failing. All of the money was wasted because ADEM did not oversee the project as LeFleur admits is their role. There was no ADEM oversight. No new funds have been allocated since and the system is still failing.

Lance makes the excuse that rainwater infiltration is a major cause of Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) mentioned in the Tennessee Riverkeeper suit. He says, “recent heavy rains put the spotlight on one of the most common yet extremely difficult to resolve environmental concerns – untreated or partially treated sewage getting into our rivers, lakes and streams. Inflow of rainwater through cracked pipes or faulty manhole covers and infiltration of groundwater through deteriorated sewer lines can overwhelm a sewer system and send sewage into waterways.”

 What he is really saying is that the “closed loop systems” used by many municipalities including Tuscaloosa are failing and they know it. Rainwater and sewage are distributed through separate systems; Storm water and “Sanitary Sewer Systems.” Rain will not be present in the system unless there are serious leaks. ADEM and the cities know this but choose to ignore it until someone sues.

Chronic sewer overflow on JVC Road, Tuscaloosa

 

If ADEM were properly enforcing the Clean Water Act as prescribed, there would be no need for citizen suits. With that said, as long as ADEM refuses to hold polluters accountable, Waterkeepers Alabama will. It’s unfortunate that Lance and ADEM make suits necessary.

When a Waterkeeper  finds themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to file a NOIS we have clear resolutions and mitigation explained in the suit. We then oversee the progress of that plan. Unlike ADEM, our prime objective is fixing the problem, not protecting the violator from diligent enforcement. 

 

Photo taken from social media satire post

ADEM is often seen by many as a captive agency. The captive agency syndrome is where an agency such as ADEM is held captive by the polluters they are charged to enforce. In Alabama we have a badly skewed funding paradigm whereby ADEM is primarily funded by permit fees submitted by the polluters making a perfect “fox guarding the hen-house” scenario. If ADEM does diligent enforcement, the companies might choose not to do business here depriving ADEM of future permit fees. Any fines collect by ADEM goes into the general fund and does not support ADEM inspection and enforcement work. For them, non-enforcement is the way of business. Coddling and covering up for polluters seems more like the ADEM mantra.


In Tuscaloosa, where I live and work, we still have chronic sewer overflows from historic sites named in past ADEM consent orders. 

 

 

 

We have lift stations that spew so much h2S gas (Hydrogen Sulfide) into the air it rots the galvanized fences and post around them. h2S is highly carcinogenic and so caustic it can rot galvanized steel. 

 

The problem with ADEM consent orders is that they hardly ever fix the problem completely. The developers and cities know that while under a consent order, citizens are barred from filing any action. It is up to ADEM to enforce or citizens must take the unpleasant step of filing a NOIS. Again, I want to state that I agree with the director. It takes more than lawsuits to protect Alabama’s waterways. It takes a state agency not afraid to diligently enforce as well as citizen oversight. All of the creeks, rivers, and most lakes belong to “We the people” not ADEM and certainly not the industries who only see them as industrial waste conduits. It’s time for “We the people” to demand better politics or better politicians supporting ADEM fully and demand diligent enforcement of the laws as written.

This has been going on at ADEM since I first came to work as an environmentalist in Alabama. I have seen several directors come and go but I remember none as misleading as Lance. He reminds me of the cartoon character Pepe LePew. He tried to paint himself up with many brushes to look like a kitty cat but under it all he was just a skunk. Lance can paint ADEM with pretty colors and wide brushes but the policies that allow raw sewage to flow freely into our neighborhoods and streams stinks! That's why we have Waterkeepers.