The Justice Department on Monday launched an investigation into whether the Alabama Public Health Department is operating wastewater and infectious disease programs in a rural county in a way that discriminates against Black residents.
Investigators will also examine whether the policies and practices of the state health department and the Lowndes County Health Department have caused Black residents to disproportionately suffer adverse health effects due to a lack of access to proper sanitation systems.
The Civil Rights Division will lead the probe to determine if the state health department is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits entities that receive federal grants from engaging in discrimination.
It is the first-ever environmental justice investigation into one of the Justice Department’s federal grant recipients. The department said grants are not “often” given to environmental programs, which has limited its ability to conduct such investigations.
“The Alabama Department of Public Health receives federal financial assistance from the Department of Justice and so all of its operations, which include the Lowndes County Health Department, need to follow civil rights laws like Title IV,” a department spokesperson told reporters during a media conference call.
The DOJ appears to be cracking down on its grant recipients as the announcement comes less than two months after it launched a review into how it ensures the grants it gives to organizations are not used to fund “illegal discrimination.”
A department spokesperson said the decision to launch the probe stems from complaints it has received and publicly available information.
The complaints include allegations that the agencies have failed to abate raw sewage conditions and that they are “well aware” of the disparate burden Black residents have when it comes to accessing safe wastewater management systems.
The spokesperson pointed to a 2017 study conducted by Baylor University which found that more than 30% of the county’s residents tested positive for hookworm.
The state health department is “eager to work cooperatively” with the investigation, the spokesperson said.
Of the 10,311 residents in Lowndes County, 72.4% are Black; 26% are White; 0.5% are Asian and 0.3% are American Indian and Alaska Native, according to recent Census Bureau data.
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said “State and local health officials are obligated, under federal civil rights laws, to protect the health and safety of all their residents.”
“We will conduct a fair and thorough investigation of these environmental justice concerns and their impact on the health, life, and safety of people across Lowndes County, Alabama,” Ms. Clarke said in a statement on Monday.
An Alabama Department of Public Health spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency will not comment on the allegations while the investigation is pending.
The spokesperson added that the department “is committed to cooperating with the investigating agencies to have this matter resolved as quickly as possible.”
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.