1996 Jefferson County consent decree

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The 1996 Jefferson County consent decree was signed on December 9, 1996 to resolve a federal lawsuit brought in 1993 which argued that the Jefferson County Sewer System and its 9 wastewater treatment plants were operating in violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act and of the system's permits from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

The initial suit, brought as Kipp, et.al. v. Jefferson County, was filed on behalf of residents near the Cahaba River. It alleged that the sewer system was allowing large amounts of untreated wastewater to enter the Cahaba River. The United States Department of Justice launched their own investigation, and filed their own suit United States v. Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County Commission.

The county settled both lawsuits before District Court Judge J. Foy Guin Jr by signing a consent decree in December 1996. The county agreed to make the improvements necessary to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, and to spend $30 million for the establishment of protective greenways to improve water quality in the Cahaba and Black Warrior River systems.

As work began, rates paid by sewer customers began increasing, from among the lowest in the country to the highest. In 2003 an independent study by BE&K found shortcomings in the county's plans, and determined that much of the $3.3 billion spent on sewer expansion was not needed to meet the terms of the agreement. Among those expansions was a proposed $84 million "Super Sewer" to service the Upper Cahaba Watershed around Cahaba Heights and parts of Mountain Brook. The projected cost quickly soared to over $140 million until it was halted amid complaints from the Birmingham Water Works Board and the public.

Commissioners and Environmental Services director Jack Swann justified the expansions as a means of generating revenues from new connections to offset the costs of upgrades to existing systems. However, corrupt practices in contracting the engineering and construction work, as well as the risky financial instruments used to pay for it, began coming to light. In 2005 twenty-one officials and contractors were indicted for bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. More than half of them were convicted in federal courts.

Meanwhile, the county's financial schemes collapsed on themselves, leaving the taxpayers with an enormous debt and forcing the county to default on bond payments and, in November 2011, to file what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In September 2023 the county filed for the last four of its nine facilities to be certified compliant, and to be released from the consent decree.

References

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