Jefferson County, Alabama Released from Sewer System Consent Decree
(BIRMINGHAM, AL – October 21, 2024) – After almost 30 years, Jefferson County, Alabama, has been released from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree related to its sanitary sewer collection system.
← Click the graphic to read more about the robust asset management program that ultimately contributed to the termination of the consent decree.
The settlement confirms that Jefferson County has met its goals for improving the system’s infrastructure, operations, and maintenance under the decree, thus achieving industry best practices to minimize sewer overflows.
Jefferson County manages more than 3,100 miles of sewer lines and treats more than 100 million gallons of wastewater per day. Its nine water reclamation facilities serve approximately 600,000 citizens across three counties. Since the consent decree was initially issued in 1996, five of Jefferson County’s sanitary sewer basins were terminated from the consent decree.
The recent ruling releases the final four sewer basins—which serve communities in the Valley Creek, Village Creek, Cahaba, and Five Mile Creek watersheds (the larger sewer basins)—from the original requirements of the consent decree. As part of the settlement, the County has committed to completing several additional capital improvement projects by early 2027 to further reduce sewer overflows. Thanks to the proactive work by the County, these projects are already planned and funded.
The County Commission and the Cahaba River Society, which filed the initial case that prompted the sewer work, filed a joint request to terminate the long-standing consent decree. A federal judge reviewed the case and agreed to release the County from the consent decree, representing a major accomplishment for Jefferson County.
“Throughout the past decade and a half, it’s been one of our primary objectives to be relieved from this consent decree…” County Commission President Jimmie Stephens said. “I want to thank the staff, our fellow commissioners, and our legal staff for working together and remaining laser focused until the resolution of this consent decree.”
Hazen has worked with Jefferson County for decades to build a robust asset management program and a calibrated sanitary sewer model to effectively assess thousands of assets and prioritize them for rehabilitation, replacement, and repair. This program helped County staff decide where to best use their resources and ultimately contributed to the termination of the consent decree.
