MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A $2.3 million contract to address sewer issues in Alabama’s Black Belt communities was put on hold Thursday after one member of the Legislative Contract Review Committee expressed concerns over financial transparency.
The contract with the Alabama Department of Public Health would see the nonprofit organization Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program receive $2.3 million in federal funding to install onsite septic systems in Lowndes County, with the contract’s duration lasting through late 2026.
Alabama has directed millions in federal dollars in recent years toward addressing a lack of septic systems in the Black Belt. U.S. Department of Justice last year announced a settlement agreement with the state that’s specific to Lowndes County.
Since then, ADPH is working on a long-range plan to provide wastewater treatment to homes where the clay soil makes traditional septic tanks and drain fields unusable and more advanced, expensive systems are out of reach of many low-income residents. Instead, waste can flow out of homes through pipes and onto the ground.
While BBUWP had already been awarded a contract by the state – $2.2 million in early 2023 – committee member House Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said he had several issues with the contract.
Namely, Pringle pointed to the founder of BBUWP, Sherry Bradley, as having worked for the ADPH as its director of Bureau of Environmental Services within two years of the contract being proposed, a potential violation of the ‘revolving door’ provision of Alabama Ethics Law.
“I find it interesting, this contract you signed with this organization, the person that runs this organization worked for you all, Sherry Bradley,” Pringle said.
“She does not work for our organization, she retired,” said Sancha Howard, general counsel for ADPH.
“Exactly, and went straight to here and is the one that manages this contract, and you’re telling me she started in 2023?” Pringle said. “That’s well within the two years.”
Howard said that she believed Bradley had either gotten approval from the Alabama Ethics Commission or reached out to its members before working at BBUWP.
Regardless, Pringle said there were too many unknowns as to how the $2.3 million would be used were the committee to award the contract. He also raised concerns that the BBUWP could clear property titles for homeowners in the Black Belt region.
“Here’s my ultimate problem; we don’t know how much they’re going to make off of it, we don’t know what their guidelines are and what guardrails they’re going to use, and there’s a little provision in this contract that says they will resolve property title issues,” Pringle said.
“What’s going to stop this individual and this organization from going into their home counties and fixing the septic systems and clearing titles on their families’ property, then turn around next year and sell it and make money?”
The contract review committee, a panel of state senators and representatives, can not kill state agencies’ proposed contracts for services, but can delay them.
In early 2023, the ADPH awarded $2.2 million to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to install wastewater systems in Black Belt communities, and $2.2 million to BBUWP for the same purpose, all funded through federal dollars.
Of that previous $2.2 million contract with BBUWP, the organization has addressed sewer issues for 67 homes, with Howard saying “there’s a little less than $100,000 left, which may be able to cover maybe two or three systems.”
The committee ultimately decided to hold the contract, with Pringle asking Howard to produce for him past invoices from BBUWP, as well as a history of how the organization has cleared property titles, and their procedure for doing so.
“I’m not against trying to help these poor people, but I don’t want to see the taxpayers taken advantage of,” Pringle said.
Rob Green, director of legislative and external affairs for ADPH, spoke with Pringle Thursday following the Contract Review Committee meeting.
“Under Alabama statute, one of our regulatory duties at ADPH is to permit septic tanks in Alabama up to a specific size,” Green told ADN. “For over a year, our agency has worked with the DOJ, the (the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’) Office of Civil Rights, and local officials and citizens in the Black Belt to address wastewater needs.
“After speaking with Pro Tem Pringle this afternoon regarding his comments during the contract review committee meeting, we quickly reached a mutual understanding of ADPH’s commitment to resolving this issue, along with an emphasis on the contract being fully funded by federal dollars,” Green said.
“At the end of the day, ADPH is committed to continuing to carry out the work that we’ve been doing in the Black Belt, hoping to resolve this issue someday.”