EAST ST. LOUIS - Neither Cahokia Heights nor environmental regulators will expand the capacity of the city’s sewers and nothing less will work, according to residents pressing U.S. District Judge David Dugan for action.
On March 6, their counsel Kennedy Gardner of St. Louis asked Dugan to reject claims that he should wait for the city and regulators to adopt a consent decree.
She advised him that in January, storm water and sewage flooded neighborhoods that the city tried to improve by replacing pumps.
Gardner claimed a lawyer for the city wrote on Jan. 30 that “pump stations are operating correctly but because the sewers are full there is nowhere to pump the flow.”
“No amount of new fully functional pump stations will eliminate the sanitary system overflows if the system’s lack of capacity is not addressed,” she wrote.
Gardner asked for immediate prevention of exposure to raw sewage through installation of facilities above ground to store sewage until it can be safely returned to the system.
She wrote that an overflow on North 82nd Street releases identifiable amounts of human feces and toilet paper into a roadside ditch and between and under homes.
Residents Cornelius Bennett and Earlie Fuse sued the former City of Centreville and the former Commonfields Water District in 2020.
Centreville Citizens for Change and dozens of residents sued in 2021.
Centreville and Commonfields ceased to exist upon the creation of Cahokia Heights.
Nicole Nelson of Belleville represents plaintiffs in both actions in association with Gardner and Kalila Jackson, both of Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council.
Last year, NAACP entered the case and provided Martina Tiku and Joseph Schottenfeld of Baltimore as counsel.
This January, Dugan referred the case to U.S. and Illinois environmental agencies with directions to provide a report on progress of the consent decree.
The agencies and the city provided reports in February, and he invited plaintiffs to respond.
Gardner responded, “The agencies and defendants have painted an overly optimistic picture of the extent and impact of the work that Cahokia Heights has completed to date.”
“Defendants are no closer to resolving the ongoing and catastrophic impacts on plaintiffs of their historic failure to maintain adequate infrastructure,” she wrote.
“Neither the defendants nor the agencies provide the court with any specifics of corrective action contemplated in the purportedly forthcoming consent decree,” she added.
“Instead of explaining how their planned repairs would eliminate the Clean Water Act violations and address the remainder of the requested injunctive relief, defendants and the agencies have merely reported on band aid repairs made to date or planned for the future,” she continued.
“Critically, defendants and the agencies fail to mention any projects that increase the sewer system’s capacity despite the acknowledged need for such projects,” she wrote.
Gardner claimed Cahokia Heights previously suggested an interceptor that would disconnect Cahokia Heights from the East St. Louis system.
She claimed the city and the agencies failed to mention any capacity building projects.
She added that the city and the agencies described nothing that would prevent sanitary system overflows in the short or long term.
Gardner especially objected to a statement from the agencies that the city began cleaning sewer lines and would continue through 2036.
“Cahokia Heights residents have lived with raw sewage in their neighborhoods for decades and cannot afford to wait an additional decade for relief,” she wrote.
“They should not be forced to endure a moment more,” she added.
Gardner claimed the agencies failed to adequately seek community feedback in consent decree negotiations and excluded plaintiffs.
She claimed the agencies haven’t shared a draft of a decree and shared only a vague presentation at a meeting with plaintiffs in December.
She claimed the agencies met with plaintiffs on Feb. 6 and refused to answer questions regarding which feedback the consent decree would incorporate if any.
“In fact, other than to report to the court that they held the meeting it was unclear why the agencies had requested or participated in the meeting at all,” she wrote.
Gardner claimed the agencies indicated on March 4 that they intended to share a draft before lodging it with the court.
She asked Dugan to include plaintiff’s counsel in all consent decree discussions.
She asked him to order continuous cleanup of areas prone to sanitary sewer overflows.
Dugan hasn’t set a trial date.