Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a river watchdog nonprofit, is joining a lawsuit that was brought forward by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management against the Phenix City Department of Public Utilities. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper joined the lawsuit in an effort to make meaningful change, something they argue may not happen if the state were to pursue legal action alone.

In the lawsuit, the Phenix City Department of Public Utilities is accused of violating the Clean Water Act and the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act. As a result, the plaintiffs say that pollution from the public utility has led to elevated levels of contamination in the Chattahoochee River, making it unsafe for residents and visitors to enjoy the river. The pollution stems from the quality of water that's coming out of the Phenix City wastewater treatment plant.

Originally, both the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper pursued their own lawsuits against Phenix City. However, Phenix City argued that it should not have to answer to both lawsuits because they are “duplicative.”

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper joined in on the lawsuit because a clause in the Clean Water Act outlines that Alabama's lawsuit against Phenix City supersedes the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s federal lawsuit.

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper explained that it would have preferred to pursue its lawsuit separately. After some legal hurdles with Riverkeeper’s ability to access documents and discovery rights, Russell County Circuit Judge David Johnson granted the Riverkeeper the right to join in on the state lawsuit.

The addition of the watchdog group as a plaintiff in the lawsuit spells out more intentional efforts to hold Phenix City accountable for its poor infrastructure, policies, and other actions that have resulted in contamination.

The Riverkeepers addition to the lawsuit also means that there will be specific requirements to hold Phenix City accountable instead of loose and ill-enforced consequences.

Berry Brock, senior environmental lawyer with Southern Environmental Law Center’s Alabama office, is representing the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Brock explains, “Typically, when entering a settlement with a city, ADEM says, ‘You will do better.’ They do a study, an engineering report, and then they ask the defendant to get around to implementing it.”In reality, action moves slowly and changes are not addressed in a timely or productive manner.

With the addition of this local watchdog group, Brock and others remain hopeful that clearly defined expectations and consequences will force Phenix City to make meaningful changes in its infrastructure. Brock explains that a decree would require them to have projects in place, timelines, and budgets to address the issues of pollution at play. Brock shared in a press release “Our approach is it’s better to have a remedy that means something than to have a quick remedy that doesn’t.”

Legal action against the city began in 2023 when CRK began receiving complaints about a foul odor and foamy water in the Chattahoochee River near the Phenix City Wastewater Treatment Plant. Testing of the water showed elevated levels of bacteria, exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendation for safe water recreation.

Data from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management also shows that since at least 2021, there were roughly two million gallons of raw sewage discharged from the plant into the river in February 2024.