Have an office that will really focus on environmental justice. i talked to a number of people who looked at alabama saying this is stepping back 100 years and this discrimination they think it is discrimination is institutional systemic discrimination tied to infrastructure and quality of life. i think of katherine canyon who literally fell through the floor. when i walked into the home the floor sank. the situation is that bad. so there are so many people in that county and places around the nation saying sewage systems should be a right. environmental justice is just like voting rights and something to fight for and should be guaranteed. a basic human right they say. it is important reporting. thank you for sharing it with us. thank you so much. tomorrow former president
this is the first environmentals. tis investigation the justice department conducted under title vi. they can t engage in discrimination. add to that the biden administration requested$1.4 million from congress to investigate whether american civil rights are violated in cases like this. activists and residents of alabama say they re concerned that officials can put liens on the homes without proper sewage systems even if they can t afford them. disturbing stuff. you said this is the first investigation. if the department of justice has the say you see more environmental justice invests. the assistance attorney general put out a statement she wants to
Thought to be eradicated. it s not necessary for this to be going on in 2022. it just shouldn t be. this is the wealthiest country. our sewer system should be a right. reporter: she and others believe this is racism, blaming the state and local government for not installing a centralized sewage system. in lowndes county, which is majority black, the poverty rate is nearly double the national average. at least 40% of homes have inadequate or no sewage systems at all. catherine coleman flowers, who grew up here, is an environmental activist. you call this america s dirty secret. why? because it largely exists in rural communities and poor communities and most people when they find out about it they re shocked. they don t believe that it s a reality in this country. reporter: last november the department of justice opened a civil rights investigation aimed at assessing whether the alabama and lowndes county health departments are discriminating
Nbc s maura barrett, thank you for your reporting. absolutely not. and up next, a closer look at environmental injustice. in alabama s black belt. why people there say their kids and their grandkids cannot play in their own back yards. you ve got waste running in people s yards, neighbors yard. it backs up into these neighbors homes. it backs up in a bathroom, on the floors. what happens when performance. meets power? you try crazy things. .because you re crazy. .and you like it. you get bigger. .badder. .faster. you can never have too much of a good thing. and power is a very good thing.
Yamiche, what did you find? well, this story really is shocking. what we saw in lowndes county, alabama was really an entire neighborhood that was engulfed in waste because they have sewage systems that are failing or none at all. the dark green waters across from jerry dean smith s home hold a foul-smelling mix of human waste. it smells. it smells so bad. reporter: in hainesville, alabama and many towns across lowndes county residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. but here many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you ve got waste running in people yards, neighbors yard. it backs up into the majority of these neighbors homes. it backs up in a bathroom, on their floors. reporter: smith and her neighbors say it s a health risk. in fact, one study found one out of every three adults here tested positive for hookworms, an intestinal parasite long