Cahokia Heights, IL – Advocates Disappointed with Consent Decree for Cahokia Heights: Decades of Flooding and Sewage Crises Remain Unresolved
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
December 10, 2024
Cahokia Heights, IL – Today, attorneys from Equity Legal Services, Inc. and Earthjustice representing residents of Cahokia Heights—formerly Centreville—expressed disappointment with the Consent Decree filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the City of Cahokia Heights. While the settlement marks a step forward in addressing some long-standing issues, it falls severely short of providing meaningful, immediate relief for the community that has suffered decades of raw sewage overflows and repeated flooding due to neglect by municipal authorities.
Despite years of complaints and legal action, including an initial lawsuit filed in 2020, and a second lawsuit under the Federal Clean Water Act following soon after in 2021, residents of Cahokia Heights have endured a continued public health crisis, with their homes and community regularly inundated with raw sewage and floodwaters. At first glance, it is easy to overlook that this Consent Decree does not address the ongoing flooding or the hazardous conditions caused by said flooding, which continue to pose grave health risks to the community.
"We are disheartened by the significant gaps in the DOJ's and IAG’s settlement," said Nicole Nelson, one of the attorneys representing the community. "While this decree may offer some surface-level improvements, it does not provide the immediate, robust relief that this community needs and deserves. Residents have been living in these conditions for decades—many for their entire lives. They should not have to wait any longer to live in homes free from raw sewage and floodwaters."
The Consent Decree, while promising to address certain sewer infrastructure issues, provides an unreasonably long timeline for repairs and fails to address the flooding crisis at its core, allowing the residents to continue drowning in flood waters in the meantime. The proposed timeline extends over many years, leaving vulnerable residents—many of whom have already suffered serious health consequences—at risk of seeing no change in their lifetimes.
"While we recognize this settlement is a step in the right direction, it is far from a holistic solution," said Kennedy Moehrs Gardner. "The city is being given years, if not decades, to fix critical infrastructure that has been in disrepair for far too long. For many of our clients, their homes have been flooded and contaminated for years. Some may not live to see the day when their neighborhoods are finally safe to inhabit."
Furthermore, the Consent Decree fails to guarantee specific protections or relief for the ongoing flooding and sewage issues that have plagued the area for generations. Failing to address the flooding problem will only allow sanitary sewer overflows to continue to occur under this consent decree.This lack of urgency and commitment from both the City of Cahokia Heights, the Department of Justice, the state agencies, and U.S. EPA continues to betray the promises of justice for a community that has been neglected and abandoned for far too long.
"We will continue to push for immediate and meaningful action," stated Nicole Nelson. "This community deserves much more than promises of future repairs; they deserve immediate intervention, comprehensive support, and a commitment to a future free from the daily threat of flooding and sewage.”
Attorneys and community advocates remain committed to ensuring that the rights and needs of the residents of Cahokia Heights are fully addressed. They will continue to advocate for urgent action and additional measures to guarantee the health, safety, and dignity of the community.
For more information or to schedule an interview with attorneys representing the community, please contact:
Media Contact:
Nicole D. Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc.
Email: nnelson@equitylegalservices.org
Phone: (618) 693-9800
Susan J. Kraham
Earthjustice
Email: Skraham@earthjustice.org Phone: 973 202 7045
Mary Rock
Earthjustice
Email: MRock@earthjustice.org Phone: 312 800 8336
Additional Resources:
Learn more about flooding in Centreville, IL at https://www.floodedandforgotten.com/