Press Releases
Rep. Sewell and Mayor Woodfin Joint Statement on Indictment in North Birmingham Superfund Site Ethics Case
November 14, 2018
BIRMINGHAM, AL – On Tuesday, November 13, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted the Southeast regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner for violating state ethics laws in his work to stop the listing of North Birmingham’s Superfund site on the EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL).
“This week’s indictment is a step in the right direction for residents of North Birmingham who were the victim of corruption and hazardous pollution,” said Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell. “We still have work to do seeking justice for families whose homes and communities have been contaminated. The charges brought against Trey Glenn provide additional evidence that the EPA’s initial review of the North Birmingham site was undermined by a misinformation campaign, and that North Birmingham should be reconsidered for the National Priority List. No family should have to live with a contaminated backyard, and no community should be left to clean up decades of industrial waste. We must continue fighting for a full cleanup of North Birmingham until our whole community is made safe.”
Rep. Terri A. Sewell led a tour of the Superfund site in August along with Mayor Randall Woodfin and other city, state and neighborhood leaders. The site consists of contaminated soil from industrial pollution. Rep. Sewell, Mayor Woodfin, and Sen. Doug Jones have called on the EPA to consider North Birminham for the NPL.
“The corruption and the appearance of corruption has destroyed the public’s confidence in this process, which has hijacked efforts to clean up the North Birmingham community,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “The people of North Birmingham deserve a transparent process in order to restore their community and the resources needed to make them and their neighborhoods whole.”
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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.