What Trump priorities, EPA firings mean for sewage spills in metro-east city
Source: BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT
Cahokia Heights is facing some new challenges to fix failing infrastructure that regularly causes sewage to spill out of city pipes, according to two of the community’s representatives in Congress.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski recently traveled to the metro-east to meet with residents, state and federal agencies, elected officials and the media to discuss completed infrastructure projects, next steps and obstacles posed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Residents in the community have lived with sewage backups and flooding with sewage-contaminated waters in their streets and homes for decades, causing health concerns as well as property damage. Sheila Gladney, 75, says she has experienced chronic illnesses and replaced multiple ruined appliances, like many other residents.
Duckworth and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin have been advocating for federal funding for Cahokia Heights to address its infrastructure problems since resident legal action and media coverage starting in 2020 drew more attention to the issue. Budzinski joined them in seeking funding and resources when she was elected in 2023.
But when Trump took office this year, he worked through executive orders to redirect federal priorities with a diminished emphasis on environmental justice issues.
At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the employee tasked with coordinating the local, state and federal response in Cahokia Heights and tracking the projects and funding was assigned to a different job in January, according to the lawmakers. Other employees at the EPA were fired under former Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Duckworth said the regional EPA office that oversees Cahokia Heights is now understaffed.
The Republican-controlled Congress cut a year’s worth of federal funding for community projects, including millions for Cahokia Heights, as the Trump administration prepared its new budget guidelines. It’s not clear if community projects will be funded in the future.
Duckworth and Budzinski said they requested money for Cahokia Heights projects again, but Congress is approaching a potential government shutdown at the end of the month over another year’s budget.
Even money that has been appropriated by Congress is being held back in some cases to ensure it aligns with the president’s priorities, Duckworth noted during her recent visit. She encouraged local and state officials to contact their federal lawmakers if funding slows so they can advocate on the community’s behalf.
“We are going to have to be extra vigilant to make sure that what Congress has appropriated is actually spent where it’s supposed to be spent, and it’s not diverted to some other area,” Duckworth told reporters.
More funding needed
On Friday at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus in East St. Louis, local, state and federal agency representatives joined the lawmakers to update the community about ongoing work in Cahokia Heights. They also acknowledged more work — and more funding — are needed.
For example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed the first phase of cleaning and lining three miles of the city’s nine-mile long main sewer, called a trunkline, which collects the wastewater from all the other pipes in the system. But additional funding is needed for future phases.
The Army Corps also completed two flood hazard studies: one covering the Ping Pong, Parkside and Edgemont neighborhoods and another focused on the Piat Place neighborhood and Harding Ditch, a major stormwater drainage canal that overflows during heavy rains.
The agency wants to conduct a comprehensive flood study for the entire American Bottoms region, which would require about $500,000 in federal funding. Budzinski said she and Durbin have requested those funds.
Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly said Friday that the Army Corps “stands ready” to begin that work. He is the agency’s deputy commanding general for civil and emergency operations.
“We will continue to be your partner and where projects are authorized and funded, we are committed to deliver,” Kelly told the crowd.
Both Duckworth and Budzinski said they plan to keep pressing for federal dollars for Cahokia Heights and vowed to hold the Trump administration accountable for creating any roadblocks.
Budzinski publicly criticized the project funding cuts that affected Cahokia Heights at a news conference in her district earlier this year.
“This community has waited for far too long to see complete resolution on these issues,” Budzinski said Friday. “And it doesn’t matter to me who’s in the White House. We’re going to be continuing to work to bring those dollars home.”
Calls for EPA action
Duckworth, Budzinski and Durbin have also appealed to Anne Vogel, the new head of the regional EPA office, to reinstate the federal coordinator who had been tracking Cahokia Heights projects and funding. Budzinski said in an interview that lawmakers received a “vague” response to their request. An Illinois EPA employee is filling the role in the meantime.
Vogel visited the community for the first time on July 17 to learn more about the problems it’s facing. Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. said at the time that he also asked if she could bring the federal coordinator back.
While she didn’t give a firm answer on the coordinator, McCall left the meeting feeling hopeful that Vogel understood the city’s plight. Soon after she left, he said the city received an email.
It stated that an EPA grant manager had completed the review of a $2.5 million grant and gave local officials instructions for how to apply for the money, according to McCall. The grant money was originally earmarked in 2023 for a project to separate the Cahokia Heights sewer system from the neighboring system operated by East St. Louis and help prevent backups.
In response to BND questions about the grant, an EPA spokesperson said that Vogel “has expressed the need for increased active engagement to assist the city in applying for the funds.”
Cahokia Heights submitted the grant application on Aug. 10 and the EPA said it would expedite the process of awarding the funds, according to the spokesperson.
McCall applauded the response.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you’re Republican or Democrat as long as you’re helping the citizens,” he said.
The public health response
Attorney Nicole Nelson, who represents Cahokia Heights residents in two federal lawsuits, said Friday’s event allowed her to seek answers from state agencies. She specifically wanted to hear from the Illinois Department of Public Health about what it can do to help prevent illnesses from ongoing sewage contamination.
“Whenever we try to tag IDPH in, if they respond, they’ll say, ‘It’s not our jurisdiction,’” Nelson said of emailed correspondence in the past.
Regional Health Officer Marilyn Green, who represented IDPH at the event, said in an interview that the state defers to local agencies like the East Side Health District, allowing for a local response.
“We’re always waiting on them to tell us how we can possibly help them,” Green said.
Universities began conducting an independent health study in the community in 2022, finding bacterial infections and elevated intestinal inflammation among residents.
Duckworth, Budzinski and Durbin requested a public health assessment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December 2023 following BND reporting on the study’s findings and the lack of a local or state public health response. The CDC has not committed to a review, lawmakers said.
Since then, the East Side Health District and Illinois Department of Public Health have created and distributed a flyer explaining to residents how to protect themselves while cleaning sewage from their homes. Unlike past educational material from the East Side Health District, this flyer advises seeking medical attention for gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea or vomiting.
Green said the state helped design and pay for the flyers and the local health agency distributed them, along with mops and buckets, from June to September 2024.
Residents say gastrointestinal, respiratory and heart conditions are common in the community.
Gladney is among those struggling with asthma and bronchitis, and she recently had a stroke. She said her doctor told her the environment in Cahokia Heights could be dangerous because of hazards like mold.
“We need a big change to happen to us so we can live comfortably,” Gladney said.
By: Lexi Cortes
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