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LOCAL
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, MARCH 7 - 13, 2024 • PAGE 8
Local officials celebrate millions coming
to Georgia for clean water, infrastructure
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
In February, officials with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that
more than $125 million is coming to Georgia
to go toward drinking water and clean water
infrastructure upgrades - money that, according
to local elected officials, could benefit DeKalb
County.
The funding is part of more than $50 billion
in investments in water infrastructure upgrades
from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law -
the largest such investment in American history,
according to EPA Administrator Michael S.
Regan.
"With $50 billion, the largest investment in
water infrastructure in our nation's history, EPA
will enable communities across the nation to
ensure safer drinking water for their residents
and rebuild vital clean water infrastructure to
protect public health for decades to come," said
Regan.
The EPA's website states that approximately
half of this funding will be available as grants or
principal forgiveness loans, in an effort for funds
to reach underserved communities most in need
of investments in water infrastructure.
Sen. Jon Ossoff said some funds will go
toward water infrastructure upgrades to remove
lead pipes that carry drinking water and "keep
families safe and healthy."
Local elected officials said millions of dollars coming from
the EPA could go towards water-related projects in DeKalb
County. File photo
According to the EPA's website, many
cities and towns nationwide have aging water
infrastructure that includes old, broken or lead
pipes carrying drinking water and wastewater
treatment plants in need of major upgrades.
Other places struggle to maintain adequate
stormwater infrastructure to effectively manage
flood impacts from climate change and others
need to upgrade their water treatment to
address contaminants, states the website.
Rep. Hank Johnson and Rep. Nikema
Williams, both of whom represent DeKalb
County in the U.S. House of Representatives,
said the funding is critically needed for multiple
reasons.
"Access to safe, clean drinking water is a
right all Americans expect and deserve," said
Johnson. "This announcement is a giant step
forward addressing toxic lead pipes, improving
our wastewater and sanitation infrastructure,
and removing PFAS contamination or 'forever
chemicals' in our drinking water."
"With a focus on water infrastructure, the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is an investment
in our communities' wellbeing and a beacon of
hope for marginalized areas long neglected,"
said Williams. "This historic funding is critical
for communities that have been forced to use
intentionally underfunded water infrastructure.
Clean water is a right for all—no matter your zip
code and no matter your bank account."
The funding EPA announced for Georgia
is part of a $5.8 billion investment through
the Clean Water and Drinking Water State
Revolving Funds (SRF), one of EPA's signature
water investment programs, stated officials.
"This multi-billion-dollar investment will
fund state-run, low-interest loan programs to
address key challenges, with $2.6 billion going
to the Clean Water SRF for wastewater and
stormwater infrastructure and $3.2 billion going
to the Drinking Water SRF for drinking water
infrastructure nationwide," said EPA officials.
For more information, visit epa.gov.
NAACP lynching marker stolen from Lithonia park
The marker stolen from Kelly Park is one of three lynching memorials that NAACP DeKalb placed throughout the
county. File photo
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
A historical marker
memorializing those who
lost their lives to lynching
was recently stolen from
Kelly Park in Lithonia,
according to a Feb. 27
announcement from NAACP
(National Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People) DeKalb.
The marker was unveiled
on Feb. 24, 2021, which
NAACP officials said was
significant because it was
"one year and one day
after Ahmaud Arbery was
murdered." NAACP DeKalb
also installed a lynching
memorial in front of the
DeKalb County courthouse
in Decatur and in Druid Hills
in 2021.
Officials said they are
asking community members
and law enforcement to
help return the stolen
marker.
A news release states
that "the removal of this
marker is not just an act
of theft but an attempt to
erase our collective memory
and deny the painful truths
of our past."
The marker was
part of NAACP DeKalb's
Remembrance Project
-which branch officials
said was the first project
to honor victims of racial
terror in DeKalb.
The stolen memorial
describes racial terrorism
that happened in Lithonia
beginning in 1877.
According to the marker,
"After Reconstruction was
abandoned in 1877, White
mobs in Lithonia terrorized
the Black community
through lynchings that
denied Black people their
rights and equal protection
under the law. On July 27,
1877, a White mob from
Lithonia lynched Rueben
Hudson near the Georgia
Railroad stop in Redan."
The memorial states
that officers who arrested
Hudson for fitting the
description of a wanted
criminal handed him over
to the White mob instead
of protecting him. The
memorial also states that
five years later, another
White mob from Lithonia
"chased two unidentified
Black men," and it was
"generally understood that
they were lynched."
Mob participants were
not held accountable for
the lynching, despite a
"functioning legal system in
DeKalb County," according
to the memorial.
