After months of anticipation on the part of retailers, Valentine’s Day has arrived. It’s the holiday of love where all it takes is a discount box of chocolate to show someone how much you appreciate them.

Alabama top stories in brief

• Alabama Farmers Federation’s political action committee, Alabama FarmPAC, announced endorsements on Feb. 6 for several judicial candidates they will back in 2024. Those endorsements are for three Alabama Supreme Court justices: Justice Jay Mitchell, Justice Tommy Bryan and Justice Will Sellers, and five court of appeals justices. 

• Church leaders met in Montgomery to deliver a petition signed by over 170 Alabama pastors and faith leaders calling for Gov. Kay Ivey to authorize an independent review of Alabama’s execution policies and for the results to be made public. Currently, the process is being investigated by the Alabama Department of Corrections, after the state failed to complete two executions and left several needle puncture wounds on another man while completing his execution.

• Eligible Alabama Power customers will receive a refund this summer. The Alabama Public Service Commission approved that the company pay a refund after Alabama Power reported that it was above its allowed rate of return range by $62 million for 2022. The refund will be paid in August of 2023.

As the underground fire in Moody continues to burn, critics are calling for change in ADEM

Criticism has risen because of the way the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has handled the underground landfill fire near Moody. The fire was first reported to local firefighters on November 25. On January 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took over the operation to put out the fire when elevated levels of dangerous chemicals were detected in the air. 

The EPA has said that their goal is not only to put out the fire, but to reduce the amount of smoke in the air while they are putting out the fire. The difference has been noted by those in the area, and ADEM Director Lance LeFleur has said that the amount of smoke in the area has decreased since the EPA took over.

While the EPA is now in charge of putting out the fire, critics have said that ADEM did not do enough to prevent this situation from happening in the first place.

There is now an online petition with over 600 signatures, saying that ADEM failed to prevent the landfill fire near Moody, and “has failed Alabamians for years.” 

The petition calls for LeFleur to be fired or resign. Many of those who signed the petition say they live near the fire, and talk about health issues they have been experiencing due to the smoke.

This accusation of failure in the case of the underground landfill fire stems predominantly from reports that show ADEM had previously deemed the property a fire hazard, and since 2013 has repeatedly found unauthorized waste materials. 

Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville), has added his voice to those criticizing ADEM, and is drafting a bill to change operations within the organization. Currently, that bill would include cutting ADEM’s budget.

ADEM isn’t alone in receiving criticism. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the owners of the landfill. The lawsuit accuses the landfill of negligence, wantonness, trespass, public nuisance, abatement of public nuisance and battery.

ADEM has also said that they will be investigating the cause of the fire. 

“ADEM will investigate and take appropriate enforcement action against the site operator after the fire is out,” said LeFleur. 

Currently, there is not a definite timeline for when the EPA expects the fire to be extinguished, though LeFleur did say that the EPA expected it to be “a matter of weeks if not sooner.”

No official statement has been made by the EPA regarding a timeline.

In its most recent estimate, the EPA said that they believe it will cost around $2.8 million to put out the fire. 

Our articles you might have missed

• Last week, Noah, our lifestyles editor, wrote about Willie Williams Jr., a Birmingham, Alabama resident who created his own art studio. Williams learned metalworking from his father, and incorporated those skills into his art. He describes working with metal as a spiritual experience.

• Our managing editor Hannah discussed how we can improve safety on public transportation, especially because some Alabama cities like Birmingham are working to expand public transportation. Check out her article “I want to ride the bus too, but I know I’m not safe.”

Updates on The Sunrise News

• For those who missed last week’s update, we’re now publishing the Alabama Roundup every week. We also sent out a survey in that newsletter, so we can collect your opinions about The Sunrise News. If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to answer and help us continue to improve for our readers. 

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