Tag Archives: Water Crisis

Special prosecutor appointed to investigate Flint water crisis

(Reuters) – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on Monday named a special prosecutor and investigator to look into possible crimes in the city of Flint’s water crisis.

Todd Flood, a former prosecutor for Detroit’s Wayne County, and retired Detroit FBI head Andrew Arena will conduct the independent investigation into the lead contamination in Flint after water supplies were switched to save money, Schuette said.

Governor Rick Snyder apologized last week for the delay in addressing Flint’s problems, which have become a national scandal. Residents of the city of 100,000 people had complained for months about discolored water, but officials moved slowly to address the problem.

“Without fear and without favor, this independent investigation will be high-performance and let the chips fall where they may,” Schuette told reporters at a news conference.

State Representative LaTanya Garrett, a Democrat from Detroit, filed a petition with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to remove Schuette and his team from the investigation, citing conflicts of interest. Schuette and Snyder are Republicans.

Schuette pledged the investigation would be independent and said an ethics lawyer would watch out for conflicts.

He gave no timeline for the probe, saying it could take a long time to get all the facts necessary.

Schuette said it was an outrage that people in Flint are billed for water they cannot drink and that he was looking for ways to get people relief from payments.

He said he decided earlier this year that the probe was needed, after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality admitted errors in Flint water treatment.

Dan Wyant, the head of Michigan’s DEQ, resigned in December. Last week Susan Hedman, the regional director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, also stepped down due to the Flint water problem.

In recent years, financially troubled Flint has been governed by a series of state-appointed emergency managers. A booming car industry town in the first half of the 20th century, the city has been in decline ever since.

In 2014, Flint began using river water, which was more corrosive than its previous supply and caused more lead to leach from its aging pipes.

This in turn led to elevated levels of lead, a neurotoxin that can damage the brain and cause other health problems, in some drinking water and in some children.

A number of lawsuits have been filed against city and state officials.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Political fallout from Flint water crisis spreads

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is determined to find out what went wrong in the contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan, officials said on Wednesday, and environmental regulators were set to provide Congress with information about their role.

Blame is swirling after a switch in the water supply to the city north of Detroit led to elevated levels of lead in drinking water.

“The president is absolutely determined to figure out what went wrong, generally speaking,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters traveling with Obama on Air Force One. Schultz noted that the matter was under investigation.

Facing protests, lawsuits and calls for his resignation, Michigan Governor Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, apologized to the city’s residents on Tuesday and called for the state to spend $28 million on fixes.

But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while saying it was reviewing its handling of the crisis and could have acted faster to inform the state of what measures it should take, also blamed the state on Tuesday. It said the agency’s oversight was hampered by “failures and resistance at the state and local levels.”

Flint, financially strapped and under a state-appointed emergency manager, switched to Flint River water in April 2014 from a Detroit-run water system to save money.

Complaints about the water began within a month of the switch. But Flint did not return to Detroit water until October 2015 after tests showed elevated levels of lead, which can cause brain damage and other health problems, in Flint tap water and in some children. Corrosive water from the river, known locally as a dumping ground, caused more lead to leach from Flint pipes than Detroit water did.

“This is something nobody should have to deal with. Everybody should have clean water … Resources are being sent to Flint as we speak,” Flint Mayor Karen Weaver told a conference in Washington on Wednesday.

She was interrupted by a protester shouting “I need some water.”

In his state of the state speech on Tuesday, Snyder said federal, state and local leaders had failed residents.

He asked Michigan lawmakers to authorize $28 million in spending on diagnostic tests, health treatment for children and adolescents, replacement of old fixtures in Flint schools and day care centers and a study of the city’s water pipes.

Snyder, who has faced questions on how soon he acted after learning about the water problem in Flint, promised to release his Flint-related emails from 2014 and 2015 on Wednesday.

A group of bipartisan lawmakers including Michigan Republican Fred Upton, of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote last week to Environmental Protection Agency head Gina McCarthy, requesting a briefing about the Flint contamination. That briefing to congressional staffers was scheduled for Thursday.

The House committee letter mentioned reports that said people in Flint have been exposed to dangerous biological pathogens and chemicals in the drinking water. Although Flint has now switched back to Detroit’s water system, lead levels in the city’s water are still elevated.

Several lawsuits have been filed in the case. The latest on Tuesday asked a judge to stop Flint from issuing shutoff notices to residents, who are still receiving bills for water declared undrinkable.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by David Shepardson, Lacey Johnson, Ian Simpson; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Frances Kerry)

Michigan governor asks Obama for federal aid in Flint water crisis

DETROIT (Reuters) – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has asked President Barack Obama to declare both an emergency and an expedited major disaster in the county where the city of Flint has been dealing with the fallout from lead-contaminated drinking water.

Snyder said in a statement released shortly before midnight on Thursday that he requested federal aid in Genesee County to protect the safety of Flint residents. Earlier this week, he sent the Michigan National Guard to distribute bottled water and other supplies.

The financially strapped city was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its source of tap water from Detroit’s system to the nearby Flint River in April 2014 to save money.

Flint, which is about 60 miles northwest of Detroit, returned to using that city’s water in October after tests found elevated levels of lead in the water and in the blood of some children.

The more corrosive water from the Flint River leached lead from the city pipes more than Detroit water did, leading to the problems.

“We are utilizing all state resources to ensure Flint residents have access to clean and safe drinking water,” Snyder said, “and today I am asking President Obama to provide additional resources.”

On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he would investigate whether any laws were violated in the crisis. “No one should have to fear something as basic as turning on the kitchen faucet.”

The assistance Snyder has requested could include grants for temporary housing, home repairs and other needs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will review the request and advise Obama.

The White House said on Friday it would consider Snyder’s request, which was being reviewed by FEMA. A FEMA spokesman said the agency will give its recommendation to the president as soon as possible.

Some Flint residents sued Snyder, other officials, Michigan and the city on Jan. 7 in Genesee County court and are seeking class action status covering all residents.

Other Flint residents late last year filed a federal lawsuit. Genesee County also has seen a spike of Legionnaires’ disease resulting in 10 deaths that may or may not be related to the water crisis, state officials previously said.

Also on Friday, Snyder said he supports the return of more executive powers to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver. Since the city is in receivership, a city administrator is currently responsible for day-to-day operations.

(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards and Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bill Trott and Meredith Mazzilli)

Legionnaires’ spike in Michigan county dealing with water crisis

(Reuters) – The Michigan county already reeling from lead-contaminated drinking water in the city of Flint has seen a spike of Legionnaires’ disease resulting in 10 deaths that may or may not be related to the water crisis, officials said on Wednesday.

Genesee County, which includes Flint, had 87 cases of Legionnaires’ from June 2014 to November 2015. State officials told a news conference they could not conclude that the increase was due to a switch in the source of Flint’s water.

“That just adds to the disaster we already are facing with respect to elevated lead levels,” Governor Rick Snyder said.

About half the cases were connected to Flint water and half were not, according to Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Legionnaires is a type of pneumonia caused by inhaling mist infected with the bacteria Legionella. The mist may come from air-conditioning units for large buildings, hot tubs or showers.

Genesee County and Michigan health departments are investigating the increase as are the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Snyder said.

Snyder called in Michigan National Guard troops, who arrived on Wednesday to help distribute bottled water, water filters, testing kits and other supplies to Flint residents.

The governor, who has been accused of waiting too long to intervene in the crisis, also requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has appointed a disaster recovery coordinator to help Michigan.

Financially strapped Flint was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its source of tap water to the nearby Flint River in April 2014 from Detroit’s water system 60 miles to the southeast to save money.

Flint returned to the Detroit water system in October after tests found some children had elevated levels of lead in their blood and lead was found in higher-than-acceptable levels in the water. The city said in December lead levels remained well above acceptable levels.

Snyder has apologized for the state’s mishandling of the situation and declared a state of emergency in Genesee County to bring in additional state resources.

Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit said it was investigating the lead contamination of Flint’s water. Flint residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and state of endangering their health.

Michigan governor to request federal aid in Flint water crisis

DETROIT (Reuters) – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Monday said the state was beginning to put together a request for federal assistance in dealing with the lead-contaminated drinking water in the city of Flint.

“We also have engaged FEMA in this process,” the governor said at a news conference in Flint. A spokesman for the governor said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials were already in Flint providing technical assistance on the issue.

“We actually have liaison officers from FEMA in dialogue already,” Snyder said. “We have not made a specific request of assistance yet, but we are in dialogue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and talking to them about how we can best work together.”

The financially strapped city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its source of tap water to the nearby Flint River in April 2014 from Detroit’s water system to save money.

Flint, about 60 miles northwest of Detroit, returned to Detroit water in October after tests found some children had elevated levels of lead in their blood and lead was found in higher-than-acceptable levels in the water.

While the process has begun, the state needs to determine the full extent of the needs in Flint before a request for federal aid is made and that could take a period of time that he did not specify, said Dave Murray, press secretary for the governor.

Snyder apologized again on Monday for the state’s mishandling of the situation. In late December, he accepted the resignation of the state official whose agency, the Department of Environmental Quality, oversees water quality.

Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit said it was investigating the lead contamination of Flint’s water and Snyder declared a state of emergency in Gennessee County, which includes Flint, authorizing additional state resources to address health and safety issues.

Flint residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and state of endangering their health.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Ben Klayman; Writing by Ben Klayman; Editing by Sandra Maler)