The Michigan attorney general opened an investigation Friday into the lead contamination of Flint’s drinking water, hours after the governor asked President Obama to declare the problem a federal emergency, opening the way for more assistance from Washington.
In a statement, the attorney general, Bill Schuette, said Friday that the investigation would determine “what, if any, Michigan laws were violated in the process that resulted in the contamination crisis” forcing Flint’s 100,000 residents to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and bathing. The state has says it has identified 43 people suffering from elevated levels of lead, which poisons the nervous system and stunts brain development in children.
The crisis is already under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and federal prosecutors.
Mr. Schuette did not specify which people or agencies might be the subjects of the investigation. But the recent report from a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder blamed the state Department of Environmental Quality, saying that the officials there had taken a lax approach to enforcement and that they responded to concerns about Flint’s water with “aggressive dismissal, belittlement and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved.”
Findings by researchers at Virginia Tech who looked into the lead poisoning were even more damning. They reported that state officials not only ignored complaints about the smell, taste and color of the water, but also lied about the poisoning and tried to conceal evidence.
Calling the situation a “human tragedy,” Mr. Schuette said in a statement that his investigation would begin immediately. “While everyone acknowledges that mistakes were made,” he said, “my duty as attorney general requires that I conduct this investigation.”
Mr. Schuette, a Republican, is considered a likely a candidate for governor. Mr. Snyder, also a Republican, cannot run again because of term limits.
In a cost-cutting move, Flint, a financially troubled, low-income city, switched in early 2014 from taking Lake Huron water from Detroit’s system, to drawing water from the Flint River. The river water is more corrosive, causing lead to leach from pipes. The city switched back to using Detroit water last fall, months after state health officials had documented a spike in lead poisoning among Flint’s children, but it is unclear how long the leaching will continue.
The decision to switch was made while the city was under the control of an emergency manager appointed by governor Snyder; the city was in state receivership from 2011 until last year. And there have been reports that the city failed in its own lead-testing duties. It was not clear whether Mr. Schuette’s investigation would include officials involved in those actions.
The Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged that it should have required that anti-corrosion chemicals be added to the water, but did not. After the task force’s report was released in late December, Mr. Snyder apologized for the state’s handling of the matter, and Dan Wyatt, director of that department, resigned.
But critics have continued to charge that the governor has been too slow to take the problem seriously, to take state action and to request federal help.He declared a state of emergency on Jan. 5, months after the lead poisoning was documented, and it was not until this week that he activated the National Guard to help distribute bottled water, water filters and testing kits in Flint, and asked for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Late Thursday, he made the request for a federal emergency declaration, which would make residents and local government eligible for grants and loans for financial losses and repairs to the water system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
In a statement, the attorney general, Bill Schuette, said Friday that the investigation would determine “what, if any, Michigan laws were violated in the process that resulted in the contamination crisis” forcing Flint’s 100,000 residents to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and bathing. The state has says it has identified 43 people suffering from elevated levels of lead, which poisons the nervous system and stunts brain development in children.
The crisis is already under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and federal prosecutors.
Mr. Schuette did not specify which people or agencies might be the subjects of the investigation. But the recent report from a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder blamed the state Department of Environmental Quality, saying that the officials there had taken a lax approach to enforcement and that they responded to concerns about Flint’s water with “aggressive dismissal, belittlement and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved.”
Findings by researchers at Virginia Tech who looked into the lead poisoning were even more damning. They reported that state officials not only ignored complaints about the smell, taste and color of the water, but also lied about the poisoning and tried to conceal evidence.
Calling the situation a “human tragedy,” Mr. Schuette said in a statement that his investigation would begin immediately. “While everyone acknowledges that mistakes were made,” he said, “my duty as attorney general requires that I conduct this investigation.”
Mr. Schuette, a Republican, is considered a likely a candidate for governor. Mr. Snyder, also a Republican, cannot run again because of term limits.
In a cost-cutting move, Flint, a financially troubled, low-income city, switched in early 2014 from taking Lake Huron water from Detroit’s system, to drawing water from the Flint River. The river water is more corrosive, causing lead to leach from pipes. The city switched back to using Detroit water last fall, months after state health officials had documented a spike in lead poisoning among Flint’s children, but it is unclear how long the leaching will continue.
The decision to switch was made while the city was under the control of an emergency manager appointed by governor Snyder; the city was in state receivership from 2011 until last year. And there have been reports that the city failed in its own lead-testing duties. It was not clear whether Mr. Schuette’s investigation would include officials involved in those actions.
The Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged that it should have required that anti-corrosion chemicals be added to the water, but did not. After the task force’s report was released in late December, Mr. Snyder apologized for the state’s handling of the matter, and Dan Wyatt, director of that department, resigned.
But critics have continued to charge that the governor has been too slow to take the problem seriously, to take state action and to request federal help.He declared a state of emergency on Jan. 5, months after the lead poisoning was documented, and it was not until this week that he activated the National Guard to help distribute bottled water, water filters and testing kits in Flint, and asked for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Late Thursday, he made the request for a federal emergency declaration, which would make residents and local government eligible for grants and loans for financial losses and repairs to the water system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
