Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan: April 25, 2014 - TBD; 5 Michigan Health Officials Charged
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Emails Reveal How Michigan Government Dragged Its Feet Before Investigating Flint’s Water
BY BRYCE COVERT
MAR 25, 2016 11:13 AM
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK
Flint residents waiting to attend a Congressional hearing on the water crisis on March 17
Officials in Michigan and at a federal agency were aware as early as May 2014 that residents of Flint were complaining of rashes caused by the water, which had been switched from Detroit to the Flint River a month before, according to newly released emails analyzed by the Detroit Free Press. Yet a formal investigation into the rashes didn’t come until February of this year.
A resident spoke with Jennifer Crooks, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Michigan program manager for drinking water at the time. In Crooks’ email to another EPA official in May 2014 describing the conversation with the city resident, she wrote that he said “he and many people have rashes from the new water” and “his doctor says the rash is from the new drinking water.” In the email, Crooks said she told the resident to bring his concerns to the state Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), but he said he didn’t trust the state.
Later that month, Thomas Poy, a different EPA official, wrote in an email about a conversation with the same resident. “Rashes can be caused by other changes in water chemistry due to the change in source waters but the first step would be to rule out regulated contaminants,” he wrote, which could refer to things such as trihalomethanes (TTHMs) or even lead, both regulated by the EPA.
In June of that year, Crooks sent out a briefing on the issue to EPA and MDEQ officials, writing, “There have been numerous complaints to the Region 5 Ground Water and Drinking Water Branch regarding the drinking water, including rotten egg smell, swamp water smell, people developing rashes.” She also determined that raw water drawn from the Flint River “is a different quality and more variable than Lake Huron raw water that Detroit is using.” But she concluded, based on test results from the MDEQ, that although there were some TTHMs in the water, there weren’t enough to exceed acceptable levels.
A formal investigation into the rashes many residents have reported thanks to the city’s water, which didn’t have corrosion controls and filters added to prevent the leaching of lead and other contaminants, didn’t come until February of 2016. That investigation was conducted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services with aid from federal officials. The city’s water wasn’t switched back to Detroit until October of 2015, and state and federal agencies still have yet to investigate whether the water switch is responsible for a huge outbreak of Legionnaires disease.
A task force appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) released its final findings about the crisisthis week and laid the blame squarely on the state — particularly criticizing the actions of officials at the MDEQ, which it found to have “primary responsibility” for the water contamination. The report said officials failed to enforce drinking water regulations, misinterpreted the EPA’s lead and copper rule, failed to investigate the situation, and waited too long before accepting intervention from the EPA, all of which led to high lead exposure for residents that lasted for months.
Other emails to and from MDEQ officials show them taking a light or even joking tone when discussing the crisis in Flint in late 2014. One sent to a fellow MDEQ official from district engineer Mike Prysby, who had repeatedly told residents that the water was safe, included the sign off, “Thanks Richard…now off to physical therapy…perhaps mental therapy with all of these Flint calls….lol” in September 2014. Another email sent from East Michigan Council of Governments Executive Director Sue Fortune to an MDEQ drinking water official in the same month said, “Tell me — WHO thought Flint’s river water was ok to drink and then ALLOWED IT? :-)))))”
The new batch of emails also shows that a top MDEQ official was concerned by an announcementfrom General Motors in October 2014 that it would stop using Flint water out of concern that it would corrode the company’s machine parts. Brad Wurfel, former MDEQ spokesman, wrote on October 15, 2014 that it “has the potential to put us in an awkward spot with respect to decisions Flint needs to make on its own,” also writing, “On review, let’s be really careful on this.” Wurfel resigned in December after a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder criticized MDEQ for how it handled the water crisis.
Emails Reveal How Michigan Government Dragged Its Feet Before Investigating Flint’s Water
BY BRYCE COVERT
MAR 25, 2016 11:13 AM
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK
Flint residents waiting to attend a Congressional hearing on the water crisis on March 17
Officials in Michigan and at a federal agency were aware as early as May 2014 that residents of Flint were complaining of rashes caused by the water, which had been switched from Detroit to the Flint River a month before, according to newly released emails analyzed by the Detroit Free Press. Yet a formal investigation into the rashes didn’t come until February of this year.
A resident spoke with Jennifer Crooks, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Michigan program manager for drinking water at the time. In Crooks’ email to another EPA official in May 2014 describing the conversation with the city resident, she wrote that he said “he and many people have rashes from the new water” and “his doctor says the rash is from the new drinking water.” In the email, Crooks said she told the resident to bring his concerns to the state Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), but he said he didn’t trust the state.
Later that month, Thomas Poy, a different EPA official, wrote in an email about a conversation with the same resident. “Rashes can be caused by other changes in water chemistry due to the change in source waters but the first step would be to rule out regulated contaminants,” he wrote, which could refer to things such as trihalomethanes (TTHMs) or even lead, both regulated by the EPA.
In June of that year, Crooks sent out a briefing on the issue to EPA and MDEQ officials, writing, “There have been numerous complaints to the Region 5 Ground Water and Drinking Water Branch regarding the drinking water, including rotten egg smell, swamp water smell, people developing rashes.” She also determined that raw water drawn from the Flint River “is a different quality and more variable than Lake Huron raw water that Detroit is using.” But she concluded, based on test results from the MDEQ, that although there were some TTHMs in the water, there weren’t enough to exceed acceptable levels.
A formal investigation into the rashes many residents have reported thanks to the city’s water, which didn’t have corrosion controls and filters added to prevent the leaching of lead and other contaminants, didn’t come until February of 2016. That investigation was conducted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services with aid from federal officials. The city’s water wasn’t switched back to Detroit until October of 2015, and state and federal agencies still have yet to investigate whether the water switch is responsible for a huge outbreak of Legionnaires disease.
A task force appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) released its final findings about the crisisthis week and laid the blame squarely on the state — particularly criticizing the actions of officials at the MDEQ, which it found to have “primary responsibility” for the water contamination. The report said officials failed to enforce drinking water regulations, misinterpreted the EPA’s lead and copper rule, failed to investigate the situation, and waited too long before accepting intervention from the EPA, all of which led to high lead exposure for residents that lasted for months.
Other emails to and from MDEQ officials show them taking a light or even joking tone when discussing the crisis in Flint in late 2014. One sent to a fellow MDEQ official from district engineer Mike Prysby, who had repeatedly told residents that the water was safe, included the sign off, “Thanks Richard…now off to physical therapy…perhaps mental therapy with all of these Flint calls….lol” in September 2014. Another email sent from East Michigan Council of Governments Executive Director Sue Fortune to an MDEQ drinking water official in the same month said, “Tell me — WHO thought Flint’s river water was ok to drink and then ALLOWED IT? :-)))))”
The new batch of emails also shows that a top MDEQ official was concerned by an announcementfrom General Motors in October 2014 that it would stop using Flint water out of concern that it would corrode the company’s machine parts. Brad Wurfel, former MDEQ spokesman, wrote on October 15, 2014 that it “has the potential to put us in an awkward spot with respect to decisions Flint needs to make on its own,” also writing, “On review, let’s be really careful on this.” Wurfel resigned in December after a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder criticized MDEQ for how it handled the water crisis.
Emails Reveal How Michigan Government Dragged Its Feet Before Investigating Flint’s Water
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Why Flint's Mayor Has Threatened to Sue Michigan Over the Water Crisis
Mayor Karen Weaver has been trying fast-track replacement of lead pipes in families’ homes, but the state is playing funding games.
Flint, Michigan Mayor Karen Weaver awaits to testify before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the Flint lead water crisis in Washington February 10, 2016. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday will ask the state legislature for another $195 million to restore safe drinking water in Flint and help residents affected by lead-contaminated water, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Gary Cameron)
The Detroit News has reported that Flint, Michigan, Mayor Karen Weaver has put the state on notice that she plans to sue it for monetary damages related to the city’s lead-in-water crisis. Last week, Weaver and Flint’s Chief Legal Officer Anthony Chubb submitted a “notice of intention” to file a lawsuit with the state’s Court of Claims. Writes The Detroit News:
It notes that the city used Flint River water from April 2014 through October 2015 “in reliance on the authorizations, directions, and advice given by the” state Department of Environmental Quality.
As a result, the notice claims the city “has suffered or will suffer” damage to its municipal water system, costs related to the emergency, medial claims, reduced property values, reputational damage, permanent loss of water system customers, increased legal liability and more.
The Flint Water Advisory Task Force, convened by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder last October, assigned the bulk of the blame for the water crisis to the state’s Department of Environmental Equality in its final report, released last week. It will cost millions to replace the lead pipes throughout the city—that’s before considering the millions if not billions more that will be needed to deal with health problems and other social costs to families exposed to the poisoned water.
Weaver launched the Fast Start initiative in early March to begin replacing lead pipes in the homes with the highest risks of lead poisoning. Work has only been completed in about 14 homes so far, as Weaver is waiting for money that the state and federal government committed to releasing for the pipe work.
“The work is going well, but we still need our state lawmakers to approve the $25 million that Governor Snyder requested,” said Weaver Thursday in a press statement. “While we couldn’t move as quickly as we first hoped, now we will be able to train more crews and replace pipes at many more homes more quickly, as long as we get the necessary state and federal funds,” Weaver said.
Weaver’s Fast Start plan is budgeted at $55 million. She’s hoping that a federal plan to send an additional $220 million for clean water and health services will also soon kick in. The mayor is also hoping for another $195.4 million from the state legislature to supply additional services for families already affected by the lead water crisis.
The intention to sue filing may have been meant to make the state move more urgently on releasing those funds, but it has also perturbed some of the state legislators involved in that process.
Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter told The Detroit News, “I think that the mayor’s actions here could potentially blow up the state’s checkbook, and I think it’s going to have a real chilling effect on the House, as to providing any further resources in the interim.”
Over 40 lawsuits have been filed over the Flint crisis, targeting a myriad of sources from Snyder down to the local water companies. Given that state agencies enjoy incredible amounts of immunity against legal actions, many of these lawsuits will have a tough time landing. Meanwhile, as Weaver said in her statement to the public Thursday:
Nearly all Flint residents are still having to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth, and many still fear their children are being exposed to lead. They deserve to have all the lead-tainted pipes replaced as soon as possible.
In other words: Rick [Snyder] better have that money. Pay Flint what you owe it.
Flint's Mayor Threatens to Sue Michigan Over the Water Crisis
Mayor Karen Weaver has been trying fast-track replacement of lead pipes in families’ homes, but the state is playing funding games.
- BRENTIN MOCK
- @brentinmock
- 1:20 PM ET
- Comments
Flint, Michigan Mayor Karen Weaver awaits to testify before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the Flint lead water crisis in Washington February 10, 2016. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday will ask the state legislature for another $195 million to restore safe drinking water in Flint and help residents affected by lead-contaminated water, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Gary Cameron)
The Detroit News has reported that Flint, Michigan, Mayor Karen Weaver has put the state on notice that she plans to sue it for monetary damages related to the city’s lead-in-water crisis. Last week, Weaver and Flint’s Chief Legal Officer Anthony Chubb submitted a “notice of intention” to file a lawsuit with the state’s Court of Claims. Writes The Detroit News:
It notes that the city used Flint River water from April 2014 through October 2015 “in reliance on the authorizations, directions, and advice given by the” state Department of Environmental Quality.
As a result, the notice claims the city “has suffered or will suffer” damage to its municipal water system, costs related to the emergency, medial claims, reduced property values, reputational damage, permanent loss of water system customers, increased legal liability and more.
The Flint Water Advisory Task Force, convened by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder last October, assigned the bulk of the blame for the water crisis to the state’s Department of Environmental Equality in its final report, released last week. It will cost millions to replace the lead pipes throughout the city—that’s before considering the millions if not billions more that will be needed to deal with health problems and other social costs to families exposed to the poisoned water.
Weaver launched the Fast Start initiative in early March to begin replacing lead pipes in the homes with the highest risks of lead poisoning. Work has only been completed in about 14 homes so far, as Weaver is waiting for money that the state and federal government committed to releasing for the pipe work.
“The work is going well, but we still need our state lawmakers to approve the $25 million that Governor Snyder requested,” said Weaver Thursday in a press statement. “While we couldn’t move as quickly as we first hoped, now we will be able to train more crews and replace pipes at many more homes more quickly, as long as we get the necessary state and federal funds,” Weaver said.
Weaver’s Fast Start plan is budgeted at $55 million. She’s hoping that a federal plan to send an additional $220 million for clean water and health services will also soon kick in. The mayor is also hoping for another $195.4 million from the state legislature to supply additional services for families already affected by the lead water crisis.
The intention to sue filing may have been meant to make the state move more urgently on releasing those funds, but it has also perturbed some of the state legislators involved in that process.
Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter told The Detroit News, “I think that the mayor’s actions here could potentially blow up the state’s checkbook, and I think it’s going to have a real chilling effect on the House, as to providing any further resources in the interim.”
Over 40 lawsuits have been filed over the Flint crisis, targeting a myriad of sources from Snyder down to the local water companies. Given that state agencies enjoy incredible amounts of immunity against legal actions, many of these lawsuits will have a tough time landing. Meanwhile, as Weaver said in her statement to the public Thursday:
Nearly all Flint residents are still having to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth, and many still fear their children are being exposed to lead. They deserve to have all the lead-tainted pipes replaced as soon as possible.
In other words: Rick [Snyder] better have that money. Pay Flint what you owe it.
Flint's Mayor Threatens to Sue Michigan Over the Water Crisis
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ORDER_66
The Fire Rises 2023
valet
The official Chaplin of the Coli
He knows his time is coming. Guess this will look good in court.
newworldafro
DeeperThanRapBiggerThanHH
I know this is about Flint, but Flint is just the tippity tip of the polluted iceberg
Review faults EPA oversight of oil and gas wastewater
Review faults EPA oversight of oil and gas wastewater
I know this is about Flint, but Flint is just the tippity tip of the polluted iceberg
Review faults EPA oversight of oil and gas wastewater
Drink tapwater in 2016 brehs
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The Charges in the Flint Water Crisis
A judge found enough evidence to charge three officials in connection with the scandal.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Updated on April 20 at 10:06 a.m. ET
A judge in Michigan found enough evidence to charge three officials in connection with the scandal related to high levels of lead in Flint’s water supply.
Busch is a district supervisor in Michigan’s Department of Environment Quality, Prysby an engineer at the DEQ, and Glasgow a Flint utilities administrator.
Here’s more from the Detroit Free Press, which reported on the charges on Tuesday:
Officials believe the city got artificially low lead readings because they didn't test the homes most at risk — those with lead service lines or other features putting them at high risk for lead. Among those to be charged is a City of Flint official who signed a document saying the homes Flint used to test tap water under the federal Lead and Copper Rule all had lead service lines — a statement investigators allege was false.
[Attorney General Bill] Schuette is to announce felony and misdemeanor charges against at least two, and possibly as many as four people, according to two other sources familiar with the investigation. The investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected, sources said.
Flint is under a state of emergency after elevated levels of lead were discovered in its water supply after the source of the city’s drinking water was switched in 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River. In the meantime, the city’s residents are using filters and bottled water. Governor Rick Snyder is trying to assuage concerns over the quality of Flint’s water, saying on Tuesday that he’d drink filtered water from the city for a month.
Our most recent story on the crisis here.
The Charges in the Flint Water Crisis
A judge found enough evidence to charge three officials in connection with the scandal.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Updated on April 20 at 10:06 a.m. ET
A judge in Michigan found enough evidence to charge three officials in connection with the scandal related to high levels of lead in Flint’s water supply.
Busch is a district supervisor in Michigan’s Department of Environment Quality, Prysby an engineer at the DEQ, and Glasgow a Flint utilities administrator.
Here’s more from the Detroit Free Press, which reported on the charges on Tuesday:
Officials believe the city got artificially low lead readings because they didn't test the homes most at risk — those with lead service lines or other features putting them at high risk for lead. Among those to be charged is a City of Flint official who signed a document saying the homes Flint used to test tap water under the federal Lead and Copper Rule all had lead service lines — a statement investigators allege was false.
[Attorney General Bill] Schuette is to announce felony and misdemeanor charges against at least two, and possibly as many as four people, according to two other sources familiar with the investigation. The investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected, sources said.
Flint is under a state of emergency after elevated levels of lead were discovered in its water supply after the source of the city’s drinking water was switched in 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River. In the meantime, the city’s residents are using filters and bottled water. Governor Rick Snyder is trying to assuage concerns over the quality of Flint’s water, saying on Tuesday that he’d drink filtered water from the city for a month.
Our most recent story on the crisis here.
The Charges in the Flint Water Crisis
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Three Officials Charged in Flint Water Crisis
—By Inae Oh
| Wed Apr. 20, 2016 10:04 AM EDT
Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press/ZUMA
Update, 10:20 a.m. EST: Three state and city officials have been charged in connection to the Flint water crisis. Flint employee Michael Glasgow was charged with tampering with evidence and two officials from Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, Steven Bush and Michael Prysby, were charged with office misconduct and tampering with evidence.
Previously:
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is expected to announce the first set of criminal charges on Wednesday in connection with the Flint water crisis that exposed city residents to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water. The Associated Press reports that up to three officials will be charged, including two state regulators and one Flint employee.
The announcement comes just one day after a federal judge dismissed a $150 million lawsuit filed by Flint residents on behalf of those affected by the city's contaminated water system. The "manmade disaster," as Flint's mayor called the situation, started with a 2014 move to switch the city's water source to the Flint River instead of Lake Huron, where Detroit residents get their water, in an effort to save money.
Gov. Rick Snyder has come under pressure to resign amid growing evidence that state officials knew that the change in water systems exposed residents to high levels of lead, leaving thousands of children at risk of brain damage. On Tuesday, Snyder announced he planned to drink filtered water from a Flint residence for at least a month in order to prove that it is now safe to consume.
For more on the crisis, head to our investigation here.
Criminal charges are finally coming to Flint
—By Inae Oh
| Wed Apr. 20, 2016 10:04 AM EDT
Update, 10:20 a.m. EST: Three state and city officials have been charged in connection to the Flint water crisis. Flint employee Michael Glasgow was charged with tampering with evidence and two officials from Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, Steven Bush and Michael Prysby, were charged with office misconduct and tampering with evidence.
Previously:
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is expected to announce the first set of criminal charges on Wednesday in connection with the Flint water crisis that exposed city residents to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water. The Associated Press reports that up to three officials will be charged, including two state regulators and one Flint employee.
The announcement comes just one day after a federal judge dismissed a $150 million lawsuit filed by Flint residents on behalf of those affected by the city's contaminated water system. The "manmade disaster," as Flint's mayor called the situation, started with a 2014 move to switch the city's water source to the Flint River instead of Lake Huron, where Detroit residents get their water, in an effort to save money.
Gov. Rick Snyder has come under pressure to resign amid growing evidence that state officials knew that the change in water systems exposed residents to high levels of lead, leaving thousands of children at risk of brain damage. On Tuesday, Snyder announced he planned to drink filtered water from a Flint residence for at least a month in order to prove that it is now safe to consume.
For more on the crisis, head to our investigation here.
Criminal charges are finally coming to Flint