The charges include more than a dozen separate counts against two officials at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as well as a Flint water quality supervisor. However, the water was untreated to control corrosion. But a survey by the American Water Works Association found that 6.5 million of these pipes are still in use. That allowed lead rust, iron and, most risky, lead to leach from aging pipes into the city’s tap water.
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“This is a road back to restoring faith and confidence in all MI families in their government”, state Attorney General Bill Schuette said Wednesday as he announced charges against two state regulators and a city employee for official misconduct, evidence-tampering, and other offenses, saying they had neglected their duties to provide safe drinking water. “You can’t be told to do something that’s wrong and do it, knowing that it’s wrong”, said Flood.
Those emails and documents showed the DEQ’s apparent disregard of multiple red flags and warnings about the quality of Flint’s water. It has been used before in MI against police officers accused of excessive force as well as legislators and public officials, including former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.
Schuette also said at a news conference Wednesday that he’d “guarantee” there will be more charges.
A spokesman for Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office declined comment Tuesday night.
January 5, 2016: Snyder declares a state of emergency in Flint, the same day federal officials confirm that they are investigating. “People deserve the truth and deserve the answers”, Snyder said.
Snyder said Wednesday afternoon that he has not been questioned or interviewed as part of Schuette’s investigation, though he said his office has been cooperating with the probe.
Prysby faces identical charges to Busch, along with an additional count of misconduct in office.
The two state water experts charged are Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby, both with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
“We want to make sure that the price is not just paid by a few people who are basically at the bottom of the chain, but it also applies to the people who created the culture that made it OK for these folks to manipulate test samples”, he said.
“You have to now prove exactly what they did that violated the law”. “These charges are only the beginning, and there will be more to come”.
Glasgow previously said he planned to treat Flint’s drinking water with anti-corrosive chemicals after the city began tapping the source, but was overruled by Prysby, who was a district engineer with the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance at the time. It is likely a reference to DEQ officials passing on water sampling results mandated by the Lead and Copper Rule that failed to meet testing criteria.
From the start of Flint’s water woes, residents have insisted that culpability extended to the state capitol – namely Gov. Rick Snyder’s office.
But Glasgow also removed Walters’ home and one other residence from the state’s testing results sheet, making it appear that Flint was within acceptable levels when it was not, he said.
Glasgow has been charged with tampering with evidence and willful neglect of duty as a public servant, a felony and a misdemeanor, respectively. In 2014 the State of MI authorized Flint, then under a state-appointed emergency manager, to switch its water supply from the Detroit water system to the polluted Flint River.
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They both were charged with a misdemeanor violation of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act for allegedly ceasing the utilization of optimal corrosion control treatment at the Flint Water Treatment Plant after the plant switched to the Flint River as a water source and refused to mandate optimized corrosion control treatment at the Flint Water Treatment Plant in a timely manner after the lead action level was exceeded.
