Speaking publicly for the first time, the former Environmental Protection Agency head of the Midwest region defended her actions in the poisoned-water disaster in Flint, Michigan, telling a congressional panel Tuesday that she “did not sit on the sidelines” and “did not downplay any concerns raised by EPA scientists”.
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Now that the extent of the damage done has begun to become clear, or at least public, two things remains incredibly cloudy: 1) exactly who is responsible, and 2) how do the people of Flint ensure that anyone – anyone at all – is held accountable.
“The EPA had every opportunity to make the right move here and they didn’t”, Chaffetz said.
“I was less concerned about losing a legal argument that about the length of time it might take to resolve it”, she said.
Hedman’s resignation “doesn’t heal the sick and ease the suffering of the residents of Flint”, Chaffetz said.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, told Hedman he was glad she resigned. She says the agency responded within the framework of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which leaves it up to states to implement drinking water regulations.
She says EPA’s enforcement options under the law are more constrained than in other federal environmental statutes.
Later, referring to Hedman’s actions when one of her employees tried to push for action on the matter, Chaffetz said, “you still don’t get it, and neither does the EPA administrator”. Elevated levels of lead have been found in childrens blood.
The Flint Water Crisis will be back in front of Congress starting on Tuesday.
Flint switched its water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money, but the river water was not treated properly and lead from aging pipes leached into Flint homes and businesses. A longshot recall effort is under way in MI for Snyder, who has been widely blamed in MI and nationally for the crisis. That combination, critics of the law claim, is particularly alarming in a place like Flint or Detroit – overwhelmingly black, Democratic-leaning cities where voter priorities quite likely differ a great deal from those of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), the chief architect and advocate of the state’s emergency manager law.
The state-appointed emergency manager who oversaw Flint, Michigan when its water source was switched to the Flint River says he was “grossly misled” by state and federal experts who never told him that lead was leaching into the city’s water supply.
“We relied on the experts to verify that the water would not pose any threat to the community – the experts failed all of us”, he added, citing state environmental officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Earley told the committee that he and other Flint leaders “were all totally dependent” on analysis and expertise provided by state and federal officials.
“This tragedy happened on my watch”, Hedman said.
“I nearly vomited when I heard you say something a moment ago”, he said, making reference to Earley’s decision not to switch away from the Flint River even after the local General Motors plant said the water was unusable.
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Walling, the former mayor, said in his written testimony: “The state’s focus on balancing the city’s books and choosing low cost over human consequences created more expensive public problems”.
