“Today’s criminal charges are one step to bringing justice to Flint families who are the victims of this bad tragedy”, Kildee said.
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Busch, 40, of DeWitt ended the day Wednesday on unpaid leave, roughly two and a half months after going on paid leave while his actions in the Flint crisis were under investigation.
Professor Marc Edwards said last week that lead contamination levels continue to surpass acceptable federal standards, and he urged residents to keep using bottled or filtered water for cooking or drinking.
They were also charged with tampering with evidence. He insists he didn’t know about dire lead problems until last fall.
The complaint alleged that the defendants deprived Flint residents of safe and potable water, failed to act for the welfare of the general public and acted in gross negligence by failing to address a unsafe environmental hazard – the lead leaching from corroded pipes into the water supply.
On April 20, Schuette held a press conference to announce that three state officials would be charged for failing to prevent the lead poisoning of the Flint water supply and for trying to hide the evidence. Governor Snyder released a statement saying that he supports the investigation, despite being many Flint residents’ target.
He said his office has been cooperative with the attorney general, and well as multiple other agencies’ ongoing investigations.
Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby both with the MDEQ, and Mike Glasgow, the City of Flint’s Utilities Administrator, were some of the first to raise concerns over the Flint water switch.
Mike Prysby, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality district engineer: two charges of misconduct in office (felonies), tampering with evidence (felony), conspiracy to tamper with evidence (felony), engaging in a treatment violation that violates the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act (misdemeanor), engaging in a monitoring violation that violates the Michigan’ Safe Drinking Water Act (misdemeanor). Gov. Snyder is responsible for the deaths and illnesses in Flint, Michigan.
Three government workers are facing criminal charges in the Flint, Michigan tainted water crisis.
Prysby faces an additional misconduct in office charge for allegedly authorizing a permit for the Flint Water Treatment Plant when he knew the plant was deficient in its ability to provide clean and safe drinking water.Glasgow was charged with two counts of tampering with evidence and willful neglect of office.
He said outrage over the Flint water mess has created a mood “where someone has to pay”.
According to emails released by Gov. Snyder’s office, Glasgow messaged a DEQ official a few weeks before the switch, complaining that the process was moving too quickly and his staff needed more training.
Experts believe the chemical-laced Flint River water corroded lead pipes, allowing large amounts of the chemical element to leach into the city’s water.
For almost 18 months, the poor, mostly black city of 100,000 used the Flint River for tap water as a way to save money – a decision made by a state-appointed emergency manager – while a new pipeline was under construction.
The charges, filed Wednesday in a state court, stem from an investigation by the MI attorney general’s office.
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“If water is distributed from this plant in the next couple weeks, it will be against my direction”, wrote Glasgow, then the city’s laboratory and water quality supervisor.
