The warrant request offers a detailed account of the accusations against the three men charged criminally this week in connection with an ongoing investigation into the Flint water crisis by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
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“While the system has come a long way, we are exercising caution as we look more closely at the unpredictable spikes that continue to show up in tests”, said Gov. Rick Snyder in a press release.
The untreated water from the Flint River proved too corrosive for the city’s iron and lead pipes. But the water wasn’t treated to control corrosion.
It’s a mix of felony and misdemeanor crimes. The chief of the department’s drinking water office was sacked. Glasgow is additionally charged with willful neglect of duty while operating the water plant.
Busch and Prysby pleaded not guilty and were released on bail.
Most U.S. cities stopped installing lead pipes in the 1930s to carry water from main lines under the streets and into homes.
Glasgow’s attorney, Robert Harrison, said the charges against his client “are hard to understand”. He said Glasgow was opposed to the switch in water sources and “voluntarily met with, and spoke with numerous investigators. on several occasions”.
Will this have a chilling effect on public employees?
The crisis – and state officials’ slow and dismissive response to complaints about the water from experts and Flint residents – led to allegations of environmental racism, emerged as an issue in the presidential race during Michigan’s Democratic primary in March, and sent other cities around the US rushing to test their water, particularly in older neighborhoods that still use lead pipes.
“It takes it to a whole new level”, the Governor said. A state Senate committee has approved $148 million in additional aid for Flint. It said the two DEQ workers, who have been suspended from their jobs without pay, “thwarted” a county health official’s efforts into trying to determine whether Flint’s water was to blame for the outbreak.
Will there be more charges?
According to the court document, Glasgow changed the report based on the phone conversations, and that move lowered the average lead level below the threshold that would have required residents to be notified of the unsafe lead levels in the water supply.
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“It’s always a mixed reaction when you find out it’s going to be one of your employees but, like I said, we’ve been waiting”, Weaver says. Arena, who built a career busting corrupt politicians, appealed to people who committed wrongdoing but want to cooperate: “Usually the first person on the train gets the best seat”.
