The Flint water crisis begins in 2014 when drinking water sources for the city of Flint, Michigan are converted from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the cheaper Flint River. Due to insufficient water treatment, more than 100,000 residents are potentially exposed to high levels of lead. After a pair of scientific studies proving lead contamination is present in the water supply, a federal emergency was announced in January 2016 and residents of Flint were instructed to use only bottled water or filter water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and bathing. By early 2017, water quality has returned to an acceptable level; however, residents are instructed to continue using bottled or filtered water until all the tin pipes have been replaced, which is expected to be completed no earlier than 2020.
Video Flint water crisis
Synopsis
The issue of drinking water contamination Flint began in April 2014 when Flint changed its water source from drinking water handled by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to water. As a result, there is a series of problems culminating with lead contamination, creating serious public health hazards. The untreated Flint River water causes the accumulation of aging pipes into the water supply, leading to very high levels of heavy metal neurotoxins. In Flint, between 6,000 and 12,000 children have been exposed to high levels of lead drinking water and they may experience serious health problems. Due to changes in water sources, the percentage of Flint children with increased blood lead levels may have increased from about 2.5% in 2013 to as much as 5% by 2015. Water changes are also a possible cause of the Legionnaires' Disease outbreak in area that killed 10 people and affected 77 others.
Several lawsuits have been filed against government officials on the matter, and several investigations have been opened. On January 5, 2016, the city was declared in emergency by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder before President Barack Obama declared it in a federal emergency, granting additional assistance authorities from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security less than two weeks later.
Four government officials - one from the city of Flint, two from the Michigan Quality Environment Department (MDEQ), and one from the Environmental Protection Agency - resigned over the mistake of handling the crisis, and one additional MDEQ staff was fired. There are also fifteen criminal cases filed against local and state officials in the event of a crisis.
Snyder issued an apology to the residents and promised to fix the problem, and then sent $ 28 million to Flint for supplies, medical care, and infrastructure upgrades, and then budgeted an additional $ 30 million for Flint that would provide a 65% water bill for residents and 20% for business. Another $ 165 million for replacement of tin pipes and reimbursement of water bills approved by Snyder on June 29, 2016. $ 170 million The expenditure bill to repair and improve the city water system of Flint and help with health care costs was approved by the US House of Representatives on December 8, 2016 The Senate approved it the next day. $ 100 million of bills is for infrastructure repairs, $ 50 million for health care costs, and $ 20 million to repay loans related to the crisis. On January 6, 2017, Snyder signed a bill that expedited the requirement of public notice to lead in drinking water for up to three business days, from a previous time of 30 days.
On January 24, 2017 MDEQ told Flint Mayor Karen Weaver that the main water content of Flint had fallen below the federal limit. The percentile of lead concentration in 90% in Flint is 12 parts per billion from July 2016 to December 2016 - below the "action rate" of 15 ppb. That's 20 ppb in the previous six month period. The following day, Flint Spokeswoman Kristin Moore said that anywhere from 18,000 to 28,000 homes in the city still needed replaced service lines, and that the city plans to complete 6,000 homes annually by 2019.
On March 7, 2017, Flint water reportedly sampled by the state in February which registered below the federal threshold to lead with 90 percent of samples at or below eight parts per billion, the Michigan Department of Quality Environment said. MDEQ said the February water test marked the seventh consecutive month in which city water was below the 15 ppb level enforced by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The February test also showed 95.8 percent of samples taken at home at high risk of lead levels were at or below 15 ppb.
Timeline of the crisis
Several water service lines in Flint were installed between 1901 and 1920. Like many other cities at the time, all service lines from the cast iron mains to the end user's home were built from lead, as they were relatively cheap and easy to work. The tin pipes may leak the lead into water, especially if certain contaminants are present. However, water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, where Flint has obtained its water since 1967, has been treated reasonably well so that the pipe leaching is at a level deemed acceptable by state and federal environmental agencies. There are about 43,000 services in the city; these include 3,500 lead lines, 9,000 known galvanic stripes, and 9,000 unknown service lines.
Reciprocal exposure in the US has dropped dramatically since the 1980s, but no level of lead-blood is considered absolutely safe. Children under the age of five, and especially unborn babies and children, bear the greatest risk of damaging and irreversible health outcomes. From 2012 to 2016, the CDC assigned a "reference level" of 5 micrograms per deciliter (Ã,Âμg/dL), to target case management of 2.5% of America's youngsters with the highest blood-lead level. At 45 Ã,Âμg/dL, chelation therapy is considered. Among the many ways lead can enter modern American bloodstream through the plumbing. Acidic water makes it easier for tin to be found in pipes, leaded solder, and brass faucet to disperse and enter the drinking water of the house. Therefore, public water treatment systems are legally required to use control measures to make water less acidic. Pipes containing lead are often found in buildings built in the 1980s and earlier.
Financial emergency
From 2011 to 2015, Gov. Snyder appointed four emergency managers to control Flint's finances. After 2015, the city continues to receive financial guidance under the auspices of the Transitional Advisory Board.
Switch to a new water source
In 2011, Genesee County initiated a transition to the Karegnondi Waters (KWA) Authority; KWA will supply water to Genesee County and Flint. On March 25, 2013, the purchase of 16 million gallons per day from KWA has been approved by Flint City Council. KWA informed the council that they could dig into Lake Huron (new water supply) within 30 months using a dull tunnel. Ed Kurtz, Flint's emergency manager, along with Mayor Dayne Walling and Flint City Council, approved the action and awaited the approval of the Treasury.
Following this decision, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) negotiated with Flint officials by offering to restructure water payments. Flint refused, insisting that KWA is the best water supplier. DWSD believes that Flint can not spend more money on the new water system and the Lake Huron system is more efficient.
On April 1, 2013, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department requested the state reject the request of Flint, as it would initiate a water war, which would essentially harm DWSD. This press release also provides an option for Flint: the sale of unprocessed raw water. Draining Commissioner Wright of Genesee County, accused DWSD of negotiating the media and then replied, "It would never happen before for the state to force a community to enter into agreements with others, only artificially helping one community for another... this is exactly what the [Detroit Water and Sewerage Department] is arguing... "
On April 15, 2013, the State Treasurer, Andy Dillon, approved a water purchase contract with KWA. Emergency Manager Kurtz signed a water purchase agreement KWA the following day. On April 17, the Detroit Department of Water and Drainage delivered a one-year termination notice after Flint declined their last offer. DWSD expects that Flint will replace investments for water systems that benefit regional customers. Flint and Genesee County rejected the responsibility, but showed their willingness to buy a pipeline.
In April 2014, to save about $ 5 million in less than two years, Flint began treating water from the Flint River rather than buying Lake Huron water from Detroit. Previously, the Flint River was the source of the reserve water. In June 2014, Flint's emergency manager Darnell Earley completed the sale of a nine-mile pipeline to Genesee County for $ 3.9 million. These pipelines channel Detroit's water into the county, and once the Huron pipe is active, it will serve the eastern part of the county, as well. By December 2014, the city has invested $ 4 million into its water mills. On July 1, 2014, Flint emergency manager, Darnell Earley, gave operational authority to Dayne Mayor Occupy more than two municipal departments, including Public Works.
It was later reported that by not adding a corrosion inhibitor, Flint would save about $ 140 per day.
Maps Flint water crisis
Initial water contamination
After a permanent switch to the Flint River, the townspeople began to complain about the color, taste, and smell of their water. In August and September 2014, city officials detect levels of coliform bacteria, so residents are advised to boil their water. Michigan Environmental Quality Department determined that cold weather, aging pipe, and population decline are the cause of this bacteria. According to Stephen Busch, a DEQ district supervisor, the city took appropriate action to limit repetition. General Motors (GM) made the first complaint about water corrosivity. GM stopped using Flint water in October 2014, after reporting that the water was damaging car parts. General Motors was asked to switch back to the source of Detroit Water, which was later approved by city officials.
Prior to August 2014, additional chlorine was added to remove bacteria from the Flint River. This is probably the cause of the THMs spike, an unsafe chloride byproduct, in one of eight water sites. Long-term exposure to these chemicals has been linked to cancer and other diseases. Following this test, DEQ placed Flint on the notice of infringement, but did not disclose the information to residents until January 2015.
Employees of the Flint Public Library stated water could not be drunk after realizing that it was discolored, despite the city's claim that the water was safe. Since 2014, libraries have provided safe water to communities with the country's leading water providers.
The January and February 2015 tests show that city water meets all health and safety standards. Nevertheless, the Detroit water system offered to reconnect Flint, freeing the $ 4 million connection fee, but was rejected by emergency manager Jerry Ambrose. DEQ officials point out that there is no "immediate threat to public health," because the nature of the problem is "poorly communicated."
Back to Detroit water
In March 2015, Flint chose to switch back to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. This voice is motivated by housing complaints and recommendations from Veolia North America to prevent the city from further violating the Safe Drinking Water Act. Jerry Ambrose, Flint's emergency manager and supervisor, disagreed with Detroit's water source reintroduction. Ambrose believes, "Flint water is now safe by all the Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Environmental Quality Department, and the city works every day to improve its quality."
On March 2, 2016, Michigan declared that a return to the Detroit water system must be approved by the State. When approved, the city granted an emergency loan of $ 7 million.
In August 2015, local organizations observed that high concentrations of chloride caused water to become orange and that water contained high levels of lead. The level of lead is caused by orthophosphate negligence; this causes excessive corrosion of the iron pipes. As a result, three organizations, "...... sent more than 26,000 online petition signatures to Mayor Dayne Walling, demanding that the city end the use of the Flint River and reconnect it to Detroit's water system." The Flint water supply was diverted back to Detroit's water system in October 2015. Next, Flint began adding additional orthophosphates to the water to rebuild the pipe layers.
On October 8, 2015, Snyder requested that the Michigan Legislator donate $ 6 million from $ 12 million for Flint to return to the water of Lake Huron. The city of Flint will pay $ 2 million, and the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will pay $ 4 million. Jim Ananich, State Senator representing Flint, demanded that the state return $ 2 million to the city. Ananich also requested further state funding and long-term funding to address the effects of lead contamination.
On September 27, 2016, Flint officials announced that the city will continue to use Detroit's water until a new pipe stretch is built and the Flint River is tested and treated by KWA.
On December 9, 2016 MDEQ reported that more than 96 percent of water samples in Flint residency are now below the EPA threshold of 15 parts per billion.
On March 15, 2017, the Advisory Council of the Regional Water and Waste Service of Genesee chose to build a new pipeline; it will be a 7-mile, 42-inch connector to the KWA pipe. The pipeline will allow raw water treatment of Lake Huron, so the city of Flint can continue to purchase pre-treatment water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. The $ 12 million project will allow Flint to remain a GLWA customer until at least 2019.
Reciprocal discovery findings
In January 2015, a public meeting was held, where residents complained about "bad water." Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of water for 18 months before Flint doctors found very high blood lead levels in Flint children. During that time period, Michigan Environmental Quality Department has insisted that the water is safe to drink. A study by Virginia Tech researchers (see below) determines that river water, which, due to higher chloride concentrations, is more corrosive than lake water, is the tin leaching of the aging pipes. Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, an environmental toxicologist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said the rate of lead exposure is comparable to that experienced by Iraqis since the 2003 US occupation.
While local condemnation of Flint water quality began to develop in early 2015, Flint water officials filed a letter with state regulators who claimed to show that "tests at the Flint water treatment plant have detected no lead and testing in homes have registered lead at a level that can be accepted." Fake documents claim that the city has tested the tap water from the house with the lead service line, and therefore the risk of lead poisoning is highest; in fact, the city does not know the location of the main service line, which city officials recognized in November 2015 after the Flint Journal /MLive published an article revealing the practice, using documents obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. The MLS reported that the city had "ignored the federal rules that required it to search homes with plumbing pipes for testing, potentially causing the city and state to underestimate for months of toxic tin leaching rates into Flint's tap water. "
In a new report released March 1, 2016, 37 of the 423 newly tested sentinel locations had results above the 15 ppb limit. Eight of the samples exceed 100 ppb. However, a recent study indicates that significantly more samples exceed the 15 ppb limit in a voluntary or controlled homeowner sampling program in which concerned citizens decide to purchase testing devices and do their own sampling (non-sentinel sites).
Study
See the Education and research section for further studies.
Hurley Medical Center Study
On September 24, 2015, the Hurley Medical Center in Flint released a study, led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, program director for pediatric residency at Hurley Children's Hospital, confirmed that the proportion of infants and children with increased blood lead levels in their blood has nearly doubled since the city switched from Detroit's water system to using the Flint River as a source the water. Using hospital records, Hanna-Attisha found that a sharp increase in blood-lead levels correlates with city transitions to water sources. The study was initially dismissed by a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Brad Wurfel, who repeated the familiar loop: "Repeated testing shows that water is tested at an acceptable level." Later, Wurfel apologized to Hanna-Attisha. The team's study appears in the February 2016 edition of the American Journal of Public Health.
Hanna-Attisha's study found that the average proportion of Flint children with high blood lead (over five micrograms per deciliter, or 5 Æ' 10 -3 grams per 100 milliliters of blood) increased from 2.4% (2013, before water source changes) to 4.9% (2015, after changes in water sources), and in some hotspots increased from 4% to 10.6%. Michigan Childhood Poisoning Prevention Program Data approving the increase occurred, showing an increase of 2.2% of children (May 2013 - April 2014) to 3.0% (May 2014 - April 2015). Hanna-Attisha's data is taken from the hospital's laboratory records for children less than five years old. The sample size of Hanna-Attisha is large, both for pre-switch and post-transition periods and for children of Flint (1447) and for children not exposed to Flint water (2,202). The increase in lead levels in the blood of children proved to be correlated with high lead levels in Flint water. Because lead screening is not perfect for all children, the data may be inclined toward higher-risk children and thereby overstate lead exposure, especially in areas that are not at high risk.
Hanna-Attisha and Flint residents, LeeAnne Walters was awarded the Expression Courage Courage from PEN America on May 16, 2016.
Virginia Tech water study
In September, 2015 a team from Virginia Tech arrived in Flint. Led by professor Dr. Marc Edwards, a municipal water quality expert, the team came to conduct a lead level test on Flint water supply, working under the grant of the National Science Foundation. Edwards has been contacted by residents of Flint, Lee-Anne Walters, whose family suffers from extreme health problems, soon after switching to the water of the Flint River. Walters had attempted to act locally, but he was repeatedly ignored by city, state, and EPA officials. The study found that Flint water is "highly corrosive" and "lead to lead contamination in homes". This concludes in his report that "Flint River water wets more lead than pipes than Detroit's water, creating public health threats in some Flint homes that have lead or lead tin pipes."
Edwards was shocked by the level of contamination, but even more by the inaction of the right authorities after being made aware of the contamination. Edwards and his team found that at least a quarter of Flint households had lead levels above the federal level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) and in some homes, the lead level was at 13,200 ppb. Edwards said, "It is an injustice of all that and that very agents are being paid to protect these people from lead in water, knowing or should have known after June at the very latest this year, that federal law is not followed in Flint , and that these children and the inhabitants are not protected, and the extent to which they go to cover this shows a new level of arrogance and no matter what I have never met. "
Tim Edwards created the website, called "Flint Water Study , with the primary purpose of informing, and creating support for Flint residents during the crisis. The site also summarizes the results of the study and serves as a comprehensive public database for all information related to this study.
On January 11, 2016, the Virginia Tech research team led by Edwards announced that they had completed their work. Edwards said, "We now feel that the children of Flint are finally on their way to be protected and decisive actions are being made to repair the damage that has occurred." Edwards praised the Michigan ACLU and Water You Fighting For group by doing "critical work of collecting and coordinating" the many water samples analyzed by the Virginia Tech team. Although teamwork (consisting of scientists, researchers, graduate students, and students) is free, the investigation still spends more than $ 180,000 on expenses such as water testing and payment fees for the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. The GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $ 116,000 out of the $ 150,000 needed for the team to recover its costs.
On January 27, the city of Flint held Dr. Edwards to oversee the city's water testing efforts.
On March 1, 2016, the Virginia Tech team was given $ 80,000 from the EPA grant to retest the lead level at 271 Flint homes.
On August 11, 2016, Kelsey Pieper, a member of the research team. Edwards, said 45 percent of the population who collected samples in July for a lead testing program did not have detectable particle levels in their water supply. He added that the study yielded an initial reading of 13.9 ppb, just below the 15 ppb federal action rate. However, Pieper acknowledges that sampling, conducted by volunteer citizens, does not meet the testing requirements of the Federal Rules and Copper Regulations. The state test of the most recent six-month monitoring period, which began Jan. 1 and complied with the Rules of Lead and Copper Regulations, shows an initial reading of the 20th percentile of 20 ppb, which exceeds the level of federal action. Approximately 93 percent of samples from the third round of experimental Sentinel site trials show results below the level of lead action. Dr Edwards called the "end of end" outcome of a public health disaster associated with the water crisis.
On December 2nd, 2016, Dr. Edwards said lead was undetectable in 57 percent of the 154 Flint homes tested in November 2016 - up from 44 percent in July 2016. He also advised people to continue using filters.
Possible links to Legionnaires disease spikes
On January 13, 2016, Snyder said that 87 cases of Legionnaires disease, a waterborne disease, were reported in Genesee County from June 2014 to November 2015, which resulted in 12 deaths (two more later died of the disease). Although the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) says that there is no clear evidence of a link between the spike in the case and changes in the water system, Edwards says contaminated Flint water may be associated with a surge. In a second report released Jan. 21, state researchers have yet to show the source of the outbreak. The next day an official at the McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint confirmed that there was a spike in the Legionella case in Flint and elsewhere in Genesee County, but noted that there was "no exact data to support the McLaren. " Flint is the source of exposure for any positive patient test for Legionella antigen. "
The family of one of those who died of Legionnaires has filed a $ 100 million lawsuit against McLaren.
The Flint Journal obtained documents through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) about the Legionnaires outbreak and published an article about them on January 16, 2016. The documents show that on October 17, 2014, employees of the Department of Health of the District of Genesee and Flint's water treatment plant meets to discuss "concerns about the increase in the Legionella case and possible links with the city's water system." In early October 2014, DEQ Michigan was aware of possible links between water in Flint and the Legionnair epidemic, but the community was never notified, and the agency provided assurances about water security in public statements and in public forums. An internal email January 27, 2015 from a supervisor in the health department said that the Flint water treatment plant did not respond within months to "written and oral requests" for information. In January 2015, after complete interference in communications between the city and district on the Legionnaires investigation, the county filed FOIA requests with the city, seeking "specific water testing sites and laboratory results... for coliform, E-coli, heterotrophic bacteria and trihalomethanes" and other information. In April 2015, the district health department contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and by April 2015 a CDC employee wrote in an email that the Legionnaire outbreak "is huge, one of the largest we know in the past decades and the wider community, and in our opinion and experience it needs a comprehensive investigation. "However, the MDHHS told the local health department at the time that federal assistance was not needed.
Emails obtained by Progress Michigan in February 2016 show Snyder's office knew about the outbreak since March 2015, although Snyder's claim was only notified in January 2016.
On March 11, 2016, Governor Snyder ordered an investigation into MDHHS on the outbreak.
On February 16, 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the first genetic link between urban water and patients diagnosed with Legionnaires disease in Genesee County. "The presence of Legionella in Flint is widespread," said Dr. Janet Stout, a research professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a national expert on the disease. "The (laboratory) results show that strains (from bacteria) reside throughout the water system." Virginia Tech researcher Amy Pruden published a study that found Legionella levels up to 1,000 times higher than plain tap water in Flint, and said finding a patient whose clinical isolates - or bacteria - matched McLaren's water samples without ever being hospitalized there. the same strain may be elsewhere. "
On March 10, 2017, written statements filed by experts in the court supported the conclusion that Flint water is connected to the Legionnaires disease outbreak. Dr. Janet Stout writes in a written statement: "It is my opinion for a reasonable degree of probability that the change of water sources and the subsequent management of the municipal water system cause the conditions to develop in the urban water distribution system that encourages Legionella growth and dispersion, amplification, and significant increase in cases of Legionnaires disease in Genesee County in 2014 and 2015. "J. David Krause, director of the Forensic Analytical Consulting Service, and Dr. Ir. Hung K. Cheung, a doctor specializing in environmental and occupational medicine agreed upon by his claim.
On February 5, 2018, a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that Legionnaires disease outbreak 2014-2015 in Flint has matured to a low level chlorine which, at a higher level, will make it difficult for bacteria to replicate. Because chlorine reacts with heavy metals such as lead and iron, the high levels of both in the water of Flint may have caused a decrease in the amount of chlorine available.
Questions, investigations, resignations and release of documents
One focus of the investigation was when Snyder became aware of the problem, and how he knew about it. In a July 2015 email, Dennis Muchmore (then Snyder's chief of staff) wrote a letter to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) official, "I am frustrated with the water problem at Flint I really do not think people benefit from the doubt These people are afraid and worried about the health effects and they are basically blown off by us (as a country we do not sympathize with their suffering). "In a separate email sent on July 22, 2015, MDHHS local health service director Mark Miller wrote to his colleague that "It sounds like a problem is a long lead service line." These emails were obtained under the Michigan Information Freedom Act by Virginia Tech researchers who studied the crisis, and were released to the public in the first week of January 2016.
In October 2015, it was reported that city government data on the city's lead waterway was stored on 45,000 index cards (some dating from the previous century) located in a filing cabinet at Flint's public utility building. The Department of Public Works says that they are trying to transition data into an electronic spreadsheet program, but as of October 1, 2015, only about 25% of the digitized index card information.
On October 21, 2015, Snyder announced the establishment of five members of the Flint Water Advisory Task Force, comprised of Ken Sikkema of Public Sector Consultants and Chris Kolb of the Michigan Environmental Council (co-chairs) and Dr. Matthew Davis of Michigan University of Health Systems, Eric Rothstein of Galardi Rothstein Group and Dr. Lawrence Reynolds from Mott's Children's Health Center in Flint. On December 29, 2015, the Task Force released preliminary reports, saying that the Michigan Environmental Quality Department (MDEQ) is blamed for the Flint water crisis. The task force writes that the MDEQ City Water Supply and Relief Office (ODWMA) adopted a "minimalist technical compliance approach" for water safety, which is "unacceptable and inadequate for public protection duties." The task force also found that "Throughout 2015, when the public raised concerns and after independent studies and testing were carried out and brought to the attention of MDEQ, the agency's response has often been one of aggressive, dismissive, and discredited attempts to discredit these efforts and those who We found the tone and substance of many MDEQ public statements completely unacceptable. "The task force also found that the Michigan DEQ failed to follow the federal Main Regulations and Copper (LCR). The rules require "optimal corrosion control treatment," but MDEQ staff instructed the City of Flint water treatment staff that corrosion-control (CCT) maintenance will not be required for one year. The task force found that "the decision not to require CCT, made in the direction of MDEQ, leads directly to the contamination of the Flint water system."
The task force's discovery prompted the resignation of MDEQ director Dan Wyant and communications director Brad Wurfel. Director of the Flint Department of Public Works Howard Croft also resigned.
The final report of the Task Force Flint Water, released March 21, 2016, found the MDEQ, MDHHS, governor's office, and state-designated emergency managers "fundamentally responsible" for the crisis, saying the Flint people were "vain and tragic" exposed to lead toxic and other hazards.
On January 8, 2016, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said it was under investigation. A month later, they said they were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the EPA Inspector General's Office, the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, and the Postal Investigation Service on investigation.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "battled Michigan Environment Quality Department behind the scenes for at least six months on whether Flint needs to use chemical treatments to keep the main line and pipeline connections from washing to drinking water" and "not to publicize its concern that the health of Flint residents is threatened by the state's insistence that such control is not required by law ". In 2015, EPA water expert Miguel A. Del Toral "identified potential problems with drinking water Flint in February, confirmed suspicions in April and summarized the looming issues" in an internal memo circulated on June 24, 2015.
Despite this "horrible warning" from Del Toral, the memo was not released publicly until November 2015, after a revision and examination process. In the interim, EPA and DEQ Michigan are involved in a dispute about how to interpret the Main Rules and Copper. According to the EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, the EPA is pushing to immediately apply corrosion control to public health interests, while DEQ Michigan seeks to postpone corrosion control decisions until two six-month sampling periods have been completed. Meanwhile, MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel called Del Toral a "naughty employee" for his whistle attempt. Dr. Marc Edwards, who investigated tin contamination, wrote that Del Toral has made "heroic efforts" impeded by the EPA and MDEQ spent several months "disputes regarding jurisdiction, technicality and legality."
In an interview with Detroit News published on 12 January 2016, Hedman said that "recommendations for DEQ (on the need for corrosion control) occur at higher and higher levels during this time period. back from DEQ that 'no, we will not make any decisions until after we see more test results.' "Hedman said the EPA did not publicize his earlier concerns because (1) state and local governments have responsibility for drinking water quality and security; (2) there is insufficient evidence to the extent to which the danger is; and (3) the EPA's legal authority to force the state to take unclear measures, and the EPA discussed the matter with its legal counsel, who only gave an opinion in November. Hedman said the EPA discussed the issue with its legal counsel and urged the state to ask the MDHHS to alert residents of the dangers. On January 21, Hedman's resignation (effective February 1) was accepted.
EPA action assessment varies. Edwards said that the assessment in Toral's original June memo was "100 percent accurate" and criticized the EPA for failing to take action sooner. State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, Democrat from Flint, said, "There are failures at all levels to accurately assess the scale of the public health crisis in Flint, and the problem is ongoing, but EPA Miguel Del Toral does an excellent job. trying to expose this disaster.Anyone who reads memos and fails to act must be fully responsible of the law. "Del Toral then told The Flint Journal," I was stunned when I discovered they had no corrosion control at I think: It can not be true... it's very basic. "He also confirmed that unfiltered Flint water is still unsafe to drink, and does not know when it will change.
On January 15, 2016, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that his office would open an investigation into the crisis, saying the situation in Flint "is a humanitarian tragedy where families struggle even with the most basic part of everyday life." To oversee the AG Office investigation, Schuette appointed Todd Flood as a special prosecutor and Andrew Arena as chief investigator, who led a team of nine full-time investigators. On a round-table media in February 2016, Flood said that an investigation could lead to unintentional murder charges, if there were major negligence leading to death. Critics have questioned the objectivity of the inquiry.
In his annual state speech on January 19, 2016, Snyder announced that he would release all his emails from 2014 and 2015 in relation to the crisis. The next day, the governor's office issued 274 email pages. The New York Times is summarized, "these documents provide a glimpse of the country's leaders who sometimes underestimate the concerns of the population, seem eager to place responsibility with the local government and, even when scientific testing hints at the problem who is bigger, reluctant to admit it. "Later that month in a crisis-related class action suit, Snyder and MDEQ faced a subpoena for an additional email release dating back to early 2011. Emails highlighted by Progress Michigan in January 2016 show that officials Michigan states are hauling bottled water trucks for some of their own employees stationed in Flint in early January 2015 in terms of unsafe levels of trihalomethanes, or THMs, a by-product of chlorine that has been added to water to kill Coliform bacteria.
On February 12, 2016, Governor Snyder released an additional email between his office and MDEQ about the Legionnaires outbreak. On February 26, Snyder's office released over a thousand emails about the crisis that occurred in 2011. A number of additional emails were released on March 10th.
On January 22, 2016, two MDEQ employees (Liane Shekter Smith, former head of the Department of Water Supply Department and City Assistance; and Steve Busch, former district supervisors in the division) were suspended, awaiting an investigation, as a result of questions regarding actions related to water testing at Flint. In response, Snyder said, "Michiganders should be able to rely on state governments to do their best for them and in the case of DEQ which means making sure their drinking water is safe.Some of the DEQ's actions have no common sense and that has resulted in this terrible tragedy in Flint. I look forward to the results of the investigation to make sure these mistakes do not happen again. "Smith was fired on February 5, 2016.
On July 13, 2016, the Mackinac Public Policy Center sued the MDEQ for the department's 121-day delay in response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding Flint, including requests for all emails from Shekter-Smith and Bush from 2013 to 2015 containing the word "Flint "and a list of" every employee who is transferred, transferred, or suspended as a result of the Flint water problem. " The case was resolved in November 2017, with a joint statement saying in part, "The parties also noted there are circumstances where the FOIA does not currently have a certainty when the documents should be provided." This uncertainty can foster litigation over what the response time makes sense. "
On January 25, 2016, the Genesee County Commission approved a request from Genesee District Attorney, Prosecutor David Leyton for $ 25,000 to conduct an investigation into the crisis. The money will be used to hire two special prosecutors.
On March 4, 2016, a report issued by the Michigan General Auditor's Office called the MDEQ Water Supply and Municipal Relief Office "insufficient" in its supervision of the country's Community Water Supply Program.
Legislative hearings
Federal
On January 14, 2016 US representative Brenda Lawrence, Democrat, of Southfield, formally requested a congressional hearing on the crisis, saying: "We trust our government to protect the health and safety of our community, and this includes the promise of clean water to drink." Supervisors and Reform The government started a hearing on the crisis on 3 February. US Democratic Representative Dan Kildee from Flint gave the opening statement. The first witness was assistant deputy assistant to EPA deputy Joel Beauvais, Dr. Marc Edwards, new MDEQ Director Keith Creagh, and Flint LeeAnne Walters resident (who warns EPA water experts Miguel A. Del Toral for this issue). On March 15, the House Inspector and Government Reform Committee examining the Flint water crisis revealed that EPA, state and city officials are trying to improve the behind-the-scenes situation according to eyewitnesses and former EPA regional administrator Susan Hedman, citing law and challenges law enforcement as the cause of his actions. Emergency Financial Executives Darnell Earley, Former Fint Major Dayne Walling, and Professor Marc Edwards also testified at the hearing that date. Governor Snyder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified before the committee on March 17.
On February 10, 2016, a separate committee, the US Democratic Steering Committee and Policy, held a hearing on a crisis in which pediatrician Hurley Medical Center, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha; Yanna Lambrinidou, president of Parents for the Nontoxic Alternative, an environmental health group; Flint Superintendent School Bilal Kareem Tawwab; Eric Scorsone, a local government finance expert from Michigan State University, and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver testified.
On April 13, 2016, the Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives for the Environment and Economy and Healthcare Subcommittee held a joint hearing on the crisis in which Keith Creagh from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Nick Lyon of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Hurley Medical Center testified.
Status
On February 23, 2016, the Michigan State Legislature started a committee to investigate the crisis. On March 1, one of its members, Senator Jim Ananich from Flint, introduced a resolution which would entitle the state lawmakers to investigate the power of the Flint water crisis calling over the Governor's office, which is immune to the country's Freedom of Information Act. The first session of the committee was on March 15, 2016.
On March 29, 2016, the Joint State Committee on Emergency Health Emergency Water Flint held a hearing on the crisis at Flint where locals and local experts testified.
Emergency and emergency response status
Local
On December 15, 2015, Mayor Weaver declared water issues as a public health emergency throughout the city to seek help from state and federal officials. Weaver's Declaration says that additional funds will be needed for special education, mental health, juvenile justice, and social services because of the behavioral and cognitive impact of high blood lead levels. It was later declared emergency county by Genesee County Board of Commissioners.
Beginning on January 7, 2016, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell has a work crew of actors sentenced to community service beginning to deliver bottled water, water filters and replacement cartridges, especially to residents living in homes built between 1901 and 1920, whose piping system most likely leaching leads to water. The following week, he ordered his department to start using a reverse 911 to advise homebound residents about how to get help.
On January 10, Major Weaver stressed to the population that it is also important to take test equipment, as the city wants to receive at least 500 samples of water tests per week.
On January 12, officers from the Michigan State Police Department and the Genesee County Sheriff Department began sending water cases, water filters, lead test kits, and replacement cartridges to residents who needed them. The American Red Cross has also been deployed to Flint to deliver bottled water and filters to residents.
On January 14, it was announced. Mona Hanna-Attisha will lead the Flint Pediatric Public Health Initiative that includes experts from the University of Michigan Michigan State Medical University, Hurley Children's Hospital, County Genesee County Department of Health, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help children with Flint diagnosed with lead poisoning.
Condition
On January 5, 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared Genesee County to be in an emergency.
On January 6, Snyder ordered the Michigan Emergency Operations Center, operated by Michigan State Police Emergency Management and the Homeland Security Division, to open a Joint Information Center to coordinate public outreach and field inquiries from residents about problems caused by the crisis. The State Emergency Operations Center recommends that all Flint children under the age of six be tested for lead levels as soon as possible, either by primary care physicians or the Genesee County Department of Health. The State has established water resources sites in several public buildings around Flint where residents can take bottled water, water filters, replacement cartridges, and home water testing kits. They also advise citizens to call the United Way to receive additional help if needed.
On January 11, Snyder signed an executive order committing a new committee to "work on a long-term solution to the Flint water situation and ongoing public health issues affecting the population."
On January 13, Snyder activated the Michigan Army National Guard to assist the American Red Cross, starting the next day, with thirty soldiers planned to be in Flint on January 15th. The National Guard doubled the number of soldiers they deployed to Flint on 18 January. On January 19, Snyder ordered more troops to Flint the next day, for a total of 200.
On January 27, Snyder announced the establishment of a 17-member Flint Air Inter-Air Coordination Committee to "make recommendations on the health and wellbeing of tin-exposed people, study the water infrastructure of Flint and determine potential improvements, review the recommendations of the Flint Water Task Force , and establish ways to improve communication between local and state governments. "
On March 2, Snyder announced the country would partner with the Michigan Works workforce! Association to hire 81 Flint residents to work in water distribution locations throughout the city.
On March 21, Governor Snyder released a 75-point assistance plan to address the crisis, covering programs in the areas of health and human services, education, water supply and infrastructure replacement, as well as jobs and economic development.
On April 6, 2016, the state began offering up to $ 100,000 in grant money from the Disaster Emergency and Emergency Fund to local governments affected by the water crisis.
On March 16, 2017, Governor Snyder formed the Commission for the Elimination of Child's Lead Exposure and appointed Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha from Flint's Hurley Medical Center, Rebecca Meuninck from Ann Arbor, deputy director of the Ecology Center; Paul Haan from Grand Rapids, executive director of the West Michigan Healthy House Coalition, Inc.; and Lyke Thompson of Ann Arbor, director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University as a member. "Eliminating the risk of lead exposure will require coordination and expertise of people in all sectors," Snyder said in the announcement. "Creating this permanent commission will help advance the recommended strategy to protect Michigan children from lead exposure." On the same day, Governor Snyder said it would lower Michigan's "action rate" from 15 parts per billion - federal borders - up to 10 ppb.
On June 9, 2017, the MDEQ reported the May 2017 testing they showed 90 percent of Tier I samples at or below 6 parts per billion of tin with 93.1 percent of samples at or below 15 ppb.
Federal
On January 9, 2016, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent two liaison officers to the Michigan Emergency Operations Center to work with the state to monitor the situation.
On January 15, Snyder asked President Obama to provide a federal emergency/major disaster appointment for Genesee County, seeking federal financial aid for emergency relief and infrastructure improvements to "protect the health, safety and well-being of the Flint population." The following day, Obama signed an emergency declaration giving Flint up to $ 5 million in federal assistance to deal with the crisis. FEMA released a statement saying:
The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts aimed at reducing the suffering and suffering caused by an emergency to the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for the needs of emergency measures, under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to reduce or prevent catastrophic threats in Genesee County. FEMA is authorized to provide equipment and resources to reduce the impact of emergencies. Emergency protection measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be granted on 75 percent of federal funding. This emergency aid is to provide water, water filters, water filter cartridges, water test kits, and other necessary related items for a period of not more than 90 days.
After Snyder's request for the "Big Disaster Declaration" status was rejected, FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate wrote a letter to Snyder saying that water contamination "does not meet the legal definition of a 'catastrophic'" under federal law because "[T] not the result of a natural disaster, nor by fire, flood, or explosion. "In response, Snyder asked Obama for emergency funding under FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, which provides housing assistance and personal property replacement. He will also ask for money and emergency protection measures, according to its release.
On March 3, 2016, Governor Snyder submitted a request
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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