LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder apologized to Flint residents for the failures of state agencies and called on the departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Human Services to reach out to experts on drinking water quality in light of additional preliminary findings of the Flint Water Advisory Task Force that put the primary responsibility for the lead contamination in Flint water with the DEQ.
Among the initial fallout of that report was the resignation of DEQ Director Dan Wyant (see related story).
“I want the Flint community to know how very sorry I am that this has happened. And I want all Michigan citizens to know that we will learn from this experience, because Flint is not the only city that has an aging infrastructure,” Snyder said in a statement Tuesday responding to the task force’s second set of initial findings.
Snyder said the departments should ensure that the state is using the latest research in setting testing protocols.
“Let’s share research on water and blood lead level testing so we can arrive at accurate and mutually supported conclusions,” he said. “Together, we should work to affirm that we’re using the very best testing protocols to ensure Flint residents have safe drinking water and that we’re taking steps to protect their health over the short and long term.”
Those involved with getting the water crisis resolved welcomed the changes announced Tuesday.
“Governor Snyder’s apology over the Flint water crisis is appropriate, as are personnel changes announced today at the Department of Environmental Quality,” U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) said. “Through this ongoing crisis, the people of Flint did nothing wrong – they are victims of this failure of government.”
Kildee called for a state fund to cover ongoing costs for Flint children exposed to lead through the water change.
“We’re pleased that he is focused on trying to repair the situation,” Kary Moss, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Michigan, said of Snyder’s commitments to future action. “There is going to be far more remediation needed than has happened so far.”
Moss also urged that any new panel of scientific experts have autonomy in making recommendations.
Chris Kolb, co-chair of the task force and president of the Michigan Environmental Council, said the DEQ did not put enough emphasis on lead contamination of drinking water.
“Prior to this, they did not see it as a major avenue or vector for lead poisoning,” Kolb said.
But he said there is a growing body of research on the issue.
“We have been encouraging the administration to look to these outside experts as resources and to take advantage of what work is being done on this issue,” he said.
The task force did not specifically call for a panel of scientists. It did fault the DEQ for not only its decisions, but for the philosophy behind those decisions and for its attitude toward those questioning them.
“We believe that in the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance (ODWMA) at MDEQ, a culture exists in which ‘technical compliance’ is considered sufficient to ensure safe drinking water in Michigan,” the task force said in its letter.
And DEQ officials were hostile toward those who tried to point out problems with the water change, the task force said.
“Throughout 2015, as the public raised concerns and as independent studies and testing were conducted and brought to the attention of MDEQ, the agency’s response was often one of aggressive dismissal, belittlement, and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved,” the letter said. “We find both the tone and substance of many MDEQ public statements to be completely unacceptable.”
Brad Wurfel, the DEQ communications director who made those public statements, also resigned Tuesday although he made no mention of the Flint water crisis in a statement he circulated to reporters.
The task force said, in addition to new information, the DEQ needed a new attitude toward its job.
“A culture change must occur within ODWMA,” the letter said. “It must be driven by a mission that is aspirational regarding the role of the MDEQ in ensuring the safety and the quality of Michigan’s drinking water. We believe, and have expressed to MDEQ Director Dan Wyant, that as a Great Lakes State, Michigan should aspire to have the safest drinking water in the nation, rather than merely aiming for technical compliance with regulatory requirements.”
The task force also faulted DEQ for not properly interpreting and administering federal regulations on the issue. The Lead and Copper Rule, the panel said, calls for corrosion controls, but the DEQ did not require the city to implement them until tests showed they were needed.
The letter said the DEQ has wavered on whether it complied with the rule, most recently citing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency memorandum that DEQ officials said backed their actions.
“We are not convinced,” the task force said in the memo. “Even the MDEQ’s latest interpretation of the US EPA’s November memorandum is overly legalistic and misunderstands the intent of the LCR, which is to minimize risks of lead and copper exposure for human health.”
The task force chided Wyant for his “weak defense” of the department’s decision on corrosion controls, in which he cited the EPA memo.
“The decision not to require (corrosion control treatment), made at the direction of the MDEQ, led directly to the contamination of the Flint water system,” the report said.
This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com
