Flint Water crisis

[RandomGuy]

The drive to never raise taxes, and to cut corners has consequences. The price of "cheap" water turns out to be far higher than intended.

A look at some of the key events in the development of the Flint water crisis:

———

APRIL 2014: In an effort to save money, Flint begins drawing its water from the Flint River instead of relying on water from Detroit. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water system. Residents immediately complain about the smell, taste and appearance of the water. They also raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems.

SUMMER 2014: Three boil-water advisories are issued in 22 days after positive tests for coliform bacteria.

OCTOBER 2014: A General Motors engine plant stops using Flint water, saying it rusts parts.

JANUARY 2015: Flint seeks an evaluation of its efforts to improve the water amid concerns that it contains potentially harmful levels of a disinfection byproduct. Detroit offers to reconnect Flint to its water system. Flint insists its water is safe.

JAN. 28: Flint residents snap up 200 cases of bottled water in 30 minutes in a giveaway program. More giveaways will follow in ensuing months.

FEB. 3: State officials pledge $2 million for Flint's troubled water system.

FEBRUARY: A 40-member advisory committee is formed to address concerns over Flint's water. Mayor Dayne Walling says the committee will ensure the community is involved in the issue.

MARCH 19: Flint promises to spend $2.24 million on immediate improvements to its water supply.

MARCH 27: Flint officials say the quality of its water has improved and that testing finds the water meets all state and federal standards for safety.

SEPT. 24: A group of doctors led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Hurley Medical Center urges Flint to stop using the Flint River for water after finding high levels of lead in the blood of children. State regulators insist the water is safe.

SEPT. 29: Gov. Rick Snyder pledges to take action in response to the lead levels. It's the first acknowledgment by the state that lead is a problem.

OCT. 2: Snyder announces that the state will spend $1 million to buy water filters and test water in Flint public schools.

OCT. 8: Snyder calls for Flint to go back to using water from Detroit's system again.

OCT. 15: The Michigan Legislature and Snyder approve nearly $9.4 million in aid to Flint, including $6 million to help switch its drinking water back to Detroit. The legislation also includes money for water filters, inspections and lab testing.

NOV. 3: Voters elect newcomer Karen Weaver over incumbent Mayor Dayne Walling amid fallout over the drinking water.

DEC. 29: Snyder accepts the resignation of Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant and apologizes for what occurred in Flint.

JAN. 5: Snyder declares a state of emergency in Flint, the same day federal officials confirm that they are investigating.

JAN. 12: Snyder activates the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled water and filters in Flint and asks the federal government for help.

JAN. 13: Michigan health officials report an increase in Legionnaires' disease cases during periods over the past two years in the county that includes Flint.

JAN. 14: Snyder asks the Obama administration for major disaster declaration and more federal aid.

JAN. 16: President Barack Obama signs emergency declaration and orders federal aid for Flint, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate relief efforts.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/timeline-water-crisis-flint-michigan-36331514

[boutons_deux]

Repug MISgovernance! Is there any other kind?

[clambake]

more light needs to be shed on this tragic event.

"thats why i recommend the Philips hue lighting system"

[DarrinS]

Repug MISgovernance! Is there any other kind?

Really? Is that what happened?

[Winehole23]

EPA sat on its hands too:

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/12/epa-stayed-silent-flints-tainted-water/78719620/

[boutons_deux]

Michigan Governor Under Fire For Flint Water Crisis, Blames Clinton For ‘Politicizing’ Issue

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/01/18/3740439/gov-rick-snyder-flint-water-politicize/

btw, MI is one of the states where the governor is protected by FOIA.

[boutons_deux]

"said her hands were tied in bringing the information to the public."

states rights ! :lol

Also, FEMA can't go into a state unless requested, in a man-made disasters for emergency help.

FEMA responses to natural disasters do not need an invitation from a state.

[boutons_deux]

Fox News: Barack Obama Wants To Unpoison Flint’s Water Because He Is Racist, Q.E.D

HEATHER NAUERT (HOST): Class action lawsuit set to be filed against Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other leaders in that state, as frustration over a water crisis in Flint, Michigan intensifies today. National Guard troops called in to help deliver clean water after Flint’s water supply was contaminated with very dangerous lead, as any parent would know about that because that’s one of the top things that doctors look for in young children. So let’s bring in Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett. Gregg, as an example of how political this is now getting, the mayor of Flint, Michigan at the White House at this hour, meeting with Valerie Jarrett. The White House is going to be naming a czar. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders weighing in in the Democratic debate coming down on Republicans about this.

GREGG JARRETT: Because it raises issue of class and race. Sixty percent of the residents of Flint, Michigan are black. Forty-one percent live below the poverty line. They’re going to the White House because they want a federal emergency disaster declaration to get federal funds but they’re likely not going to get it.

NAUERT: Well this is a way they could potentially get more black votes in the coming election.



The often-controversial Oakland County executive, L. Brooks Patterson, suggested the Flint water crisis may have been blown out of proportion, citing a radio interview on Paul W. Smith’s and Frank Beckmann’s show on WJR-AM (760) with Bill Ballenger, a longtime political observer and former state lawmaker who lives in Flint.

Patterson said Ballenger told Beckmann that the water crisis is overblown, and that tests on Ballenger’s blood found no elevated lead levels. Patterson said Ballenger’s remarks offer “the other side” to the story of what’s happening in Flint, where testing has found dangerously elevated lead levels in children after the city switched from getting water from Lake Huron through Detroit’s water department to water from the Flint River.

Patterson said Ballenger “was adamant that he lives in Flint, he drinks the water, he showers in that water,” and that blood tests found no evidence of lead in his system. He said Ballenger called the water crisis a hoax and “one of the most overblown scandals in the history of the state.”

http://wonkette.com/598038/fox-news-barack-obama-wants-to-unpoison-flints-water-because-he-is-racist-q-e-d

[boutons_deux]

Newly released emails cast Flint scandal in a new light

Meanwhile, the materials that have been released are serious enough that Snyder may owe the public another apology or two. The New York Times reported (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/us/flint-michigan-lead-water-crisis.html) this morning:


A top aide to Michigan’s governor referred to people raising questions about the quality of Flint’s water as an “anti-everything group.” Other critics were accused of turning complaints about water into a “political football.” And worrisome findings about lead by a concerned pediatrician were dismissed as “data,” in quotes. […]

[T]he documents provide a glimpse of state leaders who were at times dismissive of the concerns of residents, seemed eager to place responsibility with local government and, even as the scientific testing was hinting at a larger problem, were reluctant to acknowledge it.


In one particularly damning email from late September 2015, the governor’s then-chief of staff said he couldn’t “figure out why the state is responsible” for the Flint crisis.

Perhaps because Flint was under the control of an emergency manager appointed by the governor? Because state officials were responsible for policymaking decisions in the city of Flint? Because those officials did not report to the city’s residents, but rather, reported only to Rick Snyder?

Meanwhile, the materials that have been released are serious enough that Snyder may owe the public another apology or two. The New York Times reported (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/us/flint-michigan-lead-water-crisis.html) this morning:

A top aide to Michigan’s governor referred to people raising questions about the quality of Flint’s water as an “anti-everything group.” Other critics were accused of turning complaints about water into a “political football.” And worrisome findings about lead by a concerned pediatrician were dismissed as “data,” in quotes. […]

[T]he documents provide a glimpse of state leaders who were at times dismissive of the concerns of residents, seemed eager to place responsibility with local government and, even as the scientific testing was hinting at a larger problem, were reluctant to acknowledge it.


In one particularly damning email from late September 2015, the governor’s then-chief of staff said he

couldn’t “figure out why the state is responsible” for the Flint crisis.

Perhaps because Flint was under the control of an emergency manager appointed by the governor?

Because state officials were responsible for policymaking decisions in the city of Flint?

Because those officials did not report to the city’s residents, but rather, reported only to Rick Snyder?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/newly-released-emails-cast-flint-scandal-new-light?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Repug MISgovernance, running govt as business, for dollars, rather than For The People.

[boutons_deux]

Flint, Michigan's water crisis: what the national media got wrong


That December 2014, Flint sent out EPA-mandated notices because the city had violated the Safe Drinking Water Act due to high levels of total trihalomethanes, a suspected carcinogen.

We stopped using tap water to mix her supplemental formula, but our anxieties returned a few months later when rumors started to circulate about a new contaminant: lead.

Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality repeatedly said that the water was safe (http://flintwaterstudy.org/2015/12/michigan-health-department-hid-evidence-of-health-harm-due-to-lead-contaminated-water-allowed-false-public-assurances-by-mdeq-and-stonewalled-outside-researchers/), and they had the test numbers to back it up. (Later investigation would suggest that some of those numbers had been doctored to maintain federal compliance (http://michiganradio.org/post/expert-says-michigan-officials-changed-flint-lead-report-avoid-federal-action).)

As late as July 2015 — 16 months after the switch had occurred — officials said that residents could "relax" about reports of lead in the water (http://michiganradio.org/post/leaked-internal-memo-shows-federal-regulator-s-concerns-about-lead-flint-s-water). Plus, the Department of Environmental Quality was monitored by the EPA, and they had made no official complaint. (Later investigation found that the EPA, too, knew of the presence of lead by (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/12/epa-stayed-silent-flints-tainted-water/78719620/)mid- (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/12/epa-stayed-silent-flints-tainted-water/78719620/)2015 (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/12/epa-stayed-silent-flints-tainted-water/78719620/).)

Even for a city in which one mayor had suggested we cut down all of the trees and put them up for sale and another had commissioned a massive bronze statue of himself, poisoning children with tap water just sounded too cartoonish to be real.

The idea of the massive conspiracy involving collusion between local, state, and federal authorities that must have been involved in such a situation was too absurd to consider. Wasn't evil supposed to be banal instead of burlesque?

After a parade of discolored water, E. coli boil notices, and total trihalomethanes violations, I finally had to concede the burlesquishness of evil.

In October 2015, the state finally confirmed the worst of our fears: There was lead in the water after all. The city switched back to Detroit water, but the damage had already been done. We, and our children, were being poisoned.

So why did we let them do this to us? And why did it take us so long to force a response?

These questions are at the heart of aDaily Show segment from last week, in which host Trevor Noah remarked, "If the water is browner than me, I don't drink it."

The stage was set on March 16, 2011, when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 4. This measure broadened an earlier law that provided an "emergency financial manager" for financially distressed cities and school districts. Under the new law, "emergency financial managers" became "emergency managers" with the power to cancel or renegotiate city contracts, liquidate assets, suspend local government, unilaterally draft policy, and even disincorporate. (It is worth noting that Michigan emergency managers have done all of these things except disincorporate, which was entertained by a manager in the city of Pontiac.)

The need for an emergency manager was determined by a series of highly subjective criteria. Almost every city that got one was a poor, African-American-majority city devastated by a shrinking industrial sector: Flint, Pontiac, Detroit, Highland Park, Benton Harbor, and so on.

Many Michiganders found Public Act 4 to be a violation of a strong state tradition of "home rule," and so overturned it by referendum in the 2012 election. But that didn't last long: the Republican-dominated state legislature immediately passed Public Act 436, which was almost identical, although it included a provision to pay the emergency managers from state coffers rather than local. Under Michigan law, a bill that includes an appropriation like this cannot be voided through referendum.

It's those two words — "emergency manager" — that differentiate Flint from all but a handful of cities around the country, and which made it particularly vulnerable to the kind of reckless oversight that led to our contaminated water.


There should be no doubt about who was ultimately responsible for Flint's water policies. In 2013, the Flint City Council voted 7-1 to build a new water pipeline to Lake Huron, freeing us from exorbitant rates from Detroit. Emergency manager Ed Kurtz went along, happily claiming a mandate for a policy he supported.

Immediately after this decision was made, Detroit canceled its contract with Flint. The disastrous next step was made not by the Flint mayor or the city council but by the subsequent emergency manager, Darnell Earley.

it would need to draw water from somewhere else in the meantime. That alternative source became the Flint River. And it was Earley whovalidated the filtration and use of Flint River water (http://www.aclumich.org/democracywatch/index.php/entry/flint-water-and-the-no-blame-game).

Later, in 2015, amid rumors of lead compounded with TTHM violations, the city council voted, again 7-1, to "do all things necessary" to return to Detroit water. Their decision was vetoed by emergency manager Jerry Ambrose. He said that the vote was "incomprehensible." (http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/03/flint_emergency_manager_calls.html)

Yes, many local officials supported use of the river water for a long time (http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/04/flint_mayor_dayne_walling_on_t.html), and concealed information from the public (http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/01/documents_show_agencies_knew_o.html). As one activist has said, "There's plenty of blame to go around." Snyder and the former emergency managers have appealed to this fact when defending their records and legacy.

Yet by empowering an unelected official with virtually unchecked local power, the state did not just obtain the right to set local policy, but also stripped residents of much influence over their elected representatives. Indeed, campaign aides working for locally elected officials told me that they had been pressured by the state to enforce the priorities of the managers or face an indefinite continuation of the state takeover.

I cannot conceive that the Flint River water experiment would have even lasted a full year had Flint residents been able to threaten incumbents at the ballot box.

newspapers have been hesitant to emphatically and unambiguously declare who has been making the decisions in Flint. It wasn't "city officials," it wasn't the city council, and it wasn't even a mayor who often found himself supporting the state's priorities. Because the emergency managers had unchallenged authority in their oversight of Flint, it is they, along with the governor who appointed them, who bear ultimate responsibility for creating the crisis.

The only reason the national public was informed of this crisis — the only reason the state is now under pressure to respond — is because of the constant, righteous fury of Flint residents.

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/20/10789810/flint-michigan-water-crisis

btw, Detroit has its own Snyder emergency manager who cut off the Det water to Flint.

BlackLivesDontMatter to old, white, racist Repug guys

[boutons_deux]

Obama protects Clean Water Act from GOP effort

Within weeks of the 2014 midterm elections, the new Republican-led Congress made clear one of its priorities would be trying to limit (https://newrepublic.com/article/120228/what-expect-gop-war-epa) the Clean Water Act. The Obama administration’s EPA expanded pollution restrictions on previously unregulated waters – through a policy called the Waters of the United States rule – and conservatives said this could not stand.

And for the most part, Republicans took some steps towards their goal. Using “a rarely invoked law known as the Congressional Review Act,” GOP lawmakers voted (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/19/obama-vetoes-attempt-kill-clean-water-rule/79033958/) in November for a measure, championed by far-right Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Okla.), to curtail the Clean Water Act. It passed both chambers.

As a practical matter, though, Republicans were just wasting their own time – they knew President Obama would veto the effort, and this week, he did exactly that (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/19/obama-vetoes-attempt-kill-clean-water-rule/79033958/).

President Obama issued the ninth veto of his presidency Tuesday, rejecting a congressional resolution that would have overturned federal regulations on clean water. […]

“Too many of our waters have been left vulnerable,” Obama said in a veto message to Congress. “Pollution from upstream sources ends up in the rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters near which most Americans live and on which they depend for their drinking water, recreation, and economic development.”


GOP lawmakers knew they’d never have the votes necessary to override the veto, but they nevertheless moved forward on the idea today, and came up far short. A veto override would require 67 votes in the Senate, and a procedural vote today needed 60 votes. Republicans managed to get 52 (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/266575-senate-fails-to-override-obama-on-water-rule).

But as much of the country is stunned by the Michigan city’s dangerous, effectively poisoned water supply, congressional Republicans want to fight the White House now on limiting the EPA’s power and scaling back the Clean Water Act?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/obama-protects-clean-water-act-gop-effort?cid=sm_fb_maddow

goddam, Repugs are fucking assholes.

[boutons_deux]

another take:

Still Determined To Poison You, GOP Fails To Override Obama Veto Protecting Clean Water

In a stunning display of clueless arrogance Mitch McConnell’s Senate Republicans moved forward with a vote to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would have killed the EPA’s new clean water rule. Republicans failed to get enough votes to override the veto.

The crisis in Flint has taught Republicans nothing. Republicans originally tried to cut the new clean water rules before the Flint crisis became a national story, but after Flint, a responsible Senate majority might have reconsidered gutting clean water rules after hundreds of children were sickened with lead poisoning in an American city due to contaminated water.
The Republican majority in the Senate is owned by corporations and big business. It doesn’t matter to them if the American people are denied access to clean drinking water. The Senate Republican maneuver to kill new clean water rules was all about enabling polluters. Republicans are determined to make sure that people are not guaranteed access to clean water.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/01/21/determined-poison-you-republicans-fail-override-obama-veto-protecting-clean-water.html

[boutons_deux]

EPA regional head will resign in wake of Michigan water disaster


http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/head-of-epas-midwest-region-will-resign-in-wake-of-michigan-water-disaster/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Republicans Laughably Try to Blame Democrats For Flint Water Poisoning

The Republican wars against clean water and the EPA are nothing new.

Republicans are trying to get out of the Flint water crisis’ clear denouncement of their failed ideology by blaming the Democrats for corrupting the EPA.
Nice try, but hello reality. For years, Republicans have been waging a war against the EPA and clean water rules.

https://twitter.com/rkylesmith/status/689932869674897411/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw (https://twitter.com/rkylesmith/status/689932869674897411/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

They also tried to redefine what can be dumped in the water and which water it can regulate at all:

The bill cuts funding for the EPA by $718 million, or 9 percent, and caps staffing levels at the agency to 15,000, the lowest level since 1989.

EPA provisions in the 2016 spending bill are very similar to those Republicans proposed last year when they looked to cut funding for the agency by 9 percent, cap staffing levels and block a handful of potential agency rules.



Mind you the EPA in 2015 was already operating with staffing at 1989 levels and with a $60 million dollar budget cut, thanks to Republican hostage holding the prior year and President Obama had asked for a $500 million increase in funding for the EPA.In May of 2015, Republicans fought against the EPA’s pending water rule: (http://thehill.com/policy/finance/242820-gop-senator-withdraws-amendment-to-defund-epa-water-rule-for-now)

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) offered an amendment Thursday that would defund a pending Environmental Protection Agency water rule, but quickly withdrew it after a fellow Republican warned it could hurt a crucial bill.

The EPA is expected to release a final rule soon that would redefine which ponds, wetlands, streams and other waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act. Republicans, however, contend the rule would be a massive land grab.

Senate Republicans are considering an authorization bill that would block the rule and give the EPA specific instructions for rewriting it. The House voted last week to stop the implementation of the rule.



In November of 2014, when they took total control of Congress,Republicans announced that the EPA was a top target for them. (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/e2-wire/223398-senate-gop-steeling-for-battle-against-the-epa)

Senate Republicans are gearing up for a war against the Obama administration’s environmental rules, identifying them as a top target when they take control in January.

The GOP sees the midterm elections as a mandate to roll back rules from the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, with Republicans citing regulatory costs they say cripple the economy and skepticism about the cause of climate change.


Blaming the EPA for their own failures is nothing new for Republicans. It’s part of their paradigm of making sure to be so incompetent at governing that people lose faith in government, and then buy their arguments to let them make a profit off of people by privatizing what should be public.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/01/21/republicans-laughably-blame-democrats-flint-water-poisoning.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

Typical Repug tactic: MISgovern badly, fuck up and defund govt, then claim govt is too big and fucked up.

[ErnestLynch]

APRIL 2014: In an effort to save money, Flint begins drawing its water from the Flint River instead of relying on water from Detroit. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water system. Residents immediately complain about the smell, taste and appearance of the water. They also raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems.


Dayne Walling was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009-2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.

BAM !!!

[ChumpDumper]

Dayne Walling was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009-2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.

BAM !!!You might want to read up on this before declaring "BAM !!!"

[boutons_deux]

Dayne Walling was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009-2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.

BAM !!!

BAM! rightwingnut ignorance exposed again.

Repug emergency managers (unaccountable dictators) override elected officials. Flint has been dictated to by 4 emergency managers, continuity being respected, since 2011. The Dem mayor was totally rendered powerless, irrelevant.

[boutons_deux]

America's lead poisoning problem isn't just in Flint. It’s everywhere.


Most kids in one Alabama county test positive for lead poisoning


Houston County, Alabama, is, in a lot of ways, an unremarkable place. It has just over 100,000 residents and sits in the southeast corner of the state, bordering Florida and Georgia. Median household income there is about $40,000, slightly lower than average for the state.

But there is one way Houston County does stand out: In 2014, it reported the highest rate of lead poisoning in the nation of any counties that sent data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Houston County tested 12 children for lead poisoning in 2014, which it defines as kids who have more than 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. Seven of those tests came back positive.

Nine counties nationwide told the CDC that 10 percent or more of their lead poisoning tests came back positive.

Four of them are in Louisiana,

two in Alabama, and the

rest scattered across West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Oklahoma. :lol

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/21/10811004/lead-poisoning-cities-us

[boutons_deux]

Snyderly Whiplash absolving himself of accountability. You knew it was inevitable :lol

Michigan’s Snyder criticizes ‘culture in government’

Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday continued to lay blame at the feet of state Department of Environmental Quality employees for failing to require Flint to add corrosion control chemicals to its river water that could have prevented lead from leaching into the drinking water supply.

When Rick Snyder refers to problems with “government,” he’s specifically talking about Rick Snyder’s administration. The decisions that did so much damage in Flint were made by emergency managers appointed by the governor himself.

Even the state Department of Environmental Quality employees Snyder is now blaming are employees who answer to him.

At one point, he added, “Let’s look at the entire cultural background of how people have been operating” – which is to say, the culture of how people have been operating in Snyder’s own administration.

“local” officials weren’t in a position of authority; Snyder’s emergency managers were making the decisions.

a theme is starting to emerge: leading Republicans believe the Flint crisis is an example of the “culture in government.” Don’t blame Snyder, the argument goes, blame the more ideologically satisfying public sector in general.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/michigans-snyder-criticizes-culture-government?cid=sm_fb_maddow

yep, govt is the problem, REPUG govt is the problem, sickening and killing Americans nationwide. ISIS? :lol

[Aztecfan03]

Repug MISgovernance! Is there any other kind?
Yep. Democrat misgovernance.

[boutons_deux]

Costly repairs to water heaters, pipes may fall to Flint homeowners

Replacing the water heaters, pipes and even the service lines to their homes that may have been destroyed by the city's water.

And for now, it's unclear whether they will receive any help in covering those costs.

The Flint River water's high chloride content wasn't treated as required, a state task force has reported, and is thought to have weakened the city's aging water distribution system, which contains a high percentage of lead pipes and plumbing. That is believed to have sent high volumes of lead into the city's drinking water.

That corrosive Flint River water also is thought to have similarly damaged the pipes and appliances in homes throughout Flint.

Homeowners could shoulder a burden of $4,000 or more to cover the costs of a new water heater, a new plumbing system featuring PVC piping that is not susceptible to corrosion, and a new service line connection, which is the most costly component because it involves excavation and piping that can extend up to 30 feet from the house to the street, according to Marc Edwards, a national expert on municipal water quality at Virginia Tech.

Edwards has been leading a team of researchers in conducting water tests in Flint, and estimates that correcting the damage caused from corrosion to the water system will cost between $20 million and $200 million. The city says the replacement cost for an entirely new system could be $1.5 billion.

Some residents, including Mays, have already gone through more than one water heater since the crisis began. There is also the worry that new appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines, are vulnerable to corrosion from the water and will need to be replaced.

Sergio Kapusta, a fellow at NACE International, an industry organization that develops corrosion prevention and control standards in Houston, says that "changing all the mains in the city will not really solve the problem for the homeowners" because the lead piping in these homes probably has been severely compromised. "The corrosion is not going away. It's still there," he says.

Before homeowners do anything, they need to wait for the city either to correct sections of its system that are corroded or to replace the system.
"If you just replace your section, you're still getting all the garbage from the city," he said.

Kapusta, who teaches material science at Rice University, says that in the meantime the only option for a homeowner is to install a water purification system for basic needs and to drink bottled water.

"There is not a cheap and easy solution, but it's all you can do until the city replaces the pipes," he said.

While Flint residents wait, they also face an increased number of shut-off notices due to unpaid bills.

In August, Genesee Circuit Judge Archie Hayman issued an emergency injunction to stop them, but last week finance director Jody Lundquist said the city will begin issuing water shut-off notices soon.

Kristin Moore, a city spokesperson, said Flint has a legal obligation to bill for utility services,


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-flint-michigan-water-crisis-20160123-story.html

Repug MISgovernance, it's all they do.

[313]

Detroit has some of the cleanest tap water in the world, why would someone voluntarily choose to switch to shitty river water?

[313]

OCT. 15: The Michigan Legislature and Snyder approve nearly $9.4 million in aid to Flint, including $6 million to help switch its drinking water back to Detroit. The legislation also includes money for water filters, inspections and lab testing.

NOV. 3: Voters elect newcomer Karen Weaver over incumbent Mayor Dayne Walling amid fallout over the drinking water.

DEC. 29: Snyder accepts the resignation of Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant and apologizes for what occurred in Flint.

JAN. 5: Snyder declares a state of emergency in Flint, the same day federal officials confirm that they are investigating.

JAN. 12: Snyder activates the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled water and filters in Flint and asks the federal government for help.

JAN. 13: Michigan health officials report an increase in Legionnaires' disease cases during periods over the past two years in the county that includes Flint.

JAN. 14: Snyder asks the Obama administration for major disaster declaration and more federal aid.

JAN. 16: President Barack Obama signs emergency declaration and orders federal aid for Flint, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate relief efforts.

----------

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/timeline-water-crisis-flint-michigan-36331514so flint has been back on detroit's water supply since October or are they still in the process of switching over?

[boutons_deux]

Detroit has some of the cleanest tap water in the world, why would someone voluntarily choose to switch to shitty river water?

to save money, the Golden Calf of Repugs.

[Winehole23]

Detroit has some of the cleanest tap water in the world, why would someone voluntarily choose to switch to shitty river water?Good question.

Might even have been cheaper to stay with Detroit.

If the switch wasn't to save money, why did it happen?

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2016/01/23/gov-snyder-lied-flint-water-switch-was-not-about-money-records-show/

[boutons_deux]

to save money (while disserving a majority-black, majority-poor city)

Personal injury lawyers are probably already all over this, preparing class action suit(s), which will make the Repugs' defense look uglier, nastier than ever.

Of course, suing MI or local Repugs means taxpayers will foot the bill.

Will "yellow dog" Repug voters EVER learn, are they too stupid?, that Repugs screw them at every turn?

[Winehole23]

you're parroting Gov. Snyder's rationale. it might not be supported by the record and we might never find out, if Michigan continues to stonewall.

[RandomGuy]

Obama protects Clean Water Act from GOP effort

[rachel maddow] But as much of the country is stunned by the Michigan city’s dangerous, effectively poisoned water supply, congressional Republicans want to fight the White House now on limiting the EPA’s power and scaling back the Clean Water Act?

[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

Because private industry has such a great track record of cleaning up their own pollution.

This leaves me shaking my head, yet again.

It's as if the collective party has some pathological need to point the gun at their foot and take the safety off...

[boutons_deux]

Because private industry has such a great track record of cleaning up their own pollution.

This leaves me shaking my head, yet again.

It's as if the collective party has some pathological need to point the gun at their foot and take the safety off...

no matter how bad they willfully misgovern, god/gays/guns/abortion and oligarchs will get them re-elected, assists from gerrymandering and voter suppression.

iow, America is fucked and unfuckable.

The Congressional Repugs will obstruct all progress for the 99%, will vote AGAINST what even a majority of Repug voters want: expanded b/g checks and money out of politics.

[DMX7]

But as much of the country is stunned by the Michigan city’s dangerous, effectively poisoned water supply, congressional Republicans want to fight the White House now on limiting the EPA’s power and scaling back the Clean Water Act?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/obama-protects-clean-water-act-gop-effort?cid=sm_fb_maddow

goddam, Repugs are fucking assholes.


[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

It's just shameless.

[boutons_deux]

Militia Says It Will Take Up Arms To Defend Flint If Necessary

A group of vigilantes has vowed to take up arms (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/24/militia-flint-join-calls-justice-water-crisis/79271746/) to defend the city’s residents. During a rally in front of City Hall, an executive officer for the Genesee County Volunteer Militia announced the group is “not going to allow [the government] to step on the people of Flint any longer.”

“We’re here to defend this community,” said Matthew Krol, who was joined by approximately 30 supporters. The Detroit Free Press reported that the group carried “Don’t Tread On Me” signs and some of its members had pistols. “We’re not going to allow (the government) to step on the people of Flint any longer.”

So far, the group has passed out bottles of water alongside the Red Cross. But the militia has also promised to use armed defense if necessary.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/25/3742331/militia-says-it-will-take-up-arms-to-defend-flint-if-necessary/

[boutons_deux]

Cruz Campaign’s Flint Water Giveaway Focuses On Anti-Abortion Centers

over this past weekend, Cruz’s presidential campaign began distributing bottled water (http://www.salon.com/2016/01/21/ted_cruzs_campaign_is_handing_out_bottled_water_in _flint_but_only_to_anti_abortion_groups/) not to every Flint resident, but only to those who visited the city’s four crisis pregnancy centers. The campaign said (http://www.refinery29.com/2016/01/101584/ted-cruz-water-donation-crisis-pregnancy-center-flint) the donation to these centers, which aim to persuade women not to have an abortion, demonstrates “the pro-life values of Senator Cruz.” :lol

These centers — operated by conservative, anti-abortion groups — often provide pregnant women with misleading or incorrect (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/11/12/3721578/crisis-pregnancy-center-information/)information about their options. Pamphlets handed out at such centers have

claimed, falsely (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/11/12/3721578/crisis-pregnancy-center-information/), that an abortion poses a grave threat to a woman’s life and

increases her risk of breast cancer.

Last year, California became the first state to attempt to regulate (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/10/13/3711893/ca-sued-over-cpc-law/) these centers. The “Reproductive FACT Act,” which anti-abortion groups are challenging in court, mandates that such centers inform visitors that

they do not have a medical license.

The centers also

need to inform women (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB775) that they have a legal right to an abortion.

In the lead up to passing the law, women’s rights groups sent undercover investigators to crisis pregnancy clinics across the state, and found that

staff members often gave false information about the frequency of miscarriages, the results of an ultrasound exam, and the effectiveness of birth control.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/25/3742361/cruz-flint-cpcs/

Krazy Kruz is bottom-feeding, low-life sack of shit, masquerading as Christian.

KK's only value is KK

[DMX7]

^Aren't you happy Trump is going to beat him? It's delicious that he has turned this birther shit on Cruz. The irony is borderline erotic.

[RandomGuy]

^Aren't you happy Trump is going to beat him? It's delicious that he has turned this birther shit on Cruz. The irony is borderline erotic.

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/60512696.jpg

[MultiTroll]

Militia Says It Will Take Up Arms To Defend Flint If Necessaryhttp://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/25/3742331/militia-says-it-will-take-up-arms-to-defend-flint-if-necessary/
Why would they need to take up arms in a defensive mode?

Now I could see if they were going to round up that corrupt Governor. I support that.

[boutons_deux]

Why would they need to take up arms in a defensive mode?

like all militia assholes, they are delusional in their own fantasies, paranoia.

Who are they going to shoot? Why don't they go shoot the known culprits?

It's all bullshit bravado by dickless wannabe-macho wimps.

[boutons_deux]

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Mark Wahlberg Are Donating 1 Million Bottles of Water to Flint, Michigan Residents

http://img.theepochtimes.com/n3/eet-content/uploads/2016/01/25/water-flint-collage-676x450.jpg

A bottled water company owned in part by Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg is pledging to donate 1 million bottles of water to the residents of Flint, Michigan.

AQUAhydrate says it’s sending 5,000 cases of water to Flint and will continue to provide bottles to residents until the city’s water problems are solved. The company says the water is expected to be delivered Wednesday.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1949548-sean-diddy-combs-and-mark-wahlberg-are-donating-1-million-bottles-of-water-to-flint-michigan-residents/

[boutons_deux]

the city’s government continues to charge people for the poison water and then threatening to foreclose their home or take their children if they refuse to pay.

Michigan law states that parents are neglectful if they do not have running water in their home, and if they chose not to pay for water they can’t drink anyway, then they could be guilty of child endangerment.

Activists in Flint say that some residents have already received similar threats from the government if they refuse to pay their bills.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/flint-residents-told-children-pay-citys-poison-water/#DIhub5dQdMCR8jQT.99

[boutons_deux]

Rick Snyder Is Done. He's Toast.

By Charles Pierce, Esquire


http://readersupportednews.org/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-I.jpgt's really time for Governor Rick Snyder to go. It's impossible to imagine him continuing to do his job if the e-mails yet to come about the poisoning of the city of Flint reflect as badly on his administration as today's batch do (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/20/rick-snyder-releases-emails-related-flint-water-crisis/79057168/). Therein we find negligence, incompetence, buck-passing ,and ass-covering in the extreme. It's plain that political considerations were paramount when the news of what had happened in Flint first reached Lansing.

In the e-mails, Muchmore wrote that U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, was "engaged in his normal press hound routine" after the congressman issued a press release noting he'd asked the EPA to help the state deal with the crisis. Muchmore added that then-mayor Dayne Walling "went out on a CYA effort due to the election." They also show doubts about returning Flint to the Detroit system and even questioning if the reports of higher lead levels are accurate. "They can't reconnect to DWSD even if they wanted to as they sold the connector line," Muchmore wrote Sept. 26. "And, especially with the new rate increases in Detroit, their citizens would be less able to pay than they already are. Now we have the anti everything group turning to the lead content which is a concern for everyone, but DEQ and DHHS and EPA can't find evidence of a major change per Geralyn's memo below."

Later, of course, under the expanded emergency-manager law that was a pet project of Snyder's from the time he was inaugurated, Mayor Walling was replaced by an "emergency manager"—the city has had four of them since Snyder expanded the law—under whom the switch from the DWSD to the Flint River was completed. By the time the crisis was brewing underground, the elected local officials of the city of Flint had virtually no power at all. It's hard to imagine that this crisis would have come to the point to which it has come if the people responsible for it actually had to face the voters. At the very least, Snyder may have to have a chat with Congress (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/21/congress-call-snyder-flint-water-crisis/79122730/) about the whole thing.
However, for the moment, the emails get even worse (http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/21/flint-water-crisis-emails-reveal-governor-snyder-informed-of-problems-a-year-ago).

A background memo sent to the governor on 1 February dismissed the pleas of Flint's then mayor Dayne Walling for state assistance, saying that the mayor had "seized on public panic … to ask the state for loan forgiveness and more money for infrastructure improvement". Flint's water supply was contaminated by lead, poisoning thousands of residents, after the source of the city's drinking water was switched from Detroit to the Flint River in April 2014. Water from the Flint River had for months corroded lead from the inside of water pipes in thousands of households across the city. The memo, which was among 274 pages of emails related to the city's crisis, also said that it was "clear that folks in Flint are concerned about other aspects of their water – taste, smell and color being among the top complaints", but said that the Safe Drinking Water Act "does not regulate aesthetic values of water". The words "does not" were underlined.

(We should never forget that the voters of Michigan overturned the expanded emergency-manager law in 2012, only to have a new Republican majority in the state legislature pass another bill slightly adjusting the parameters of the law that was defeated. Would you like a banana with your republic?)
A city in his state was poisoned on his watch.

How does Snyder have any credibility on anything going forward? (Yes, I know, he still has credibility with the plutocrats who helped put him and the legislators in office.) If this were a city in Japan, the responsible officials would have resigned honorably by now. People would have insisted.

People are insisting that Snyder resign, too, but they will be ignored because most of them are the same people he and his administration ignored when their water started coming out of the tap a fragrant shade of yellow.

There are people for whom democracy works and people against whom democracy works.

It is not supposed to be that way, dammit.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a41389/snyder-flint-michigan-water/

[RandomGuy]

Rick Snyder Is Done. He's Toast.


Read an interesting take on the underlying context.

Turns out that the drive to switch didn't actually save any money.

Instead it would have taken one of the largest customers away from the Detroit water utility, and make it easier for the Republican government force it to be sold/privatize to a private company.

Even worse, IMO.

[boutons_deux]

Flint All Over Again? Lead Poisoning Scandal Strikes Ohio Town

Schools in Sebring, Ohio, were closed for a third day on Tuesday and pregnant women and children have been advised not to drink the water, after tests showed elevated levels of lead in the local water supply.

Though the village of about 4,300 in northeastern Ohio is much smaller than Flint, Michigan (http://www.commondreams.org/tag/flint-water), the drinking water crises in the neighboring states share troubling aspects.

According (http://wkbn.com/2016/01/25/sebring-residents-express-frustration-during-council-meeting/) to local news station WKBN: “Correspondence from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Village of Sebring show concerns with water testing, beginning in late September. Elevated lead levels were noted by the EPA (http://wkbn.com/2016/01/21/higher-than-normal-lead-levels-discovered-in-sebring-beloit-water/) in November, but customers didn’t learn of the issues until Thursday, meaning that some people could have been drinking water containing lead for months.” WKBN has a full timeline of events here (http://wkbn.com/2016/01/25/the-latest-sebring-water-crisis/).

Scores of Sebring residents turned out for a village council meeting on Monday night, “many frustrated, angry or looking for answers,” reports (http://fox8.com/2016/01/25/residents-pack-sebring-city-council-meeting-for-answers-to-lead-levels-in-water/) FOX8 Cleveland.

“A lot of us have kids at home, and we’re extremely afraid, and we need a mayor to stand up, be honest with us, hold people accountable and fix this problem,” said one man in attendance.

Meanwhile, the Youngstown Vindicator reports (http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/jan/26/official-allegation-is-a-downright-lie/) that Village Manager Richard Giroux hasplaced (https://lintvwkbn.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/scanned-1.pdf) (pdf) Sebring water treatment plant superintendent Jim Bates on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a state investigation into the incident.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) says Bates was “not properly performing his duties to protect public health and may have falsified reports,” the Vindicator writes. Reached at home on Monday evening, Bates denied the charges.

And OEPA’s criticism stretches to other local officials, as well. “The games the Village of Sebring was playing by giving us incomplete data time and time again, and not submitting the required documents, made it difficult for our field office to determine whether or not they had notified their customers,” said (http://wdtn.com/2016/01/25/epa-working-to-revoke-license-of-ohio-towns-water-superintendent/) Heidi Griesmer, an agency representative.

To that end, OEPA director Craig Butler has asked (http://www.ohio.com/community/ohio-agency-seeks-criminal-probe-into-sebring-water-plant-problems-schools-closed-again-1.657329) the U.S. EPA to open a criminal investigation into what occurred in Sebring.

Last week, news reports indicated (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/22/rejecting-snyders-claim-experts-say-poisoning-flint-blatant-racial-injustice) that lead exposure is a pervasive issue not just in Flint, but across the country.

“Flint is a microcosm,” Robert Glennon, author of the book, Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It, told (http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0113/Flint-crisis-a-cautionary-tale-about-America-s-water-supply-video) the Christian Science Monitor. “The maintenance of water systems and wastewater systems is not just an urban problem, or a problem for places with low-income residents. It’s a problem all over the nation that needs to be addressed.”

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/flint_all_over_again_lead_poisoning_scandal_strike s_ohio_town_20160126?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+Truthdig+Truthdig%253A+Dril ling+Beneath+the+Headlines

Maybe Bill Gates, Unicef, etc should get involved in solving America's 3rd world problems?

[boutons_deux]

The Poisoning of Flint Was Not an Accident - It Was a Crime

There have been allegations that Governor Snyder made the switch in order to undermine the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department so he could ultimately privatize it. Others suggest (http://markmaynard.com/2016/01/could-the-flint-water-crisis-have-its-origins-in-a-desire-to-increase-fracking-in-michigan/) his motivation was founded in a desire to open up new areas for fracking. The governor has made no comment on these allegations. One thing seems clear: This decision appears to have little to do with "saving money."

If you tried to jump into the Flint River, you'd bounce off the surface. General Motors used the river as its personal dumping ground for decades; it is highly polluted, and more importantly is highly acidic. When Flint River water began flowing through Michigan's ancient water supply system, it stripped the lead right off the pipes and delivered it to thousands of homes.

The highest reading registered at 13,000 ppb. Five parts per billion of lead are a concern. 5,000 parts per billion is considered "toxic waste." From April 2014 until October 2015 (and later, and still) the people of Flint were drinking water with up to 13,000 parts per billion of lead in it.

Flint residents are still getting billed for water the Virginia Tech study described as toxic waste. Some are getting dunning letters for refusing to pay for water that could kill them or their children. In France long ago, it was "Let them eat cake." Today, in Flint, it's "Let them drink bottled water" ... except a whole lot of people in Flint can't afford bottled water, and they sure as hell can't bathe in it.

The story of Flint is the story of the United States, and it isn't pretty. Flint once boasted 80,000 General Motors employees, but thanks to outsourcing now only has a tenth of that. Unemployment is rampant. The river is disgusting after years of industrial pollution. Our national indifference toward our crumbling, sometimes century-old infrastructure left those pipes in the ground to deliver that lead to children thanks to the austerity policies of a right-wing governor and his national party.

Hovering over it all are the matters of race and poverty. This debacle began two years ago and should have been immediately addressed, but it wasn't, because the people affected have no voice in Gov. Rick Snyder's government.

The story of Flint is the story of the United States, of outsourcing, privatizing, rampant pollution, a stark lack of corporate accountability, poverty, joblessness, collapsing infrastructure, right-wing austerity politics and above all a crushing and pervasive racism that is literally and figuratively poisoning children.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34553-the-poisoning-of-flint-was-not-an-accident-it-was-a-crime

[boutons_deux]

Rachel Maddow is holding town hall in Flint tonight.

Will be great to see the parents and kids, putting faces on the victims of racist Repug criminality.

Conflicts with Rox @ Spurs

[boutons_deux]

Michigan Officials Quietly Gave Bottled Water To State Employees Months Before Flint Residents

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget decided to haul water coolers into the Flint state building (http://www.scribd.com/doc/297005752/DTMB-Facility-Notification) in January of 2015 out of concern over the city’s water quality, a year before bottled water was being made available to residents, according to documents (http://www.scribd.com/doc/297005752/DTMB-Facility-Notification) obtained by Progress Michigan.

concerns raised over water quality were enough for officials in the state’s capitol of Lansing to decide to give state employees the option to drink bottled water from coolers, rather than from water fountains. Coolers were placed next to the fountains on each occupied floor, according to the documents, and were to be provided “as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements.”

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/01/28/3743987/flint-water-state-employees/

Goddam Repugs to hell.

[boutons_deux]

Cruz Campaign Donates Water To Flint–But Only To People Who Qualify For Their ‘Generosity’ (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2016/01/22/cruz-campaign-donates-water-to-flint-but-only-to-people-who-qualify-for-their-generosity/)

Ted Cruz 2016 donated an undisclosed amount of bottled water to residents of Flint, restricting their “generosity” to people with the “right” frame of mind. Cruz’s campaign staff took to the streets to get much-needed water to those working and visiting the fraudulent “pregnancy crisis centers” that dupe women into believing they’re going to receive medical advice and treatment but are instead cornered and fed anti-abortion rhetoric and religious indoctrination.

Cruz’s Michigan state campaign director, Wendy Lynn Day, announced in a Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/WendyLynnDay/posts/10153991264436614?pnref=story) begging for donations that the campaign had worked with anti-abortion group Flint Right to Life to coordinate this absolutely idiotic and ridiculously ignorant plan.

The water is for “expecting moms and moms of little ones.”

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2016/01/22/cruz-campaign-donates-water-to-flint-but-only-to-people-who-qualify-for-their-generosity/

Kruz and his supporters are real hateful shitbags, just like Christ would do.

[Spurminator]

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/28/amid-denials-state-workers-flint-got-clean-water/79470650/?hootPostID=ed9df9e688e56cc91a6d6084f9036371

Wow.

Amid denials, state workers in Flint got clean water

Paul Egan (http://www.freep.com/staff/27537/paul-egan/), Detroit Free Press5:46 p.m. EST January 28, 2016

LANSING -- In January of 2015, when state officials were telling worried Flint residents their water was safe to drink, they also were arranging for coolers of purified water in Flint's State Office Building so employees wouldn't have to drink from the taps, according to state government e-mails released Thursday by the liberal group Progress Michigan.

A Jan. 7, 2015, notice from the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which oversees state office buildings, references a notice about a violation of drinking water standards that had recently been sent out by the City of Flint.

"While the City of Flint states that corrective actions are not necessary, DTMB is in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied floor, positioned near the water fountain, so you can choose which water to drink," said the notice.



"The coolers will arrive today and will be provided as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements."

Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for DTMB, said the water coolers were provided in response to the city health notice in late December or early January, which he acknowledged was about a contamination issue the city said had already subsided. The state continued to provide the coolers of purified water, right up to today, because "there were more findings as we went along," Buhs said.

Buhs said his department never told state workers the tap water was unsafe to drink, but only provided an alternative, as a landlord would do for tenants.

Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, said it appears the state was not as slow as initially thought in responding to the Flint drinking water crisis.

“Sadly, the only response was to protect the Snyder administration from future liability and not to protect the children of Flint,” Scott said. “While residents were being told to relax and not worry about the water, the Snyder administration was taking steps to limit exposure in its own building.”





After months of downplaying concerns, including warnings from researchers about high lead levels in both the drinking water and in the blood of Flint children, the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged around Oct. 1 a problem that is now a full-blown public health crisis garnering international headlines. Michigan DEQ Director Dan Wyant resigned in December after acknowledging officials failed to require the city to use needed corrosion control chemicals when they switched the source of their supply to Lake Huron water treated by Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint water treatment plant.

The lack of corrosion controls caused lead to leach from pipes, joints and fixtures into an unknown number of Flint households beginning in April of 2014, when the city began using the Flint River as a temporary cost-cutting move while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. Flint customers were switched back to Detroit in October, but the potential danger persists because of damage to the water distribution infrastructure.

Snyder declared a state of emergency on Jan. 5 and a week later called out the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled water and water filters in Flint. The state of emergency, which was set to expire next week, was extended Thursday through April 14.

Included in the e-mail string obtained by Progress Michigan is an e-mail from Mike Prysby, a district engineer in the DEQ's drinking water division, whose name had surfaced earlier in connection with the Flint drinking water public health crisis.

Prysby, who had been forwarded an e-mail from other state officials asking whether he would know more about the safety of Flint's drinking water by March 1, forwarded the e-mail to Stephen Busch, the district supervisor, who on Jan. 22 of this year was suspended without pay for his role in the drinking water catastrophe.

"Appears certain state departments are concerned with Flint's WQ (water quality)," Prysby said in the e-mail to Busch. "I will return the call ..."

On Jan. 23, 2015, the Free Press ran a story (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/01/22/water-woes-latest-hit-flint/22193291/), accompanied by a photo of Flint residents holding up jugs of brown water, that said concerns of city residents ranged from the taste, appearance and odor of the water to unexplained rashes and illnesses, even sick pets. Concerns about lead had not been raised then, though experts now say the color of the water -- and the fact GM had announced it stopped using it because it was too corrosive to metal parts -- should have been a tip-off that metals, including lead, were leaching into the water.

The January 2015 Free Press story noted that in August and September, the city issued three advisories to boil Flint water after detecting coliform bacteria.

Just before Christmas, residents received notices that state tests indicated higher-than-acceptable levels of trihalomethane (TTHM), a by-product of the chlorine disinfectants added to the water to kill the bacteria.

The article said that despite a recent alert about TTHM levels having exceeded federal guidelines in 2014, city officials maintained the water was safe. The article said that Michigan DEQ officials gave the same assurances at a meeting at Flint City Hall on Jan. 21.

Prysby represented the DEQ at that Flint City Hall meeting and told residents the chlorine did its job and cleaned the water of microbial pathogens that can cause disease within days, the article said. That meant the water was safe for healthy people to drink for a short time, Prysby was quoted as saying.

The trade-off, Prysby said, was TTHM, possibly a danger for the very young, the very old, or the very sick if they ingest it long-term, he added.

"But we're talking decades," he said, adding that those who are worried should talk to their doctors.




Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter pAu (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=44691)legan4.

[boutons_deux]

"But we're talking decades,"

people working with 3 - 5 year old Flint kids with the worst poisoning are ALREADY seeing behavioral problems.

[boutons_deux]

Why it will be very difficult for Flint residents to sue Michigan for money

So, let's first point out that there's already a lawsuit underway related to the Flint water crisis. Three, in fact. A group of Michigan lawyers are suing the state of Michigan, local governments and state and local officials seeking damages for health problems they claim are caused by lead-tainted water piped into Flint residents' homes for the past 18 months. Many state officials' emails and messages related to Flint, including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's (R), have been subpoenaed.

But as Reuters' Brendan Pierson reported (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-lawsuits-insight-idUSKCN0V32O9) Monday, some of the nation's top environmental lawyers are hesitant to join in. And with good reason, says University of Michigan law professor Gil Seinfeld.

It basically comes down to this: In America, it is very difficult to sue the government and officials for money. In fact, the Supreme Court has (controversially) decided that the Constitution prohibits suits of this sort against the states.


The reason why goes back to a theory present in the founding of our government — an idea that was passed onto our nation's founders from England's monarchy: that the king is immune from legal liability.

Over the centuries, that idea has evolved here in the U.S. into two immunity doctrines that largely protect the state government and state and local officials from having to pay money for wrongdoing.

These two immunity doctrines are called "sovereign immunity" (for the state) and "officer immunity" (for officials). (Sovereign immunity exists for the federal government as well, but to keep this as simple as possible, we're going to focus on the intricacies of immunity at the state and local level.)

The Fix took a crash course on constitutional law with Seinfeld to try to understand these two immunity rules and how they are going to make it very hard, if not impossible, for Flint residents to sue the state of Michigan for money. Here's what we learned:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/26/why-it-will-be-very-difficult-for-flint-residents-to-sue-the-state-of-michigan-for-money

[boutons_deux]

Senate Democrats Seeking Federal Aid for Flint Crisis

Senate Democrats said Thursday they would seek $600 million in federal aid to help Michigan clean up the contaminated water emergency in the city of Flint, the most far-reaching financial solution proposed to manage the crisis.

Under the proposed legislation, the federal government would provide $600 million in federal emergency aid to the state, with as much as $400 million designated for drinking water infrastructure improvements and $200 million to deal with the health fallout from the lead exposure.

Michigan would be required to match the $400 million portion dollar for dollar. The state has estimated the cost of replacing Flint’s water supply infrastructure would be over $760 million.

Democrats said they would attach their measure — which may rankle Republicans, especially those who have resisted federal emergency disaster aid for other states in the past — to a sweeping energy bill now on the Senate floor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/flint-water-emergency-aid-proposed-by-senate-democrats.html

man-made crisis?

hell no, it's a Repug-made crisis.

[boutons_deux]

Gov. Snyder lied: Flint water switch was not about saving money, records show

The Flint water crisis that led to thousands of people being poisoned began because state officials maintained it would save the cash-strapped city money by disconnecting from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and using a different source.

But it turns out, DWSD offered the state-controlled city a deal that would have saved Flint more money by staying with Detroit.

An e-mail obtained by Motor City Muckraker shows the deal would have saved the city $800 million over 30 years, which was 20% more inexpensive than switching to the Karegnondi Water Authority.

A high-ranking DWSD official told us today that Detroit offered a 50% reduction over what Flint had been paying Detroit. In fact, documents show that DWSD made at least six proposals to Flint, saying “the KWA pipeline can only be attributed to a ‘political’ objective that has nothing to do with the delivery – or the price – of water.”

“When compared over the 30 year horizon the DWSD proposal saves $800 million dollars or said differently – saves 20% over the KWA proposal,”

“If Snyder had accept this deal, the catastrophe would have been avoided,”

Now it seems clear why Snyder wouldn’t release the e-mails: They would have revealed that the switch was not about saving money.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2016/01/23/gov-snyder-lied-flint-water-switch-was-not-about-money-records-show/

[boutons_deux]

FBI joins investigation of Flint drinking water crisis

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fbi-joins-investigation-flint-drinking-water-crisis-article-1.2517505

Can't see how this works, since SCOTUS has ruled govt has immunity from citizens' suits.

FBI expecting to find criminals?

[boutons_deux]

Outrage: House Republicans Call Everyone BUT Gov. Snyder for Flint Poisoning Hearing

http://usuncut.com/news/house-republicans-call-everyone-except-rick-snyder-for-flint-congressional-hearing-on-lead-poisoning-crisis/

nameless underlings sacrificed, but Repug guv shielded

I really hope FBI finds criminal behavior, and sues in Federal court, not Repug WI court

[boutons_deux]

FBI joins Flint drinking water investigation

Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit, told the Free Press Monday that federal prosecutors are “working with a multi-agency investigation team on the Flint water contamination matter, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, EPA's Office of Inspector General, and EPA's Criminal Investigation Division."

The office of U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Jan. 5 (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/01/05/us-attorneys-office-investigating-lead-flint-water/78303960/) that it was assisting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a Flint drinking water investigation, but at that time, Balaya would not say whether the investigation was civil or criminal.

Balaya disclosed the involvement of the FBI and other agencies that investigate potential criminal wrongdoing late Monday when asked whether there were any concerns about the EPA leading the federal investigation, given the resignation of an EPA regional director (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/21/obama-says-80m-could-help-flint-hedman-out-epa/79135158/) over the Flint drinking water crisis and widespread public criticism of the EPA's conduct with respect to Flint.

The EPA's Office of Inspector General is an independent office within EPA that performs audits, evaluations, and investigations of EPA and its contractors to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse. The EPA's Criminal Investigation Division investigates potential criminal violations of federal environmental law.

Jill Washburn, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, confirmed Tuesday the FBI is involved in the investigation but would not say when that involvement began. "Our role is to determine whether or not there have been federal violations," Washburn said.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/02/fbi-joins-flint-drinking-water-investigation/79683610/

Will FBI, etc be able to puncture the immunity, exemption from FOIA of Snyder and govt employees?

[Fabbs]

[B]
Will FBI, etc be able to puncture the immunity, exemption from FOIA of Snyder and govt employees?
Why exactly is Gov Bitcharse and co. exempt from FOIA?

[boutons_deux]

Why exactly is Gov Bitcharse and co. exempt from FOIA?

Repug state law.

[boutons_deux]

Amid the Flint water crisis, journalists are calling for changes to Michigan’s FOIA law

When Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder released emails (http://somcsprod2govm001.usgovcloudapp.net/files/snyder%20emails.pdf) related to the ongoing water crisis in the city of Flint earlier this month, he was under no obligation to do so. Michigan is one of only two states in the country (Massachusetts is the other (http://michiganradio.org/post/michigan-governor-legislators-exempt-foia-requests)) where the state’s Freedom of Information Act (http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28ypvorbkgcoerx3rfsrq24s5x%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-act-442-of-1976) excludes the governor’s office from public records searches.

Missing from Gov. Snyder’s voluntary 274-page disclosure were emails from before 2014 (http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/10/how_the_flint_water_crisis_eme.html#1), when the governor-appointed emergency manager in charge of Flint made the decision to switch the city’s water source from Detroit public water to the Flint River, a poorly-managed transition which resulted in the lead poisoning of thousands of Flint residents (http://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2016/01/09/what-you-need-to-know-about-lead-poisoning-flint-edition/#673c2be9212f). Emails from staff members as well as emails sent to and from the governor’s public email account were also left out (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7a0ac4f9337149d5883db09cad3d5698/water-crisis-spurs-calls-change-michigan-open-records-law).

In the absence of those emails, it is still unclear when and to what extent the Snyder administration was involved in and aware of the decision to switch water sources and the resultant public health emergency. Democrats have accused him of "cherry picking" the released emails.

The Flint water crisis is the latest and most striking example of how holes in the state’s sunshine laws have sharply reduced transparency between citizens and elected officials.

http://www.poynter.org/2016/flint-water-crisis-highlights-weaknesses-in-michigans-sunshine-laws/394453/

MI's people successfully voted to change the FOIA exemptions, but the Repugs passed a new bill, wonderfully screwing over MI voters, keeping the exemptions, and made it illegal to change the exemptions.

[RandomGuy]

http://images.dailykos.com/images/196824/story_image/TMW2016-01-20color.png?1453042189

[boutons_deux]

CONFIRMED: Republicans Who Blocked Flint Assistance Got Disaster Funds for Their States
http://usuncut.com/class-war/confirmed-republicans-blocked-flint-assistance-disaster-relief/

[boutons_deux]

Michigan GOP casts Obama admin as Flint villain


The Michigan Republican Party would like you to know that Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has been busy trying to heal the city of Flint while the malevolent Obama administration has only stood in the way. :lol

That’s the message of an infographic the state party started putting out on social media on Thursday. The light blue water droplets on the left represent actions Snyder has taken since October, when his administration admitted its own mistakes created a crisis in Flint, a city whose 100,000 residents still can’t drink the water because of high lead levels. The dark blue droplets supposedly show unhelpful actions taken by the Obama administration, such as the refusal to declare a federal disaster area in the state (it declared an emergency instead).


As of this minute, the image is still available (https://www.facebook.com/MIGOP/photos/a.10150898965927921.411749.104319892920/10153454512272921/?type=3) on the Michigan Republican Party’s Facebook page. If it’s taken down, it appears that the fine folks at Eclectablog, a Michigan-based site, have published the same image (http://www.eclectablog.com/2016/02/this-is-how-you-know-michigan-republicans-are-absolutely-freaking-out-over-the-flintwatercrisis-that-they-created.html).

https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12642980_10153454512272921_3701146223077793937_n.j pg?oh=8fd5c8c4cf70b28d480dec010bc5b612&oe=5768D0B6

We know, of course, what state Republicans were thinking when they created this absurd infographic. GOP officials, recognizing the severity of this catastrophe and scandal, are desperate to avoid blame. Taking responsibility for Republicans’ mistakes is hard; reflexively lashing out at the White House, even if it doesn’t make any sense, is easy.

The problem, which even the most knee-jerk partisans will find hard to overlook, is a story that is not in dispute: Michigan’s Republican governor, Rick Snyder, working with powers given to him by Michigan’s Republican-led state legislature, stripped local Flint officials of their power and decision-making authority. Snyder put an “emergency manager” in place – someone who answered to the governor, not the people of Flint – who shifted the city’s water supply, a move that carried tragic consequences.

Snyder administration officials told local residents not to worry about the water’s safety, even when the city had every reason to worry about the water’s safety.

These details were apparently omitted from the Michigan Republican Party’s infographic.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/michigan-gop-casts-obama-admin-flint-villain?cid=sm_fb_maddow

The MI Repug Ministry of Truth has spoken

[MultiTroll]

Barry removes Snyder?
I'm assuming the law prevents a prez from removing a Gov.
Otherwise both parties would just remove govs left and right.

So will Snyder ever face any kind of consequences?

[hater]

Why is no one in jail??

This is insane. Even in a 3rd world shit holes someone would be in jail. Wow USA has hit a new low

[z0sa]

Beyond ridiculous. And yet you've got so many people defending the politicians who let this happen.

[boutons_deux]

Barry removes Snyder?
I'm assuming the law prevents a prez from removing a Gov.
Otherwise both parties would just remove govs left and right.

So will Snyder ever face any kind of consequences?

I expect DoJ/EPA will come down on the emergency managers, or somebody, for violating Federal drinking water policies, at least.

whether Snyder loses anything now (but his office next election) is less likely. If the Kock Bros run Snyder opposed then he'll probably get re-elected. Laws and accountability are only applied the bottom of the heap, not the top of the heap.

[boutons_deux]

Beyond Flint: In The South, Another Water Crisis Has Been Unfolding For Years

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/06/465702398/beyond-flint-in-the-south-another-water-crisis-has-been-unfolding-for-years

https://twitter.com/mandatheresa/status/691006800280158208/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[boutons_deux]

Manslaughter charges possible in Flint water crisis, says top investigator

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/10/manslaughter-charges-possible-in-flint-water-crisis-says-top-investigator/

[Winehole23]

A 2014 Pennsylvania Department of Health study, released in October, indicates 18 cities in Pennsylvania have higher levels of lead exposure than Flint, Michigan, which is undergoing a lead crisis in its water supply.http://fox43.com/2016/02/04/central-pa-lead-exposure-statistically-worse-than-flint/

[boutons_deux]

GOP Rhetoric Blames the Federal Government for Snyder’s Poisoning the People of Flint

The problem has nothing to do with Washington, D.C. “choking off” infrastructure spending. The problems lay in Snyder’s tax cuts

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/02/16/gop-rhetoric-blames-federal-government-snyder-flint.html

Flint is obviously, exclusively a Repug disaster, so the jackboots from the Repug Ministry of Truth have cranked up the LIES.

[boutons_deux]

Flint’s poisoned water was among the most expensive in the country

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2016/02/flint1.png&w=1484

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/16/flints-poisoned-water-was-the-most-expensive-in-the-country/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/16/flints-poisoned-water-was-the-most-expensive-in-the-country/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard)

[boutons_deux]

Nestle is Pumping Millions of Gallons from the Great Lakes for Free While Flint Pays For Poison

Flint’s water service charges total 7 percent of the average household income, compared to the United Nations recommendation of 3 percent.

“They’ve been using that money improperly for years to fund the general operations of the city,” said Valdemar L. Washington (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/16/study-flint-paid-highest-rate-us-water/80461288/), who’s been fighting the excessive increases in court since 2012. “The city’s sewer fund had a balance of $36 million in 2006 but was running a $23-million deficit by 2012.”

Meanwhile, less than two hundred miles away, multi-billion dollar corporation Nestle has been pumping millions of gallons out of Lake Michigan for free. In fact, they receive 13 million dollars in tax breaks to do so.

Despite making over 15 billion dollars (http://www.thelocal.ch/20150219/nestle-reveals-huge-jump-in-profits-for-2014) in profits in 2014, Michigan government officials don’t charge Nestle per gallon of water, instead taking only a small permitting fee,

So not only do low income Flint residents technically pay more for Michigan water than Nestle, but now they’re also forced to buy bottled water from Nestle to stay alive. Flint residents are in the deplorable position of being forced to buy Michigan water from two different parties.

The Nestle bottling plant itself is a hated institution in Mecosta County. As if getting water for free wasn’t enough, the corporation greedily pumped at a rate of 400 gallons a minute, destroying the local environment. Grassroots organization Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC) sued Nestle, who bitterly fought the local group for years.

“We wanted to protect our water, and the water was ours, not theirs,” said Peggy Case (http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/17/michigans_water_wars_nestle_pumps_millions), President of MCWC. “This lasted for—like I said before, this lasted for eight years. And in that time, with lawyer fees and, you know, all the fees that come with going to court, we spent over $1 million.”

And how did a local activist organization scrounge up the money to fight a corporate giant?

“We scrambled for every penny we could get,” Case said. “We did 50/50 raffles among us, or anybody else we could get into it. We did yard sales. We wrote grants. We had bake sales.”

In a stunning victory, MCWC succeeded in forcing Nestle to reduce their withdrawals from 400 to 200 gallons a minute. But Nestle continues to receive free water and preferential treatment.

And Flint residents continue to be overcharged for water that is not only killing them, but bankrupting them as well.

http://usuncut.com/class-war/nestle-pumping-from-great-lakes-while-flint-pays-for-poison/

[Winehole23]

While a harsh national spotlight focuses on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation has identified almost 2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years.


The water systems, which reported lead levels exceeding Environmental Protection Agency standards, collectively supply water to 6 million people. About 350 of those systems provide drinking water to schools or day cares. The USA TODAY NETWORK investigation also found at least 180 of the water systems failed to notify consumers about the high lead levels as federal rules require.


Many of the highest reported lead levels were found at schools and day cares. A water sample at a Maine elementary school was 42 times higher than the EPA limit of 15 parts per billion, while a Pennsylvania preschool was 14 times higher, records show. At an elementary school in Ithaca, N.Y., one sample tested this year at a stunning 5,000 ppb of lead, the EPA’s threshold for “hazardous waste.”http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/

[boutons_deux]

"2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years."

Repugs have, and will, say "We're broke, govt can't fix nothing, because govt is all bad all the time"

[boutons_deux]

Panel pins blame for Flint crisis on Gov. Snyder’s administration

Republicans -- and some pundits -- want to blame the Flint crisis on the EPA and federal officials.

There's new evidence that proves they're wrong.

Last fall, when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) started to recognize the severity of the catastrophe in Flint, he appointed members to a task force to determine what went wrong. There were concerns that the panel might hesitate before pointing the finger at the same governor who tasked them with uncovering the truth.

It was all the more striking, then, when the panel issued a report yesterday that said it’s the Snyder administration that’s “fundamentally accountable” for the Flint crisis, because it was the governor’s environmental regulators and state-appointed emergency managers who created the mess. The state Associated Press reported (http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:060dd8cd39ea4cd0995594c64e5e83 92):

The panel … said what happened in Flint is “a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental injustice.” It also cited “intransigence and belligerence that has no place in government.”

“Flint water customers were needlessly and tragically exposed to toxic levels of lead and other hazards through the mismanagement of their drinking water supply,” investigators said.

Moreover, the 116-page report described as “inappropriate” a frequent claim of Snyder and his representatives that the Flint water crisis represents a failure of the local, state and federal governments. That suggests “that blame is attributable equally to all three levels of government,” the report said.


The document, available online (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf) in its entirety, concluded, “The state is fundamentally accountable for what happened in Flint.
And what about the effort on the part of Republicans and both-sides-are-always-to-blame pundits to hold the federal EPA responsible for Flint?

The report included criticisms of the EPA, which the task force said was too deferential towards the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. In effect, federal officials had the legal authority to intervene more aggressively in state affairs, but they were slow and hesitant to do so.

It creates an odd dynamic for Republicans hoping to exploit this angle for partisan purposes: they’re left to complain that the EPA acted too much the way Republicans expects the agency to act. :lol

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/panel-pins-blame-flint-crisis-gov-snyders-administration?cid=sm_fb_maddow

"states rights"!! :lol Repugs say Feds should butt out of state operations, except when they shouldn't! :lol

[Trill Clinton]

713343963621629952

[boutons_deux]

U.S. judge dismisses proposed class action over tainted Flint water

A federal judge in Michigan on Tuesday dismissed one of several proposed class actions by residents of Flint against Governor Rick Snyder and other state and local officials over contamination of the city's water supply.

The lawsuit's claims are addressed by federal regulations for safe drinking water, and the plaintiffs can seek relief under state law, U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara ruled.

O'Meara found the constitutional violations alleged in the lawsuit stem are covered by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exclusive enforcement authority.

Attorney Valdemar Washington, who represents the residents in the lawsuit, said they were considering filing an appeal of O'Meara's ruling and also possibly filing similar claims in Genesee County court, the Michigan Court of Claims, or both.

When the lawsuit was filed, the lawyers for the residents said they were seeking more than $150 million in damages in the 12-count complaint, including compensatory and punitive damages.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-lawsuit-idUSKCN0XG2DR?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F +US+%2F+Top+News%29

So MI Repug austerity, racist poisoners get off?

[boutons_deux]

47 Despicable Senate Republicans Vote To Deny Aid To Flint’s Lead Poisoned Children

Senate Republicans forced a vote on an amendment today that would have denied federal aid to the poisoned children of Flint, Michigan. What is even more deplorable is that 47 Senate Republicans voted not help lead poisoned children.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid blistered Republicans for their vote:

Three of the four Republican cosponsors of legislation to help the people of Flint voted to eliminate the funding source today.

It is a disturbing trend that Senate Republicans are regularly unable to fulfill their commitments.

The Senate cannot function if senators do not keep their word.

Republicans have proven once again that they are willing to turn their backs on the people of Flint.

Every time the Senate comes close to a bipartisan compromise to help children suffering from lead poisoning, Republicans find an excuse to back away.

Today, Republicans voted to remove a funding source for legislation to tackle Flint’s water crisis without offering a single dime to clean their poisoned water. More than 100,000 people – including 9,000 children under the age of six – have been poisoned in the city of Flint, and it is unconscionable that Republicans would attempt to deny them the support they desperately need.

Sadly, Republicans are happy to attack clean energy programs to please the Koch brothers, but they remain unwilling to lift a finger to help the people of Flint. I call on Republicans to end this unwarranted obstruction and protect the people of Flint and millions throughout the nation.

The 47 Senate Republicans who voted for this amendment displayed a basic contempt for the American people that is proof of why Republicans should be voted out of the majority in November. It doesn’t get any lower than voting against helping poisoned children.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/21/47-despicable-senate-republicans-vote-deny-aid-flints-lead-poisoned-children.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

Will this, or anything shit Repugs do, hurt them in the elections?

Hell no, screwing over knitters is exactly what the Repug racists base wants.

[boutons_deux]

After Lead Contamination In House Office Building’s Water, Lawmakers Demand EPA Reforms

A day after House members learned that the drinking water in one of the Congressional office buildings had been shut off due to lead contamination, a bipartisan group of 61 representatives sent a letter (https://pascrell.house.gov/sites/pascrell.house.gov/files/LCR%20Letter%20to%20EPA%20-%20Final.pdf) to the Environmental Protection Agency demanding that it improve its lead regulations.

The letter urges the EPA to update the Lead and Copper Rule, the regulation meant to keep the U.S.’s drinking water free from lead contamination, so that the threshold for action is lower. Currently, if a water system finds that at least 10 percent of homes tested show levels of lead at 15 parts per billion, steps have to be taken to reduce it, including replacing lead service lines and improving the use of corrosion control measures to keep lead from leeching from pipes into water.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/30/3794835/lead-house-epa/

Next up: Repugs push hard to defund and/or kill the EPA.

[pgardn]

Why is no one in jail??

This is insane. Even in a 3rd world shit holes someone would be in jail. Wow USA has hit a new low

I feel ill. Something I just not right.

This is about the only thing this poster has written that makes any sense.

[Winehole23]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/28/lead-drinking-water-level-nrdc-report-flint-crisis

[boutons_deux]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/28/lead-drinking-water-level-nrdc-report-flint-crisis

... and Nestle, Coke, Pepsi, etc GO WILD!

[boutons_deux]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/28/lead-drinking-water-level-nrdc-report-flint-crisis

how much to obtain water quality in the worst communities?

The people who know about their shitty water will probably pay more in a year(s) for bottled water (which is like at least 1000x per gallon more expensive than tap water) than they would in increased taxes to get quality water.

and BigWaterCorp will lobby like hell to block any tax increases to fix bad water.

[boutons_deux]

Six state employees charged with wrongdoing in Flint water crisis (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/7/29/1554063/-Six-state-employees-charged-with-wrongdoing-in-Flint-water-crisis)

After months of investigation, more state employees have been charged with crimes related to Flint's water crisis.

The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/07/29/6-state-employees-criminally-charged-flint-water-crisis/87697834/?hootPostID=0a90ca10b9cf4449b89a3daefab7df4d) reports that the six charged employees include "Michigan Department of Health and Human Services workers Nancy Peeler, Corinne Miller and Robert Scott, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees Leanne Smith; Adam Rosenthal and Patrick Cook."

According to the Detroit News (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/07/29/flint-water-charges/87699876/), the six employees are charged with "misconduct in office, conspiring to commit misconduct in office, and willful neglect of duty."

They are accused of, among other things, hiding test results that showed toxic levels of lead in the residents' bloodstreams.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/07/29/1554063/-Six-state-employees-charged-with-wrongdoing-in-Flint-water-crisis?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

[boutons_deux]

Unsafe levels of toxic chemicals found in drinking water of 33 states

Levels of a widely used class of industrial chemicals linked with cancer and other health problems — polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3214619/) substances (PFASs) — exceed federally recommended safety levels in public drinking-water supplies for 6 million people in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (http://hsph.harvard.edu/) and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (http://www.seas.harvard.edu/) (SEAS).

The study will be published Aug. 9 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

“For many years, chemicals with unknown toxicities, such as PFASs, were allowed to be used and released to the environment, and we now have to face the severe consequences,” said lead author Xindi Hu, a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School, Environmental Science and Engineering at SEAS, and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (http://gsas.harvard.edu/).

“In addition, the actual number of people exposed may be even higher than our study found, because government data for levels of these compounds in drinking water is lacking for almost a third of the U.S. population — about 100 million people.”

PFASs have been used over the past 60 years in industrial and commercial products ranging from food wrappers to clothing to pots and pans. They have been linked with cancer, hormone disruption (http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/08/using-evolution-to-understand-pollution/), high cholesterol, and obesity.

Although several major manufacturers have discontinued the use of some PFASs, the chemicals continue to persist in people and wildlife. Drinking water is one of the main routes through which people can be exposed.

The researchers looked at concentrations of six types of PFASs in drinking-water supplies, using data from more than 36,000 water samples collected nationwide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2013 to 2015.

They also looked at industrial sites that manufacture or use PFASs; at military fire-training sites and civilian airports where firefighting foam containing PFASs is used; and at wastewater-treatment plants. Discharges from these plants — which are unable to remove PFASs from wastewater by standard treatment methods — could contaminate groundwater. So could the sludge the plants generate, which is frequently used as fertilizer.

https://scienceblog.com/486937/unsafe-levels-toxic-chemicals-found-drinking-water-33-states/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogrssfeed+%28Science Blog.com%29

3rd world America is broke, can't even deliver healthy water. I'm sure P/E taking over municipal water will deliver perfect water.

[boutons_deux]

Flint's growing mental health crisis

People living in Flint are experiencing mental health issues caused by the ongoing water crisis, including stress, anxiety and fear over what the future holds as they continue to rely on bottled water and filters more than two years after problems first surfaced with the drinking water.

A widespread concern for residents throughout the lead-poisoned city is not knowing how they, or their children and grandchildren, may be impacted because of exposure to the contaminated water.

“You try to keep going like everything’s OK,” Angie Thornton-George told the Free Press, of living with the water crisis that still has no known end date. “But… it’s not OK."

Thornton-George, like others in town, wonders what effect the water will have on her down the road.

“It’s not so much that you’re like just walking around in fear, but it’s always in the back of your mind — what will happen to me in later years that may be a result of the drinking of this water?” said Thornton-George, 48.

Health care workers and community leaders said they've seen increased anxiety in all ages — kids through senior citizens — because of the situation.

They point out there are more resources to help families and if people take advantage of them, their children are much more likely to have positive outcomes.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/08/06/flint-water-crisis-donations-lead/88064570/

Repug governance, $$$ trumps (black) people's health.

[boutons_deux]

Another Flint? Gov. Mike Pence Absent Amid ‘Astronomical’ Lead Contamination in Indiana Neighborhood

In a case reminiscent of the crisis in Flint, Michigan, (http://www.mediaite.com/online/three-govt-employees-are-facing-criminal-charges-over-flint-water-crisis/) the EPA is stepping up efforts to respond to lead contamination levels in an affordable housing complex in Indiana.

According to reporting by The Young Turks, 1200 people have been evacuated already from homes that were built on the site of multiple lead smelting plants in the state’s industrial corridor.

Amid signs warning children not to play on the lawns because of the dangerously high levels of lead contamination brimming on the surface, TYT‘s Jordan Chariton spoke to residents, local politicians, and environmental activists, documenting a neighborhood beset by multiple health problems and administrative indifference.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/another-flint-gov-mike-pence-absent-amid-astronomical-lead-contamination-in-indiana-neighborhood/ (http://www.mediaite.com/online/another-flint-gov-mike-pence-absent-amid-astronomical-lead-contamination-in-indiana-neighborhood/)

[boutons_deux]

This Region Is Twice Flint’s Size—And Its Water Is Also Poisoned

California's agriculture boom means nitrate-tainted water for at least 212,000 people.

The toxin in question is nitrate, which leaches into aquifers when farmers apply synthetic nitrogen fertilizers or large amounts of manure to fortify soil.

Although probably not as ruinous as lead (http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/lead-exposure-gasoline-crime-increase-children-health), the contaminant that fouled Flint's water, nitrate isn't something you want to be gulping down on a daily basis.

Nitrate-laced water has been linked to a range of health problems (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068045/), including birth defects (http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2013/06/nitrate-in-moms-drinking-water/), blood problems in babies (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/methaemoglob/en/), and cancers of the ovaries (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25430487) and thyroid (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879161/).

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/08/californias-ag-boom-means-poisoned-water-more-least-212000-people

BigChem, BigAg are polluting, sickening, killing us all

[Fabbs]

^^ can't wait to hear that ku uunt Pence spin this.

[boutons_deux]

New Michigan Environmental Chief Enters Through Reverse Revolving Door

Michigan’s Governor Snyder is perpetuating a dubious tradition with his selection of an oil industry executive for his state’s top environmental job.

one Flint activist thought that she’d just read an article from The Onion, the online news satire website.

But the story was not a joke (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/09/07/lawmakers-question-heidi-grether-bp-lobbyist-named-head-deq/89952156/).

Snyder shocked environmentalists and Flint residents in July when he named Heidi Grether, a former executive for both Amoco Corporation and BP America, to head the state Department of Environmental Quality, one of the government agencies at the center of the Flint drinking-water crisis.

http://prospect.org/article/new-michigan-environmental-chief-enters-through-reverse-revolving-door

Repugs screaming a HUGE FUCK ALL Y'ALL

[boutons_deux]

Austerity on Trial as Flint Emergency Manager Slammed With Criminal Charges

"All too often, there's been a fixation on finances and balance sheets," said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. "This fixation cost lives."

Putting austerity on trial, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on Tuesday announced criminal charges against four high-level officials for their role in causing the Flint water crisis, including former city manager Darnell Earley, who made the budget-driven decision (http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/30/flint-casualty-right-wings-war-local-democracy) to switch the city's water supply to the dangerously corrosive Flint River.

"There are some who would simply wish that the problems in Flint would go quietly away, and there are voices out there who hope the poisoning of the water would be swept under the rug," Schuette said (http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/12/follow_announcement_of_new_fli.html) during a Tuesday morning press conference. "These voices hope to simply blame nameless bureaucrats, call it a day and move on."

"That's not how I operate," he continued, "that's not how we operate. Flint deserves better. The people of Flint are not expendable...People in positions of responsibility who broke that law must be held accountable."

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/20/austerity-trial-flint-emergency-manager-slammed-criminal-charges

Congressional Repugs will cite Flint as another reason for defunding, crippling, if not killing, the EPA, for which they blame for Flint.

[boutons_deux]

Nearly 3,000 US Communities Have Lead Levels Higher Than Flint: Reuters

Advocates hope new investigation will spur action from community leaders, as aid and attention have been slim

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/20/nearly-3000-us-communities-have-lead-levels-higher-flint-reuters

[boutons_deux]

The thousands of U.S. locales where lead poisoning is worse than in Flint

A Reuters examination of lead testing results across the country found almost 3,000 areas with poisoning rates far higher than in the tainted Michigan city. Yet many of these lead hotspots are receiving little attention or funding.

Flint is no aberration. In fact, it doesn’t even rank among the most dangerous lead hotspots in America.

In all, Reuters found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city’s contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-lead-testing/?ncid=newsltushpmgnewsThe%20Morning%20Email%200516 17

Trash and the Repugs will be all over this with $Bs, right?

or just $54B spent upsizing Trash's military dick?

=================

Here's why the Repugs HATE CPB/NPR and want to kill it.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/28/521644395/study-suggests-childhood-exposure-to-lead-can-blunt-iq-for-decades

[boutons_deux]

FDA, CDC Warn Families About Inaccurate Readings In Some Lead Tests

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm558769.htm)are sounding the alarm to warn parents of children who are six years or younger, nursing or expectant mothers, and the elderly that

certain lead tests manufactured by Magellan Diagnostics — widely used by many doctors and laboratories around the country — may show that lead levels in the blood are lower than they actually are.
If you fall into any of those categories, the CDC recommends you talk to your doctor or another healthcare professional about whether or not you should be retested.

“The FDA is deeply concerned by this situation and is warning laboratories and health care professionals that they should not use any Magellan Diagnostics’ lead tests with blood drawn from a vein,”

https://consumerist.com/2017/05/17/fda-cdc-warn-families-about-inaccurate-readings-in-some-lead-tests/

hmm, seems like Trash/Repug stooges/lobbyists/political hacks in FDA/CDC haven't acted fasted enough to block this warning, keep lead leves high, and thereby protect Magellan's profits.

[boutons_deux]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/poisoned-water.html

[boutons_deux]

Michigan health department chief charged with involuntary manslaughter in Flint water crisis

Nick Lyon is accused of failing to alert the public about an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, which some experts have linked to tainted water in the Flint area,

Lyon is the highest-ranking official to be charged in the state attorney general’s investigation of the ongoing crisis.

Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/michigan-health-department-chief-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter-in-flint-water-crisis/


Legionnaires'-associated deaths grow to 12 in Flint area


http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/04/11/legionnaires-deaths-flint-water/82897722/

[boutons_deux]

“Gov. Snyder, drink the water”: Michael Moore sprays “Flint water” at Michigan Capitol

Filmmaker Michael Moore showed up at Michigan’s Capitol building with a film crew and sprayed “Flint water”

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbP56d_X0AACtlw.jpg

delivered a stern message to the state's GOP Gov. Rick Snyder: If the water in Flint is safe, drink some yourself.

The demonstration also came in light of Snyder's decision earlier this month, in which he announced that residents of Flint would no longer receive free bottled water,

Moore, who was born in suburbs just outside of Flint, has been one of the leading voices (https://michaelmoore.com/10FactsOnFlint/) and has continued to raise concerns about the ongoing water crisis that has left the city devastated.

As a result of the disaster, the fertility rate in Flint plummeted.

The Washington Post elaborated (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/21/flints-lead-poisoned-water-had-a-horrifyingly-large-effect-on-fetal-deaths-study-finds/?utm_term=.dcf17b590aa2):


That decline was primarily driven by what the authors call a “culling of the least healthy fetuses” resulting in a

“horrifyingly large” increase in fetal deaths and miscarriages.

The paper estimates that among the babies conceived from November 2013 through March 2015,

“between 198 and 276 more children would have been born had Flint not enacted the switch in water,”

write health economists Daniel Grossman of West Virginia University and David Slusky of Kansas University.


But residents of Flint have not been quick to trust the government's word that the water is safe again, and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver criticized Snyder's decision to end the free bottled water distribution.

https://www.salon.com/2018/04/22/gov-snyder-drink-the-water-michael-moore-sprays-flint-water-at-michigan-capitol/

Repugs, hypocritically Pro-Life, really care about black (and brown) fetuses and mothers.

[boutons_deux]

The EPA Barred Flint's Representatives From Attending Its Toxic Water Summit (https://earther.com/the-epa-barred-flints-representative-from-attending-its-1826272996)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues its descent into

authoritarianism under Scott Pruitt.

At a summit about reducing toxic chemicals in drinking water,

the agency reportedly barred staff from Rep. Dan Kildee’s (D-Michigan) district from entering.

Kildee’s district includes Flint, which has been mired in the biggest toxic water scandal (https://earther.com/michelle-wolf-was-right-about-the-flint-water-crisis-1825681376) in the country for years.

Excluding staff from a district that knows firsthand about the pain of poisoned water and government mismanagement makes absolutely no sense.

What’s more,

Kildee’s district is home to a number of sites

contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) according to the Environmental Working Group (https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2017_pfa/#.WwNjM-4vypp).

PFAS, which include chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems, are what this summit was about.

https://earther.com/the-epa-barred-flints-representative-from-attending-its-1826272996 (https://earther.com/the-epa-barred-flints-representative-from-attending-its-1826272996)

[Winehole23]

Michigan official to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter:


Genesee District Judge David Goggins determined that there was probable cause that Lyon committed involuntary manslaughter against Robert Skidmore and John Snyder in 2015. The two men died during an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, which researchers have connected to the devastating use of improperly treated water in Flint starting in 2014.https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/michigan-health-director-ordered-to-trial-for-deaths-linked-to-flint-water/

[RandomGuy]

Michigan official to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/michigan-health-director-ordered-to-trial-for-deaths-linked-to-flint-water/

One can hope someone goes to fucking jail.

[Winehole23]

Drinking water is delivered via one million miles of pipes across the country. Many of those pipes were laid in the early to mid-20th century with a lifespan of 75 to 100 years. The quality of drinking water in the United States remains high, but legacy and emerging contaminants continue to require close attention. While water consumption is down, there are still an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States, wasting over two trillion gallons of treated drinking water. According to the American Water Works Association, an estimated $1 trillion is necessary to maintain and expand service to meet demands over the next 25 years.https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/drinking-water/

[boutons_deux]

One can hope someone goes to fucking jail.

he was the only guilty one? or being scapegoated for Repug systemic misgovernance

[boutons_deux]

Detroit turns off every public school’s drinking water due to high levels of lead, copper

For Michigan, it's just the latest turn in the state's ongoing water crisis.

schools throughout the Detroit Public Schools Community District will be without drinking water after tests detected elevated levels of lead and copper.

As Annalise Frank of Crain’s Detroit reported (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/education/drinking-water-be-shut-all-detroit-public-schools), Nikolai Vitti, the superintendent of Michigan’s largest school district

ordered that the water be shut off “immediately,”


Vitti ordered testing of all schools this spring, after tests in 2016 found elevated levels of the metals.

Initial results for 24 schools returned last week found 16 had levels higher than acceptable, he said in the emailed letter.

All water sources, including drinking fountains and sinks, were tested.

Water is still available for hand washing and toilet flushing.

“Although we have no evidence that there are elevated levels of copper or lead in our other schools (over 50) where we are awaiting test results,

out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of our students and employees,

I am turning off all drinking water in our schools

until a deeper and broader analysis can be conducted to determine the long-term solutions for all schools,”


Crain’s Detroit reports that the results of the testing were not immediately available, but that

in April of 2016, elevated levels of lead and copper were detected (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20160414/NEWS01/160419895/elevated-copper-or-lead-levels-found-at-19-detroit-schools) in 19 schools within the Detroit school district.

The well-publicized lead water crisis in Flint, Mich. prompted the testing round. At least one expert told Crain’s Detroit that

such water contaminations “could be found nationwide, wherever school authorities spend the time and money to look.”

https://thinkprogress.org/detroit-turns-off-every-public-schools-drinking-water-due-to-high-levels-of-lead-copper-a69eb0ed471e/

[Winehole23]

Ex-gov Rick Snyder's cellphones subpoenaed.

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/06/03/cell-phones-seized-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-flint-water-lead-poisoning/1333221001/

[boutons_deux]

Another poor black city poisoning its blacks with leaded water and

no funds to relace 15K lead service lines, AND neglecting / lying about it.

Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings and a Boss With a Criminal Past

How a long line of questionable decisions led to the crisis over lead contamination in Newark.

latest in a long line of questionable actions that have created one of the biggest environmental crises to hit a major American city in recent years.

This month, the city told tens of thousands of Newark residents to drink bottled water (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/nyregion/newark-water-lead.html?module=inline), but only after receiving a stern warning from federal officials about lead leaching into tap water from aging pipes.

More than 13 percent of the children in New Jersey afflicted with elevated lead levels in 2017 were in Newark, which accounted for only 3.8 percent of the state’s children.

a shadow over the presidential campaign of Senator Cory Booker, who served as Newark’s mayor from 2006 to 2013.

In 2013, an agency that Mr. Booker had revamped was gutted over a scandal involving kickbacks, no-show contracts and millions of dollars in wasted public funds. Eight officials were later charged in federal indictments, six of whom pleaded guilty.

blunders at all levels of government in safeguarding Newark’s water infrastructure.

City officials brushed aside warnings and allowed the system to deteriorate,

while state and federal regulators often did not intervene forcefully enough to help prevent the crisis.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/24/nyregion/newark-lead-water-crisis.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/24/nyregion/newark-lead-water-crisis.html)

I'm sure privatizing Newark water would fix the lead problem, right?

[boutons_deux]

Flint’s Children Suffer in Class After Years of Drinking the Lead-Poisoned Water

The city’s schools, stretched even before the lead crisis, are struggling with demands for individualized education programs and behavioral interventions for children with high lead exposure.

The contamination of this long-struggling city’s water exposed nearly 30,000 schoolchildren to a neurotoxin known to have detrimental effects on children’s developing brains and nervous systems.

That lawsuit forced the state to establish the $3 million Neurodevelopmental Center of Excellence, which began screening students.

The screenings then confirmed a range of disabilities, which have prompted still more requests for intervention.

The percentage of the city’s students who qualify for special education services has nearly doubled, to 28 percent, from 15 percent the year the lead crisis began, and the city’s screening center has received more than 1,300 referrals since December 2018.

The results:

About 70 percent of the students evaluated have required school accommodations for issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as A.D.H.D.; dyslexia; or mild intellectual impairment,

“We have a school district where all that’s left are damaged kids who are being exposed to other damaged kids, and it’s causing more damage,”

proving the cause of the students’ problems was not the point. Many of the problems uncovered by the lead testing could certainly have existed before.

“What the research says is that as they get older, and the cognitive demands get harder, we will start to see the demands get higher, and the resources aren’t going to be there,”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/politics/flint-michigan-schools.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20191107&section=topNews?campaign_id=9&instance_id=13673&segment_id=18588&user_id=992d608214b505003aa04bf10a595031&regi_id=80821797tion=topNews (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/politics/flint-michigan-schools.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20191107&section=topNews?campaign_id=9&instance_id=13673&segment_id=18588&user_id=992d608214b505003aa04bf10a595031&regi_id=80821797tion=topNews)

Undeveloped, 3rd America The Beautiful for All Americans, as MISgoverned by criminal, racist Repugs

================

Lead in Canada's drinking water worse than Flint crisis

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been unwittingly exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water, according to a yearlong investigation (http://www.concordia.ca/artsci/journalism/research/investigative-journalism/about/water-credits.html) conducted by more than 120 journalists.

The investigation found that contamination in several cities was consistently higher than it ever was in Flint,

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lead-canada-drinking-water-worse-than-flint-crisis-investigation-2019-11-04/

and of course, BigFood wins HUGE because their bottled water (any lead in it? tested?) costs 10K time more than tap water.

How many investor/Capitalist-owned water systems are delivering polluted water?

[boutons_deux]

'Despicable': Internal Emails Reveal Water Contractor Knew About Lead Risks in Flint Months Before City's Public Confirmation

"I think anyone has to ask themselves how the story in Flint would be different five years later now ifVeolia had made those private concerns public."

executives at a water company contracted to assess the water system in Flint, Michigan privately expressed concerns that residents "might be at risk of being poisoned by lead in their tap water months before the city publicly admitted the problem in 2015."

"The documents show a Veolia executive, a month before the corporation told the city its water was safe, saying that 'lead seems to be a problem,'"

Veolia, one of the largest utility companies in the world, publicly raised concerns about lead earlier. It also points out that while senior employees were privately raising such concerns, "Veolia was exploring other lucrative contracts with the city."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/despicable-internal-emails-reveal-water-contractor-knew-about-lead-risks-flint?cd-origin=rss (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/despicable-internal-emails-reveal-water-contractor-knew-about-lead-risks-flint?cd-origin=rss)

[Winehole23]

Snyder covered it up for five years


Hundreds of confidential pages of documents obtained by VICE, along with emails and interviews, reveal a coordinated, five-year cover-up overseen by Snyder and his top officials to prevent news of Flint’s deadly water from going public—while there was still time to save lives—and then limit the damage after the crisis made global headlines.

All told, the waterborne bacterial disease may have killed at least 115 people in 2014 and 2015, and potentially more whose pneumonia wasn’t officially considered Legionnaires’ disease, the illness caused by Legionella. In addition to the outbreak, Flint's water supply was contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, harmful bacteria, carcinogens, and other toxic components. This wreaked havoc on Flint residents, leaving them with a laundry list of illnesses, including kidney and liver problems, severe bone and muscle pain, gastrointestinal problems, loss of teeth, autoimmune diseases, neurological deficiencies, miscarriages, Parkinson’s disease, severe fatigue, seizures, and volatile mood disorders.https://www.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/z3bdp9/michigans-ex-gov-rick-snyder-knew-about-flints-toxic-waterand-lied-about-it .

[Winehole23]

VICE has learned that prosecutors leading the criminal investigation secretly subpoenaed key members of Snyder’s inner circle, including chief of staff Dennis Muchmore, Snyder's “fixer" and top adviser Rich Baird, and state treasurer Andy Dillon, as they built a case against the governor. Documents reveal the governor’s chief legal counsel, Beth Clement, knew Snyder’s top officials were subpoenaed by prosecutors, suggesting Snyder knew as well (a spokesperson for Clement, now a judge, said she couldn’t comment on a case pending in any court). The aggressive investigation into Snyder may explain why the governor’s office’s legal fees, paid for by state taxpayers, came to at least $8.5 million in the years after the water crisis made national headlines.

Snyder and his administration were investigated by a team led by special prosecutor Todd Flood from 2016 to 2019. The team concluded that the administration had “committed conspiracies of ongoing crimes, like an organized crime unit,” a source with knowledge of the probe told VICE.

But before a case against Snyder could develop, the state’s newly appointed attorney general, Dana Nessel, fired top prosecutors and investigators pursuing the case.

[baseline bum]

Worst day of Obama's presidency was when he drank the water and covered up for Snyder.

[Winehole23]

Michigan to settle with Flint for $800M


They got off easy. 80% to go to kids then under 18. Pool is 7,500 to 20,000. That means settlement per person = $24,000 to $64,000.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/08/journey-into-a-libertarian-future-part-ii-the-strategy.html

[Winehole23]

Michigan to settle with Flint for $800M



https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/08/journey-into-a-libertarian-future-part-ii-the-strategy.htmlFigure went down:

1341089969465638915

[MultiTroll]

Michigan to settle with Flint for $800M
So what's the latest on the criminal investigation?
All swept under the corruption rug?

[Winehole23]

So what's the latest on the criminal investigation?
All swept under the corruption rug?Good question, I haven't seen the details of the settlement. I'd be surprised if it didn't hold Michigan and its officers blameless.

[Winehole23]

1349078262694223874

[MultiTroll]

^^ let me guess, Snyder and the other demonic polluters get assigned super sleaze liarwyers on the taxpayers dime?

[Trill Clinton]

1349078262694223874


Praying for a conviction.

[Winehole23]

^^ let me guess, Snyder and the other demonic polluters get assigned super sleaze liarwyers on the taxpayers dime?I wouldn't know, go ask a lawyer. :lol

[Winehole23]

the US is a 1st world shithole

1432365350084022282

[boutons_deux]

the US is a 1st world shithole

1432365350084022282

specifically, the parts of the USA with blacks and browns governed by racist Repugs are shitholes.

eg, blacks and browns living in cheap housing close to chemical plants in TX and LA, aka environmental INjustice.

[boutons_deux]

How are Michigan residents still drinking water with toxic levels of lead years after Flint?

Environmental racism, corroded old pipes, and flawed regulation are at play.

https://grist.org/health/how-are-michigan-residents-still-drinking-water-with-toxic-levels-of-lead-years-after-flint

[Winehole23]

Benton Harbor has been waiting three years for a solution to its lead contamination problem

1447935106358910991

[Millennial_Messiah]

Benton Harbor has been waiting three years for a solution to its lead contamination problem

1447935106358910991
I drive through that way quite a bit, but I wouldn't stop there. too many ghetto people. Just like Muskegon Heights or Flint or East Detroit.

[Winehole23]

I drive through that way quite a bit, but I wouldn't stop there. too many ghetto people. Just like Muskegon Heights or Flint or East Detroit.we already knew you were bigoted, but thanks for sharing

[Millennial_Messiah]

we already knew you were bigoted, but thanks for sharing

Bigoted? More like mindful and on the money in terms of common sense. Ghetto blacks see a white man as an opportunity for "equitable" revenge so they will shoot us on sight. They see white women as rape opportunities. Typical sub simian savages.

[Winehole23]

Bigoted? More like mindful and on the money in terms of common sense. Ghetto blacks see a white man as an opportunity for "equitable" revenge so they will shoot us on sight. They see white women as rape opportunities. Typical sub simian savages.

https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/brute/images/birthofnationposter1.jpg

thanks for underscoring my point :tu

[Winehole23]

$5000 per head, so hard to put a price tag on physical and neurological damage.

1458563271154352137

[Winehole23]

Looks like AG Nessel protected Michigan and shafted Flint by ditching financial fraud and RICO charges in the 11th hour. Fired the prosecutors and let crooked pols off the hook.


1483077678110584836

[Winehole23]

Criminal cases against former Gov Rick Snyder and nine other state officials are still live.


Flint water prosecutors asked the Michigan Supreme Court to keep their criminal cases against nine former government officials afloat on Wednesday, May 4, defending their use of a one-person grand jury to issue indictments in the cases more than a year ago.

Justices heard arguments from attorneys for former Gov. Rick Snyder and others Wednesday, contending they were denied their constitutional rights when a single grand juror indicted them, and an attorney for former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon went a step further.

Former state Solicitor General John Bursch said the charges must be dismissed because the state Constitution prohibits a single grand juror from both investigating and charging the officials with crimes.

Citizen grand juries are rarely utilized in Michigan and the use of a one-person grand jury, as was done in Flint, is even rarer, attorneys for those charged with water crisis crimes have said.

Genesee Circuit Judge David J. Newblatt served as the one-judge grand jury in the water crisis cases and heard testimony throughout 2020 before issuing indictments against Snyder and eight others in January 2021.https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2022/05/michigan-supreme-court-scrutinizes-grand-jury-process-in-criminal-flint-water-cases.html

[Winehole23]

Michigan Supreme Court throws out indictments


A judge had no authority to issue indictments in the Flint water scandal, (https://apnews.com/article/us-news-health-michigan-rick-snyder-flint-7295d05da09d7d5b1184b0e349545897) the Michigan Supreme Court said Tuesday in an extraordinary decision that wipes out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder (https://apnews.com/article/environment-michigan-flint-rick-snyder-f5987ee1f56b62b6858052bb759f996f), his health director and seven other people.


It’s an astonishing defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, got rid of a special prosecutor and put together a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated Flint’s water system in 2014-15.


State laws “authorize a judge to investigate, subpoena witnesses, and issue arrest warrants” as a one-person grand jury, the Supreme Court said.


“But they do not authorize the judge to issue indictments (https://apnews.com/article/health-michigan-rick-snyder-environment-flint-3ef31c6e6ecdbc1d1d00d01a8c0c633f),” the court said in a 6-0 opinion.
https://apnews.com/article/health-crime-michigan-indictments-rick-snyder-609f461af3bb2d7f10a40c5d663620eb

[Winehole23]

While weekly bottled water donations have ended for citizens of Flint (https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/flint), Michigan, according to city officials, (https://www.cityofflint.com/city-of-flint-epa-egle-advise-flint-residents-to-continue-using-free-water-filters/) the water crisis there is ongoing.

Health officials are urging residents to continue to use faucet filters certified to remove lead until the residential lead service line replacement is completed.

The residential lead service line replacement was initially set to be finished in 2019, according to a settlement agreement with the city (https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/flintwater/documents/2017/Settlement_Agreement_dated_032717.pdf?rev=9e197437 4edf4cb68fc46d348d823d0a). That deadline was eventually pushed back to the fall of 2022 and has most recently been set for completion in August 2023, according to city officials. (https://www.cityofflint.com/city-of-flint-epa-egle-advise-flint-residents-to-continue-using-free-water-filters/)

https://abcnews.go.com/US/flint-residents-urged-filter-water-bottled-water-donations/story

[Winehole23]

Twenty-four samples returned lead levels higher than 15 ppb, the threshold for remediation and action for water suppliers − not schools, individual homes or private businesses − based on the federal Lead and Copper Rule (https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-and-copper-rule). Some of those samples were as high as 140 ppb, like a flush sample taken on Dec. 22 at JM Clayton Elementary, according to the state data dashboard.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2023/01/23/lead-in-delaware-school-water-remains-alarmingly-high-during-retesting/69825579007/

[boutons_deux]

Racist Repugs escape

Judge approves $600 million settlement over Flint water crisis

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3910886-judge-approves-600-million-settlement-over-flint-water-crisis (https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3910886-judge-approves-600-million-settlement-over-flint-water-crisis/?email=b82f1da43419ec549e0178c123bd4e62d06a3e3f&emaila=adcc5172ef476f8f6cb360eb5d685fd8&emailb=f4f1784976b7b6de3d5051e11c7533ec31e591bddd3 f6825dd9850157cf5b685&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03.21.23-RS-The%20Hill%20News%20Alert-%20Flint%20settlement)

[Winehole23]

(hamster fart)

1719395574439346517

[MultiTroll]

What a pathetic perversion of justice.

And people wonder why some people have nothing to do with politics.

[Winehole23]

people complain about "necro threads," but what's really necrotic is attention and memory wandering away from persistent problems that hurt and kill people.

when people stop paying attention, underlying problems don't.

1784183584028229821

[Winehole23]

Reality is that which, when you wish it gone, doesn't go away.

[Thread]

Reality is that which, when you wish it gone, doesn't go away.

...or, in other words...President Trump.

tee, hee.