"deliberate cover-up" in Flint, MI ~ Tamara Brickey, Genesee County Health Department Director

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The Center of Disease Control was blocked from getting involved in Flint's water problem.

Garrison [Laurel Garrison of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] added in her e-mail that ”I know you’ve run into issues getting information you’ve requested from the city water authority and the MI Dept of Environmental Quality.

Excerpts from:
Flint e-mails: CDC voiced concerns over Legionnaires' actions

Matthew Dolan, Elisha Anderson, Paul Egan and John Wisely,
Detroit Free Press
February 9, 2016

More than a year ago, e-mails among officials show deep concern behind the scenes about the quality of the city’s water.

More than eight months before Gov. Rick Snyder disclosed a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area, federal health officials worried a lack of cooperation in Michigan could be hampering the public health response.

Thousands of pages of e-mails obtained by the Detroit Free Press through the Freedom of Information Act on Monday show increasing concern about the quality of the Flint's drinking water as tensions grew over a lack of coordination to combat the waterborne disease.
County health officials were warned for reaching out to federal experts for help while they struggled to persuade Flint city officials to provide needed information, the e-mails show. Others in e-mails wondered about ethical breaches and the possibility of a cover-up.

In sum, a review of the e-mails provided by Genesee County from several public-information requests appear to illustrate the inability, if not unwillingness, of city and state agencies to share information with the county as it investigated multiple Legionnaires' cases. The clash among bureaucrats went on privately for months despite growing fears inside Flint among residents that something was deeply wrong with the city's drinking water.

<snip>

“Now evidence is clearly pointing to a deliberate cover-up,” Brickey wrote. “In my opinion, if we don’t act soon, we are going to become guilty by association.”

Snyder publicly revealed the Legionnaires' outbreak on Jan. 13 of this year, saying he had learned of it just days earlier. A spokesman for the governor Monday night reiterated that the governor acted quickly after he learned of the outbreak.

<snip>
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It's tough livin' in Flint...

Flint Residents Struggle to Cope with Ongoing Water Crisis
February 26, 2016 — In a tree-lined neighborhood in Flint, Michigan, the arrival of the American Red Cross disaster truck is a welcome sign of relief outside of Terence Johnson's brown brick home.
Now Johnson, who works a construction job, might finally be able to take a bath — thanks to the supplies on the truck. "Right now it's not safe to shower," he said. "It's not safe to bathe unless you use bottled water." Johnson believes it isn't safe because, among other concerns, Flint's water has high levels of lead. Johnson says he won't be the first one to wash with the bottled water he gets from the Red Cross truck. But he says he makes sure the elderly citizens who live near him get water before he uses what's left to clean himself up.

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American Red Cross disaster trucks deliver bottled water to residents of Flint, Michigan​

Calling it a proper "bath," however, is a stretch. "You're taking bottled water, and you're heating it in the microwave, or on the stove, and then pouring it in the face bowl and bathing with it," Johnson said. Johnson says the last time he had a real shower was sometime late last year.

New normal

April 2014 is when city officials switched from using Detroit's water supply to the local Flint River. It was supposed to answer the water needs of this city of about 100,000 people. But the corrosive properties of the river water flowing through old pipes throughout Flint leached harmful levels of lead into the water supply.

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Residents of Flint, Michigan, rely on bottled water for drinking, bathing and other uses. "Brushing your teeth, showering, cooking. I mean, we use water for a lot more than just drinking water," said volunteer Virginia Bialesco​

Last year, doctors discovered high levels of lead in the blood of local children, which finally put the problem in the spotlight. Now, residents like Johnson are at the center of a water crisis, which has no clear end in sight. "I'm angry that people didn't know about it," he says. "I'm angry that people wasn't informed about it in 2014 when it first started."

As government officials scramble for solutions, the ongoing concern about safe drinking water in the city of Flint is taking a toll on people like Johnson who have decided to stay. "I think people in office didn't care," Johnson told VOA. "You know, people who were responsible for this didn't care."

Water deliveries
 
We knew this was coming...

Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Over Flint Water Crisis
March 07, 2016 - Residents of the northern U.S. city of Flint, Michigan, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the state's governor and others alleging gross negligence for causing the city's drinking water to become contaminated with lead.
The group of seven residents filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court seeking damages for thousands of Flint residents who suffered physical or economic injuries. The suit names Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other current and former government officials, as well as corporations, for their role in the water crisis. It accuses them of gross negligence, which is an exception to the immunity that lawmakers generally are granted for performing official duties. A spokesman for Snyder said the administration is not commenting on pending legislation, but said the governor is staying focused on finding solutions for Flint.

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Michigan National Guard members distribute water to a line of residents in their cars in Flint, Michigan​

Michigan's slow response to the water crisis in Flint was a big topic at the Democratic presidential debate Sunday with both candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, calling for Snyder's resignation. Flint, with a population of about 100,000, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its water source in April 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The new, more corrosive water supply caused lead to leach from city pipes into the drinking water. Over the ensuing months, the city's residents complained about the odd, brownish color of the water and its taste. Tests later found that lead was in the bloodstreams of more than 200 children. Lead contamination in children is especially debilitating, causing developmental delays, learning disabilities and aggressive behavior.

City and state officials are pointing the blame at each other. The state-appointed emergency manager who oversaw the switch to the new water source blames the decision on the city council. City officials, conversely, are blaming the emergency manager. Michigan's attorney general has launched an investigation into the contamination crisis, and so has the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. One state investigator said charges as serious as manslaughter could be brought if drinking the toxic water causes any deaths.

Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Over Flint Water Crisis

See also:

Lawsuit over Flint, Michigan, crisis says 17 children have high lead levels
Mon Mar 7, 2016 - A group of Flint, Michigan, parents and their children filed a class action on Monday alleging that gross negligence by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and others caused the city's drinking water to become contaminated with lead.
The lawsuit was filed in Detroit federal court and seeks damages for a proposed class of "tens of thousands" of Flint residents and property owners who have suffered physical or economic injuries. The named plaintiffs are seven residents and their 17 children who lawyers say have heightened lead levels. The state's slow response to the water crisis drew sharp rebukes from Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on Sunday. Both called for Snyder's resignation. A spokesman has said the Republican governor has no intention of stepping down.

Flint, a predominantly black city of 100,000, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its water source in April 2014 to the Flint River from Lake Huron. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach from city pipes and into the drinking water. The city switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children, but the drinking water has not returned fully to normal. Flint began replacing lead pipes running to homes on Friday.

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A group of Flint, Michigan, parents and their children filed a class action on Monday alleging that gross negligence by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and others caused the city's drinking water to become contaminated with lead.​

Attorneys Hunter Shkolnik and Adam Slater allege in Monday's lawsuit the governmental defendants failed to take measures required by federal law to eliminate the dangers and downplayed the severity of the contamination to residents. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, as even small amounts can stunt development, leading to lifelong academic and behavioral problems. Current and former officials and workers in Michigan and Flint are named as defendants, along with engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, which was hired to assess the feasibility of using Flint River water.

A firm representative said the lawsuit mischaracterized its role and it would vigorously defend its position in court. The lawsuit accuses the governmental defendants of gross negligence, which is an exception to the immunity that shields federal and state governments and employees from lawsuits over their official duties. The strength of the immunity defense has kept many leading plaintiffs' lawyers away from filing lawsuits over the Flint crisis. The families seek payment for past and future health costs and monitoring as well as compensation for lost property value, replacement of pipes and reclamation of contaminated property.

Lawsuit over Flint, Michigan, crisis says 17 children have high lead levels

Related:

Sanders: Flint Pays More for Poisoned Water Than I Pay For Clean Water
March 7, 2016 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said during the CNN Democratic presidential debate on Sunday that the people of Flint, Mich., are being charged three times as much for water poisoned with lead than he pays for clean water in Vermont, adding that no one in Flint should pay a water bill and the decision should be retroactive.
“What is absolutely incredible to me is that water rates have soared in Flint. You are paying three times more for poisoned water than I’m paying in Burlington, Vermont, for clean water. First thing you do is you say people are not paying a water bill for poisoned water, and that is retroactive,” said Sanders. A Flint resident, Mikki Wade, asked “If elected president, what course would you take to regain my trust in the government” following the Flint water crisis?

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she supports a new jobs program announced Sunday by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver - the Flint WaterWorks initiative – that will give the city’s youth jobs delivering water to homes in the affected area. “All the repair work that is being done - and Mayor Weaver announced a program that we support to begin to help train people in Flint to be able to do some of this work to distribute the water - everything that is done has to be triple checked to regain your trust and to hold those who are responsible for fixing the pipes and delivering the clean water, which as you said, you bathe in it,” Clinton said. “You drink it. You wash food in it. You do everything with it. Everyone of us should have to just run through in our minds how we use water every single day to understand the pressures and the real pain that families are going through. So I will make sure as president that I double and triple check,” Clinton added.

She also pledged to work with the mayor and members of Congress to make sure the problem is addressed. When asked what she would specifically do as president to address the crisis, Clinton said, she supports what President Barack Obama is doing. “He called for, got accountability from officials at the EPA, who should have done more to make sure the state was doing its job. He has expanded Medicaid to begin the process of helping kids, particularly get the health care they need. He’s also ordered that there be a Head Start program. I support that,” Clinton said. “As president, I would concentrate resources on this city for economic development for more jobs as we fix the water and provide the health and education interventions that children need,” she added. “What is going on is a disgrace beyond belief. As president of the United States, this is what I would do: is if local government does not have the resources, if state government for whatever reason refuses to act, children in America should not be poisoned. Federal government comes in. Federal government acts,” said Sanders. “What is absolutely incredible to me is that water rates have soared in Flint. You are paying three times more for poisoned water than I’m paying in Burlington, Vermont for clean water. First thing you do is you say people are not paying a water bill for poisoned water, and that is retroactive,” he said.

MORE
 
Granny says, "Dat's right - sue dey's pants off...

Flint families file lawsuits over children poisoned by water
11 Mar.`16 - A group of Flint families with children has filed new lawsuits in the Michigan city's water crisis, accusing private companies of professional negligence and government employees of misconduct that led to the contamination of the water supply.
The lawsuits filed on Thursday in Genesee County court, along with nine filed earlier in March, cover 50 children allegedly suffering from lead poisoning from drinking Flint water. The cases were all brought by Corey Stern, a New York attorney who specializes in child lead poisoning cases. The lawsuits seek monetary damages from engineering firms Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam and Rowe Professional Services Co, two companies involved in carrying out the switch, for cost reasons, of the city's water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach into the water from the pipes.

Environmental consultants Veolia North America, which was hired in early 2015 to review Flint's water quality and found it complied with standards, is also a defendant. The state's slow response to the crisis has been widely criticized, with some calls for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's resignation. Flint, a predominantly black city of 100,000, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its water source. It was switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children.

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Demonstrators protest over the Flint, Michigan contaminated water crisis outside of the venue where the Democratic U.S. presidential candidates' debate was being held in Flint, Michigan​

Stern said the varying effects of lead poisoning on children makes individual lawsuits more appropriate than class actions. He expects to file lawsuits covering 25 more children next week. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, as even small amounts can cause permanent damage. A Lockwood Andrews representative said the firm's work addressed specific components of the water treatment plant, not the overall water quality.

The lawsuits brought by Stern also accuse two state-level employees and a city employee of gross negligence. A separate federal class action filed on Monday seeks damages on behalf of a proposed class of "tens of thousands" of Flint residents and property owners, claiming Snyder and other governmental officials failed to take measures required by federal law to eliminate the dangers and downplayed the severity of the contamination. Other lawsuits that have been filed seek compensation for water bills, immediate replacement of lead pipes or injuries to residents.

Flint families file lawsuits over children poisoned by water
 
Granny says, "Dat's right - `bout time...
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Officials: 3 to be charged in Flint water crisis
April 20, 2016 — Michigan's attorney general will announce criminal charges Wednesday against two state regulators and a Flint employee, alleging wrongdoing related to the city's lead-tainted water crisis, according to government officials familiar with the investigation.
The charges — the first levied in a probe that is expected to broaden — will be filed against a pair of state Department of Environmental Quality officials and a local water treatment plant supervisor, two officials told The Associated Press late Tuesday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. The felony and misdemeanor charges include violating Michigan's drinking water law, official misconduct, destruction of utility property and evidence tampering, according to one official. For nearly 18 months after Flint's water source was switched while the city was under state financial management, residents drank and bathed with improperly treated water that coursed through aging pipes and fixtures, releasing toxic lead. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced in October that the city would return from the Flint River to its earlier source of treated water, the Detroit municipal system. But by that time, dangerously high levels of the toxic metal had been detected in the blood of some residents, including children, for whom it can cause lower IQs and behavioral problems.

The city has been under a state of emergency for more than four months, and people there are using filters and bottled water. In January, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette opened an investigation and appointed a special counsel to lead the probe because his office also is defending Snyder and others in lawsuits filed over the water crisis. The state investigation team has more than 20 outside attorneys and investigators and a budget of $1.5 million. Schuette, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, special counsel Todd Flood and other investigators scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon in Flint to make a "significant" announcement, according to an advisory distributed to the media. A spokesman for Schuette's office declined comment Tuesday night.

In addition to the lead contamination, outside experts also have suggested a link between the Flint River and a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak. There were at least 91 cases, including 12 deaths, across Genesee County, which contains Flint, during a 17-month period. That represents a five-fold increase over what the county averaged before. The failure to deploy lead corrosion controls after the city's switch to the Flint River is considered a catastrophic mistake. The DEQ has acknowledged misreading federal regulations and wrongly telling the city that the chemicals were not needed. State officials were slow to respond to experts' and residents' concerns. After the crisis broke open, DEQ Director Dan Wyant and the department's communications director Brad Wurfel resigned.

Snyder announced the firing of Liane Shekter Smith, the former chief of the DEQ's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance. A district supervisor in the office, Stephen Busch, is on paid leave after being suspended earlier. Mike Prysby, a district engineer, recently took another job in the agency. A supervisor at Flint's water plant, Mike Glasgow, testified at a legislative hearing that Prysby told him phosphate was not needed to prevent lead corrosion from pipes until after a year of testing. Susan Hedman, the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chicago-based Midwest office, also resigned.

Officials: 3 to be charged in Flint water crisis
 
well , where was that all god-like Federal EPA you all worship all this time?

makes no matter to me, I DON'T live there and I can't do a damn thing about it. But some people think they have a right to poke their noses into everyone else's business and State business
 

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