Flint Water Hearings, EPA Blamed

[Compost]

The Flint water debacle hearings continue. EPA hasn't provided all requested documentation. Sound familiar?


If you thought the water crisis in Flint, Michigan was terrible, the health impacts from lead contamination for those living in Washington D.C. could dwarf the latest EPA fiasco in the Great Lakes region, according to Inside Sources. Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor, who was one of the key people who raised red flags over Flint’s water quality, said that he wasn’t surprised with the recent situation in Flint after what occurred in Washington D.C. in the early 2000s. Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, Edwards ripped into the Environmental Protection Agency for serial malfeasance starting in 2001. He also criticized former Midwest Region 5 administrator Susan Hedman for suggesting that EPA had nothing to do with creating Flint; they “had everything to do with creating Flint,” according to Edwards.

Edwards, a civil and environmental engineer, has been involved in water-quality issues throughout his career and before Flint was best known for bringing attention to lead contamination in the District after he began finding unusually high lead levels in area homes beginning in 2003.

He was one of the authors of a 2009 study that calculated as many as 42,000 District children were exposed to the contaminated water during the worst years of the crisis, 2000 to 2004, and are at risk of future health and behavioral problems linked to lead.

Appearing Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Edwards ripped the Environmental Protection Agency, testifying that the EPA’s handling of the Washington lead crisis created the conditions for Flint

more here
Flint Whistleblower Rips EPA, Says They're Guilty of Serial Malfeasance Since 2001

 

[tyroneweaver]

All those shovel ready jobs obama promised. LOL
"The world needs ditch diggers to Danny."
Flint new it had a problem, it's just that some people are to lazy to anything about it.

 

[bullwinkle]

The Flint water debacle hearings continue. EPA hasn't provided all requested documentation. Sound familiar?


If you thought the water crisis in Flint, Michigan was terrible, the health impacts from lead contamination for those living in Washington D.C. could dwarf the latest EPA fiasco in the Great Lakes region, according to Inside Sources. Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor, who was one of the key people who raised red flags over Flint’s water quality, said that he wasn’t surprised with the recent situation in Flint after what occurred in Washington D.C. in the early 2000s. Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, Edwards ripped into the Environmental Protection Agency for serial malfeasance starting in 2001. He also criticized former Midwest Region 5 administrator Susan Hedman for suggesting that EPA had nothing to do with creating Flint; they “had everything to do with creating Flint,” according to Edwards.

Edwards, a civil and environmental engineer, has been involved in water-quality issues throughout his career and before Flint was best known for bringing attention to lead contamination in the District after he began finding unusually high lead levels in area homes beginning in 2003.

He was one of the authors of a 2009 study that calculated as many as 42,000 District children were exposed to the contaminated water during the worst years of the crisis, 2000 to 2004, and are at risk of future health and behavioral problems linked to lead.

Appearing Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Edwards ripped the Environmental Protection Agency, testifying that the EPA’s handling of the Washington lead crisis created the conditions for Flint

more here
Flint Whistleblower Rips EPA, Says They're Guilty of Serial Malfeasance Since 2001

Compost, as a Flint native, I watched as much of those hearing as possible, and have a lot of respect for Edwards' testimony and frustrations. He has been there fighting for Flint for a long time. But that grandstanding by pols, Chaffetz especially, was outrage just as fake as they accused Snyder of being in his contrition. Stabenow and Peters, Michigan Senators, have tried to introduce legislative solutions and some ease for Flint over the past year and it gets shot down every time, mostly by Mike Lee (R UT), who is Cruz' evil twin. So while I and my family still living there appreciate the national light shown on the City's plight and the frustrating stonewalling by those who could have eased the problem early, we see this fake outrage by a do-nothing legislature getting their pound of flesh as grandstanding that impresses nobody. And I have always thought that Flint is a tip of the bad-water iceberg. So it's pretty sure to us that this chest-clutching Congress isn't going to do a damn thing because there are so many communities in ignored infrastructure distress that the mind is boggled at the national need.

 

[bullwinkle]

The Flint water debacle hearings continue. EPA hasn't provided all requested documentation. Sound familiar?


If you thought the water crisis in Flint, Michigan was terrible, the health impacts from lead contamination for those living in Washington D.C. could dwarf the latest EPA fiasco in the Great Lakes region, according to Inside Sources. Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor, who was one of the key people who raised red flags over Flint’s water quality, said that he wasn’t surprised with the recent situation in Flint after what occurred in Washington D.C. in the early 2000s. Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, Edwards ripped into the Environmental Protection Agency for serial malfeasance starting in 2001. He also criticized former Midwest Region 5 administrator Susan Hedman for suggesting that EPA had nothing to do with creating Flint; they “had everything to do with creating Flint,” according to Edwards.

Edwards, a civil and environmental engineer, has been involved in water-quality issues throughout his career and before Flint was best known for bringing attention to lead contamination in the District after he began finding unusually high lead levels in area homes beginning in 2003.

He was one of the authors of a 2009 study that calculated as many as 42,000 District children were exposed to the contaminated water during the worst years of the crisis, 2000 to 2004, and are at risk of future health and behavioral problems linked to lead.

Appearing Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Edwards ripped the Environmental Protection Agency, testifying that the EPA’s handling of the Washington lead crisis created the conditions for Flint

more here
Flint Whistleblower Rips EPA, Says They're Guilty of Serial Malfeasance Since 2001

Compost, as a Flint native, I watched as much of those hearing as possible, and have a lot of respect for Edwards' testimony and frustrations. He has been there fighting for Flint for a long time. But that grandstanding by pols, Chaffetz especially, was outrage just as fake as they accused Snyder of being in his contrition. Stabenow and Peters, Michigan Senators, have tried to introduce legislative solutions and some ease for Flint over the past year and it gets shot down every time, mostly by Mike Lee (R UT), who is Cruz' evil twin. So while I and my family still living there appreciate the national light shown on the City's plight and the frustrating stonewalling by those who could have eased the problem early, we see this fake outrage by a do-nothing legislature getting their pound of flesh as grandstanding that impresses nobody. And I have always thought that Flint is a tip of the bad-water iceberg. So it's pretty sure to us that this chest-clutching Congress isn't going to do a damn thing because there are so many communities in ignored infrastructure distress that the mind is boggled at the national need.

I wish we had an infrastructure CCC.

 

[bullwinkle]

All those shovel ready jobs obama promised. LOL
"The world needs ditch diggers to Danny."
Flint new it had a problem, it's just that some people are to lazy to anything about it.

Tyrone, you're being a tad unfair. Those 'shovel ready' jobs got unfunded. If they hadn't, this nation could have had eager workers doing something constructive. But mostly I object to your use of the word lazy as related to Flint's problems.

 

[August West]

All those shovel ready jobs obama promised. LOL
"The world needs ditch diggers to Danny."
Flint new it had a problem, it's just that some people are to lazy to anything about it.

Whatever the case, Obama isn`t losing 745,000 a month like his predecessor did. Presidents say dumb things all the time. Remember "Mission Accomplished"?

 

[waltky]

How many other cities suffer from lead leaching in old water pipe systems?...

US EPA Awards $100 Million to Upgrade Flint Water System
March 17, 2017 | WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it had awarded $100 million to upgrade Flint, Michigan's drinking water infrastructure to address a crisis that exposed thousands of children to lead poisoning.

The grant to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will enable the city to “accelerate and expand” its work to replace lead pipes and make other improvements, according to the EPA. Estimates of the upgrade's cost range from $200 million to $400 million. Friday's announcement made the disbursement official. Last year, Congress passed and former president Barack Obama signed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to allocate $100 million to aid Flint.

$31.5 million to be paid immediately

The EPA's state revolving funds, which Congress can allocate to help with cleanup efforts, were one of the few programs that the Trump administration did not slash in its proposed budget for the agency. “Flint's water infrastructure as part of our larger goal of improving America's water infrastructure,” said a statement from agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The Flint Water Plant water tower is seen in Flint, Michigan, March 21, 2016. The EPA awarded $100 million to upgrade Flint's drinking water infrastructure​

The EPA will make $31.5 million immediately available for lead pipe replacements and upgrades, and Michigan will provide a $20 million required match. The remaining $68.5 million will come after the city and Michigan complete additional public comment and technical reviews. “Today we have good news for families in Flint who have already waited far too long for their water system to be fixed,” said a statement from U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, and Congressman Dan Kildee, all Michigan Democrats.

Flint mayor meets Trump

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, also a Democrat, said the funds would help the city reach its goal of replacing 6,000 pipes this year. She met briefly with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. In January, 1,700 Flint residents filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Michigan, saying the EPA failed to warn them of the dangers of the toxic water or take steps to ensure that state and local authorities were addressing the crisis. The plaintiffs seek $722 million in damages.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver listens as Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette addresses a news conference​

Midwestern politicians are worried about the elimination in the proposed U.S. budget of funding for an effort to clean up the Great Lakes, from which some states draw their drinking water. Flint was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its water source to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes and into the drinking water. The city returned to its original water source in October 2015.

US EPA Awards $100 Million to Upgrade Flint Water System

 

[ScienceRocks]

So instead of investing in new pipes and infrastructure you're going to blame the one agency that regulates to stop such shit from occurring.

Doesn't make sense to me.