6 years after Flint water crisis, Michigan's ex-governor to face charges
Source: Grist
By Adam Mahoney on Jan 13, 2021 at 3:09 pm
Rick Synder was governor of Michigan when the state approved a 2014 cost-saving plan that switched the city of Flints water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewage Department water to the Flint River while a pipeline was built to Lake Huron. The water, however, was not treated to reduce corrosion, leading the majority-Black community of 100,000 to drink and use water laced with heavy metal neurotoxins, coliform bacteria, and lead. Some homes still lack access to clean water today.
Six years, 8 months, and three weeks since Flints drinking water became contaminated, Snyder, his health director Nick Lyon, and at least seven other ex-officials have been told theyre being charged for their role in the scandal.
In a 2016 testimony, the citys utilities chief explained the citys water treatment plant wasnt capable of adding corrosion-control treatment without equipment upgrades the budget-strapped city couldnt afford. The untreated water then flowed through aging lead pipes used in much of the city, adding to the contamination.
Bacteria in the water led to multiple outbreaks of Legionnaires disease, which causes a severe form of pneumonia, especially in people with weakened immune systems. The crisis led to 12 deaths in the first 18 months after the change in water sources, though activists and journalists believe the total is much larger because officials only counted deaths of those who were diagnosed with Legionnaires disease and died while hospitalized or within 30 days of leaving the hospital. A 2019 report by PBS, estimated the crisis was responsible for another 90 deaths.
The Michigan state attorney generals office declined to comment on details of the ongoing investigation, but charges are expected Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Read more: https://grist.org/justice/former-michigan-governor-rick-snyder-to-be-charged-flint-water-crisis/
Loooooooooooooooooooooong overdue!
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)Bluethroughu
(5,153 posts)He thinks it's fine.
perfessor
(265 posts)But I'll wait for the official announcement of charges before I celebrate too much.
riversedge
(70,187 posts)riversedge
(70,187 posts)GB_RN
(2,347 posts)I posted a thread on this yesterday and had it locked as OT. I followed all the rules about headline, paragraphs, etc, but apparently, someone had posted on it a few hours before. 😑