Snyder apologizes, Wyant resigns in Flint water crisis

Paul Egan | Detroit Free Press

LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder apologized to the City of Flint on Tuesday for the drinking water crisis that has left children poisoned by lead and announced that he accepted the resignation of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant.

Snyder said in a news release that there will be other personnel changes at the DEQ and that the moves he announced are among "initial steps" he is taking to assure the safety of Flint residents, with more action to come.

“I want the Flint community to know how very sorry I am that this has happened," Snyder said. "And I want all Michigan citizens to know that we will learn from this experience, because Flint is not the only city that has an aging infrastructure."

The governor, who previously stood by his DEQ director amid the controversy, said, "Dan Wyant has offered his resignation, and I’ve determined that it’s appropriate to accept it."

Before joining the Snyder administration as DEQ director, Wyant was president and chief operating officer of the Edward Lowe Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship and helps business owners grow their companies. Before that, he served as director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture under Govs. John Engler and Jennifer Granholm.

Brad Wurfel, the DEQ public information officer who apologized after criticizing a researcher's reports of rising lead levels in the blood of Flint children as irresponsible, also resigned Tuesday, a spokesman for Snyder confirmed.

The governor said he acted based on interim findings of the Flint Water Advisory Task Force, which he appointed Oct. 21 to investigate the crisis and is continuing its work. He received a letter Tuesday morning that was highly critical of the DEQ.

The letter from the task force said the "primary responsibility" for what happened in Flint lies with the DEQ; the agency "failed in its responsibility" to ensure safe drinking water for Michigan residents and "must be held accountable for that failure." It was signed by task force members Matt Davis, Chris Kolb, Larry Reynolds, Eric Rothstein and Ken Sikkema.

The Free Press reported Thursday that records obtained by the Michigan ACLU and Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards show that elevated lead levels in Flint's drinking water would have spurred action months sooner if the results of city testing that wrapped up in June had not been revised by the DEQ to wrongly indicate the water was safe to drink.

Auditor General Doug Ringler said in a letter released Monday that it was appropriate for the DEQ to disqualify two samples with high lead levels that did not meet the sampling criteria. But the records obtained by the ACLU and Edwards also show that a DEQ official sent Flint an e-mail saying that samples as of late June showed Flint's water had lead levels above the "action level" that would require public notice and remedial action, and he hoped the city could send the remaining required samples quickly and that they would be below the action level for lead.

The records also suggest the DEQ was not as strict in disqualifying samples with low lead levels that did not meet the testing criteria as it was in disqualifying samples with high lead readings.

'It's ... not enough'

Flint, which was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager at the time of the cost-cutting move, switched its drinking water source, starting in April 2014, from Lake Huron water supplied by Detroit to the much more polluted and corrosive water from the Flint River.

The state has acknowledged that it misinterpreted a federal rule and failed to require Flint to add needed corrosion-control chemicals that would have prevented lead from leaching into the drinking water from pipes, connections and fixtures.

That change in the drinking-water source brought immediate complaints from Flint residents about the taste, smell and appearance of the water. The lead tests of the water could have spurred action in July, but it was not until October — after blood test results analyzed by Hurley Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha showed elevated lead levels in Flint children — that the DEQ admitted making a mistake by failing to require the addition of corrosion-control chemicals to the Flint River water. The state also then provided funds to help Flint reconnect to Lake Huron water supplied by Detroit.

Lead can cause irreversible brain damage in children and has also been linked to behavioral problems.

Melissa Mays, a Flint resident who drank the contaminated water along with her three boys, said she was more shocked by Snyder's apology than by Wyant's resignation. She welcomed the announcements but said more DEQ officials need to be removed because Flint residents can't trust those officials to make sure their water is safe to drink today.

"This all should have happened a long time ago, and it's also not enough," she said.

Mays questioned why Snyder has not endorsed Flint Mayor Karen Weaver's declaration of a state of emergency in Flint, which she said would help secure federal funding to help rectify problems.

Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said "no formal request has been made to the state" to declare a state of emergency in Flint.

"We are committed to working with Mayor Weaver and Genesee County leaders," and the emergency management division of the Michigan State Police is working with city and county officials on potential avenues for federal aid, Murray said.

The crisis has prompted a federal class-action and calls for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Goals: Openness, trust

Snyder said "changes in leadership and staff are not enough. I understand there can be disagreements within the scientific community. That is why I have directed both the departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Human Services to invite every external scientist who has worked on this issue to be our partners in helping us improve Flint water."

Snyder said he wants to "share research on water and blood-lead level testing so we can arrive at accurate and mutually supported conclusions. Together, we should work to affirm that we’re using the very best testing protocols to ensure Flint residents have safe drinking water and that we’re taking steps to protect their health over the short and long term."

The other personnel changes at DEQ referenced by Snyder, aside from Wurfel's resignation, have not yet been made, Murray said.

“I know many Flint citizens are angry and want more than an apology," Snyder said. "That’s why I’m taking the actions today to ensure a culture of openness and trust. We’ve already allocated $10 million to test the water, distribute water filters, and help in other ways. Last week, I called Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, and we’re going to meet soon to discuss other ways the state can offer assistance.

“These are only initial steps - we fully expect to take more actions following the recommendations of our task force. When it comes to matters of health and quality of life, we’re committed to doing everything we can to protect the well-being of our citizens.”

The letter from the task force said a minimalist culture of "technical compliance" had developed in the DEQ's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance and "it led to MDEQ's failure to recognize a number of indications that switching the water source in Flint would — and did — compromise both water safety and water quality."

The office "must adopt a posture that is driven not by this minimalist technical compliance approach, but rather by one that is founded on what needs to be done to assure drinking water safety," the letter said.

The letter also said that both the tone and substance of DEQ statements to the public during the crisis were "completely unacceptable," marked by a "persistent tone of scorn and derision."

Task force members met with Wyant, and while he agreed with many of the task force's interim conclusions, "it was disappointing to hear his weak defense of the (corrosion control) decision," the letter said.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said the personnel changes Snyder announced could be a sign of progress if they "lead to a more aggressive response and resources to improve public health."

"I still believe that legislative hearings will be required to get all the answers and help shape the necessary policy changes, and ensure this never happens again," Ananich said in a news release.

"Dan Wyant gets to walk away from this crisis, but the people of Flint do not," said Lonnie Scott, the group's executive director. "There's a lot we don't know about this man-made catastrophe. What did Gov. Snyder know and when did he know it? We need complete transparency so that justice for the families of Flint can be realized and the proper people can be held accountable."

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660, pegan@freepress.com or on Twitter @paulegan4