Snyder apologizes on Tuesday for decisions that caused the Michigan city’s water supply to be poisoned by lead as top state environment official resigns

Michigan governor Rick Snyder apologized on Tuesday for the debacle that caused the city of Flint’s water supply to be poisoned by lead, while the top state environment official resigned in light of a report that chiefly placed the blame for the crisis on his department.



The resignation was the latest in the crisis that has consumed the city of 100,000, as local doctors have warned in recent weeks that contaminated drinking water flowing from household taps may have affected more residents than originally thought.

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In a statement issued Tuesday, Snyder said the resignation of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality director (MDEQ) Dan Wyant was “appropriate to accept”, but he added that changes in leadership won’t be enough.

“I understand there can be disagreements within the scientific community,” Snyder said. “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 to improve Flint water.”

The governor also apologized for the pollution problems, in what appears to be the first instance he has directly offered an expression of regret since the crisis arose several months ago.

“I want the Flint community to know how very sorry I am that this has happened,” he 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.”

Flint has been embroiled in a never-ending stream of water quality issues that began in April 2014, when the city started pulling water from a local river as a cost-saving measure. The switch took place while Flint was operated by a state-appointed emergency manager, who held vast powers to oversee day-to-day operations, as the Rust Belt city was buckling under financial straits.

Residents immediately raised concerns about water that was suddenly cloudy, odorus and tasted rancid. Within months, General Motors had stopped using Flint water at a local engine plant because it was rusting machine parts. Initial tests also revealed elevated levels of chemical compounds in the water supply that can lead to liver or kidney issues.

Nonetheless, state environmental officials downplayed residents’ complaints and vehemently disputed local studies that found a link between elevated blood-lead levels among children and the water source switch, until, in October, Snyder conceded the situation had become a “public safety issue” and announced a $12m plan to transfer Flint back to its previous supply with the city of Detroit.

It was the lackadaisical approach by the MDEQ in addressing the crisis – from failing to properly treat the Flint river to officials belittling responses to public outcry – that bears the “primary responsibility for what happened in Flint” and must be held accountable, a Snyder-appointed task force said on Tuesday in a three-page report of interim findings.

The task force was created by Snyder to review what caused the situation and issue future recommendations. Along with Wyant, the environmental department’s spokesperson, Brad Wurfel, also resigned on Tuesday – saying he’s “particularly satisfied” with how he has “trained department staff to better communicate with the public and the press, and other departments”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Flint river flows through downtown Flint, Michigan, on 16 December. Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

According to the task force’s report, the department’s communication with the public often left much to be desired. The typical response offered by Wurfel and the agency on concerns about Flint’s water, the task force said, was “one of aggressive dismissal, belittlement, and attempts to discredit” independent studies.

“We find both the tone and substance of many MDEQ public statements to be completely unacceptable,” the task force said. “In a real way, the MDEQ represents the public, including the very individuals it treated dismissively and disrespectfully in public statements.”

The reported continued: “What is disturbing about MDEQ’s responses … is their persistent tone of scorn and derision. In fact, the MDEQ seems to have been more determined to discredit the work of others – who ultimately proved to be right – than to pursue its own oversight responsibility.”

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Snyder said Tuesday that he also plans to meet with Flint mayor Karen Weaver to discuss additional measures the state can take to offer assistance. Earlier this month, Weaver declared a state of emergency over the contaminated water supply, which comes amid calls for a criminal investigation and a pending class-action lawsuit.

Following the switch to the Flint River, researchers had found the proportion of children who experienced elevated blood-lead levels had spiked from 2.1% to 4%. In some areas, the number increased to as high as 6.3%, with blood lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter – an amount described officially as a public health concern. An earlier study, conducted by researchers from Virginia Tech, a group of citizen volunteers and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, found that water in 10% of homes it tested in the city had 25 parts per billion of lead, far exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level of 15 parts per billion.

Low-level exposure of lead can produce long-term health effects, particularly in young children, in the form of behavioral problems and learning disabilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no safe level of lead exposure.

State lawmakers praised the announcement from Snyder on Tuesday.

“If these personnel moves and change in tone lead to a more aggressive response and resources to improve public health, then we are finally making progress,” said state senate minority leader Jim Ananich in a statement. “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.”

Despite Snyder’s remarks and the shakeup at MDEQ, the task force said Tuesday that establishing responsibility is a “critical and urgent need” that shouldn’t wait until its final report is released next year.

“The city of Flint’s water customers … deserve a commitment to properly assess responsibility and ensure accountability,” the report said. “They also deserve a commitment to needed mitigation in both the short and long term.”

The task force didn’t mince words in the report’s conclusion:

“The Flint water crisis never should have happened. Having failed to prevent it, state government should coordinate a sustained public-health focused response to remedy, to the fullest extent possible, the impacts on the Flint community.”