Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press

LANSING -- More criminal charges will be announced Tuesday in the ongoing Flint drinking water investigation, according to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office

Schuette has called a 10:30 a.m. news conference at the Riverfront Banquet Center in Flint, at which the total number of people criminally charged in the investigation will reach double digits.

No details were released Monday on who would be charged. Schuette has repeatedly said his criminal investigation will go wherever the evidence leads.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office are also conducting an investigation into the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water supply, which caused a spike in the blood levels of Flint children.

Schuette's office said he will be joined at the event by special counsel Todd Flood, a Royal Oak attorney who is leading the Flint investigation, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, and other members of the investigative team.

So far, Schuette has brought charges against eight current or former State of Michigan employees and one City of Flint employee.

►Related:State, EPA share blame for Flint, panel says

Schuette, a Republican who is expected to run for governor in 2018, has also brought civil charges against consulting firms who worked on the Flint Water Treatment Plant.

Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in April of 2014 after the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched from treated water supplied from Detroit to raw water from the Flint River, which was treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials have acknowledged a mistake in failing to require corrosion control chemicals to be added to the water. As a result, lead leached from pipes, joints and fixtures into Flint households.

Officials are also investigating possible links between the water switch and outbreaks of deadly Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area.

Though lead levels in the water have come down significantly since the state acknowledged the contamination around Oct. 1, 2015, residents are still advised not to drink tap water without a filter. Many still rely on bottled water, which can be picked up free at distribution centers in Flint.

Five of the current or former state employees charged are from the DEQ. Three are from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Corinne Miller, the former director of the Bureau of Disease Control, Prevention and Epidemiology at DHHS, pleaded no contest to in September to willful neglect of duty by a public officer. At that time, two felonies were dismissed, including misconduct in office. As part of the agreement, Miller, who retired from the department in 2016, must cooperate with the investigation and offer truthful testimony.

In May, Michael Glasgow, the City of Flint's laboratory and water quality supervisor, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of willful neglect of duty with the understanding a felony charge against him, tampering with evidence, would be dismissed. He also pledged to cooperated with the investigation.

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