Former head of environmental protection subpoenaed over Flint water crisis

This time, it is accusing the Flint leaders of active discrimination of ordinary citizens by proving clean water to state office workers only.

Blame ricocheted around the room for hours, as lawmakers, a researcher, a Flint mother and government officials debated failures by Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA to deal with lead from corroded pipes that began leaching into city homes following the city’s 2014 cost-saving move to start pumping water from the Flint River.

Earley, along with Miguel Del Toral, an Environmental Protection Agency official, and Susan Hedman, the former regional head of the EPA who resigned amid the water crisis, did not appear before the committee Wednesday. But the hearing also found that the EPA did not intervene to force the state to take further action in the crisis until January 2016 even though the federal environmental body was aware of the dangerously elevated lead levels in Flint’s water as early as April 2015.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, instructed the Marshals to “hunt [Earley] down” if necessary to ensure he arrives on time to Wednesday’s House committee hearing.

“I agree with Flint residents, that they should not have to pay for water they can not drink”, Snyder said in a statement. All levels of government deserve blame in the Flint crisis, he says. “The governor hand-picked appointees to run the city and they chose to use water from the Flint River”.

Keith Creagh, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, testified that state officials focused on technical compliance with federal rules, “instead of assuring safe drinking water”.

Lead exposure is unsafe for all people but can have devastating effects on children, irreversibly harming their brain development, lowering their intelligence, stunting growth and leading to aggressive and anti-social behavior. She declined to say when the Federal Bureau of Investigation got involved. The oversight committee issued a subpoena to Earley on Tuesday, but his lawyer refused service, a committee staffer said. Wednesday’s hearing is the result of confusion and chaos for Flint residents who’ve recently learned their drinking water was contaminated with lead.

Amy Goodman: While many Michigan residents have called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign over the crisis, he was not asked to testify at today’s hearing.

“What happened in Flint was avoidable and never should have happened”, said Beauvais.

Since late previous year, when the crisis boiled over, the city’s people have been drinking bottled water, with help from donated home filter systems. Democrats blame the Republican governor and some Republicans have targeted the EPA for failing to intervene sooner.

Also on Tuesday, it was announced that Darnell Early, the state-appointed emergency manager for Flint when its water source was switched, will leave his current role in Detroit’s troubled school district four-and-a-half months early.

In the Senate, Democrats are pressing for money for Flint and threatened to block a bipartisan energy bill if the city doesn’t get some relief. “We’re serious about making sure that the people responsible for this manmade disaster are held accountable”, said Bernadel Jefferson, a bishop. He noted that other MI cities, such as Lansing, have replaced lead pipes over the course of several years but described “an issue of urgency” in Flint.