Flint water crisis: ex-governor and eight others charged after new inquiry
Nine people have been charged following a new investigation of the Flint water disaster, including the former Michigan governor Rick Snyder and key members of his administration, nearly seven years after the deadly crisis that contaminated an entire community.
Snyder and others have been accused of various crimes in a calamitous plan that released lead into the water and contributed to a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, authorities said Thursday.
Years after the decision to use the Flint River’s water, pipes at more than 9,700 Flint homes have been replaced and water quality has greatly improved. But prosecutors said it was not too late to pursue people responsible for one of the worst human-made environmental disasters in US history, a case that has been held up as a symbol of environmental injustice and racism.
It’s the second time that six of the nine people have faced charges; their previous cases were dropped in 2019 when a new prosecution team took over. Snyder is the biggest new name in the bunch, though his alleged crimes are not as serious as others: two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty.
Snyder’s former health director, Nick Lyon, and ex-chief medical executive, Dr Eden Wells, were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2015 deaths of nine people with Legionnaires’. Authorities said they had failed to alert the public about a regional spike in Legionnaires’ when the water system might have lacked enough chlorine to combat bacteria in the river water.
“The Flint water crisis is not some relic of the past,” Fadwa Hammoud, of the state attorney general’s office, told reporters. “At this very moment, the people of Flint continue to suffer from the categorical failure of public officials at all levels of government who trampled upon their trust and evaded accountability for far too long.”
All nine defendants pleaded not guilty during a series of brief court appearances.
The indictment alleges that Snyder failed to check the “performance, condition and administration” of his appointees and protect Flint’s nearly 100,000 residents when he knew the threat. The Republican served as governor from 2011 through 2018. Wearing a mask, Snyder, 62, said little during his hearing, which was conducted by video. A conviction carries up to a year in jail.
Snyder has acknowledged that his administration failed in Flint. But his attorney, Brian Lennon, said a criminal case against him was a “travesty”.
“These unjustified allegations do nothing to resolve a painful chapter in the history of our state,” Lennon said. “Today’s actions merely perpetrate an outrageous political persecution.”
In 2014, a Snyder-appointed emergency manager, Darnell Earley, who was running the financially struggling, majority Black city, carried out a money-saving decision to use the Flint River for water while a pipeline from Lake Huron was under construction.
The corrosive water, however, was not treated properly, a misstep that freed lead from old plumbing and into homes. Despite desperate pleas from residents holding jugs of discolored water, the Snyder administration, especially drinking water regulators, took no significant action until a doctor publicly reported elevated lead levels in children about 18 months later.
Lead can damage the brain and nervous system and cause learning and behavior problems.
Authorities counted at least 90 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County during the 2014-15 water switch, including 12 deaths.
The former mayor Karen Weaver, who was elected in 2015, after the disaster was recognized, said Snyder deserved more than misdemeanor charges.
“Snyder got a slap on the wrist and Flint got a slap in the face ... Not only did people lose their lives through Legionnaires’, we know women who had stillbirths and miscarriages,” Weaver said.
Separately, Michigan, Flint, a hospital and an engineering firm have agreed to a $641m settlement with residents.
Melodie Ingraham, 61, whose skin was irritated by the tainted water, said the criminal charges did not mean much to her.
“It’s awful late in the day. They’re worried about the wrong thing,” Ingraham said. “The issue is getting Flint back up and running, being safe again.”