Deal is reached in Flint disaster
A $600-million deal between the state of Michigan and Flint residents who were harmed by leadtainted water is a step toward making amends for a disaster that upended life in the poor, majority-Black city, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday.
State officials and lawyers for Flint residents announced the settlement, which Atty. Gen. Dana Nessel said would probably be the largest in Michigan history, with tens of thousands of potential claimants. It’s designed primarily to benefit children, who were most vulnerable to the debilitating effects of lead that fouled drinking water after Flint switched its source to save money in 2014.
City workers followed state environmental officials’ advice not to use anticorrosive additives. Without those treatments, water from the Flint River scraped lead from aging pipes and fixtures, contaminating tap water.
The disaster made Flint a nationwide symbol of governmental mismanagement, with residents of the city of nearly 100,000 lining up for bottled water and parents fearful their children had suffered permanent harm. A criminal investigation was resumed last year.
“What happened in Flint should have never happened, and financial compensation with this settlement is just one of the many ways we can continue to show our support for the city of Flint and its families,” said Whitmer, a Democrat.
Several judges must approve the agreement, which is intended to resolve all claims against the state. Residents can decline to take part and file separate lawsuits, but attorneys involved in the negotiations said they would urge their clients to participate.
Suits also have been filed against the city, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and two engineering consulting firms. They could join the state settlement by contributing agreed-on sums to the $600-million compensation fund.
The agreement establishes a process for submitting claims. Amounts awarded will depend on the number of claims and the extent of damage a person sustained between April 25, 2014, and July 31, 2016.
Nearly 80% will be distributed to claimants who were minors, with the largest share — 64.5% — going to those who were 6 or younger when first exposed to the contaminated water. About 30,000 children lived in Flint at the time.
Lead can harm people at any age but is especially dangerous to children, potentially damaging the brain and nervous system and causing learning and behavior problems.
Some 18% will go to adults and the rest to businesses or other specified relief programs.
Corey Stern, an attorney who represents about 2,600 minors, said many children would probably receive payments in the five- to six-figure range, with those badly harmed getting more.
Flint had long purchased drinking water from Detroit, about 70 miles south, but switched to the Flint River in April 2014. It was among money-saving measures recommended by an emergency manager appointed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder.
Residents complained that the water was discolored and tasted and smelled bad. They blamed it for rashes, hair loss and other health concerns, but local and state officials insisted it was safe.
Snyder, a Republican, eventually acknowledged the problem, accepted the resignation of his environmental chief and pledged to aid the city, which resumed using Detroit water.
Researchers said in late 2016 that lead was no longer detectable in many homes.