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House GOP Quietly Closes Flint, Mich. Water Investigation
By matthew daly, associated press
WASHINGTON — Dec 16, 2016, 4:04 PM ET
Congressional Republicans quietly closed a year-long investigation into Flint, Michigan's crisis over lead in its drinking water, faulting both state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency for contamination that has affected nearly 100,000 residents.
In letters to fellow Republicans, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Friday that Michigan and federal officials were slow in detecting high levels of lead in the water and did not act fast enough once the problem was discovered.
The committee findings offer no new information and essentially summarize what emerged during several high-profile hearings earlier this year.
"The committee found significant problems at Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality and unacceptable delays in the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the crisis," wrote Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. "The committee also found that the federal regulatory framework is so outdated that it sets up states to fail."
Flint's drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit water system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The impoverished city was under state control at the time.
Regulators failed to ensure the water was treated properly and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply.
After nearly a year of haggling, Congress cleared legislation last week to provide $170 million to deal with the Flint crisis and help other communities with lead-tainted water.
In his letters to fellow GOP lawmakers, Chaffetz cites "a series of failures at all levels of government" that "caused and then exacerbated the water crisis."
While the Republican chairman signaled the apparent conclusion of the inquiry — Congress ended its two-year session last week — the panel's senior Democrat insisted the investigation should continue and accused Michigan's Republican governor of stonewalling the committee over documents related to the Flint water crisis.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, senior Democrat on the oversight panel, said he wants Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to produce key Flint-related documents within 30 days. Cummings said Snyder and his administration have obstructed the committee's investigation into the Flint crisis for a year, refusing to provide — or even search for — key documents.
Snyder's intransigence has thwarted committee efforts to answer critical questions about what he knew as the crisis unfolded and why he didn't act sooner to fix Flint's water problem, Cummings said.
"Requiring Governor Snyder to finally comply with the committee's request will allow us to complete our investigation and offer concrete findings and recommendations to help prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again," Cummings wrote to Chaffetz. "In contrast, allowing Governor Snyder to flout the committee's authority will deny the people of Flint the answers they deserve."
It's highly unlikely Republicans who control Congress will continue the inquiry next year.
A spokeswoman for Snyder said the governor's office has provided the committee with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and the committee has wrapped up its investigation.
"In Michigan, we are working hard each day to continue Flint's full recovery with funding for pipe replacement and health care for residents," spokeswoman Anna Heaton said, adding that it is "not productive to spend time engaging in partisan political attacks from out-of-state politicians" such as Cummings.
Chaffetz addressed his letters to the chairmen of committees that oversee congressional spending and the EPA. He asked them to consider redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars now targeted to fighting climate change to upgrade the nation's drinking water pipes and other infrastructure. Chaffetz also asked for closer congressional oversight of the EPA, saying the agency has failed to update rules concerning lead and copper pipes nationwide.
Aryele Bradford, a spokeswoman for Democrats on the oversight panel, called it "inexplicable" that Chaffetz would "rush to close down this investigation." His action "does a real disservice to the families of Flint who hoped they would get a fair shake from our committee," she said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/dem-lawmaker-michigan-gov-snyder-stonewalling-flint-44240212
WASHINGTON — Dec 16, 2016, 4:04 PM ET
Congressional Republicans quietly closed a year-long investigation into Flint, Michigan's crisis over lead in its drinking water, faulting both state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency for contamination that has affected nearly 100,000 residents.
In letters to fellow Republicans, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Friday that Michigan and federal officials were slow in detecting high levels of lead in the water and did not act fast enough once the problem was discovered.
The committee findings offer no new information and essentially summarize what emerged during several high-profile hearings earlier this year.
"The committee found significant problems at Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality and unacceptable delays in the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the crisis," wrote Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. "The committee also found that the federal regulatory framework is so outdated that it sets up states to fail."
Flint's drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit water system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The impoverished city was under state control at the time.
Regulators failed to ensure the water was treated properly and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply.
After nearly a year of haggling, Congress cleared legislation last week to provide $170 million to deal with the Flint crisis and help other communities with lead-tainted water.
In his letters to fellow GOP lawmakers, Chaffetz cites "a series of failures at all levels of government" that "caused and then exacerbated the water crisis."
While the Republican chairman signaled the apparent conclusion of the inquiry — Congress ended its two-year session last week — the panel's senior Democrat insisted the investigation should continue and accused Michigan's Republican governor of stonewalling the committee over documents related to the Flint water crisis.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, senior Democrat on the oversight panel, said he wants Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to produce key Flint-related documents within 30 days. Cummings said Snyder and his administration have obstructed the committee's investigation into the Flint crisis for a year, refusing to provide — or even search for — key documents.
Snyder's intransigence has thwarted committee efforts to answer critical questions about what he knew as the crisis unfolded and why he didn't act sooner to fix Flint's water problem, Cummings said.
"Requiring Governor Snyder to finally comply with the committee's request will allow us to complete our investigation and offer concrete findings and recommendations to help prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again," Cummings wrote to Chaffetz. "In contrast, allowing Governor Snyder to flout the committee's authority will deny the people of Flint the answers they deserve."
It's highly unlikely Republicans who control Congress will continue the inquiry next year.
A spokeswoman for Snyder said the governor's office has provided the committee with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and the committee has wrapped up its investigation.
"In Michigan, we are working hard each day to continue Flint's full recovery with funding for pipe replacement and health care for residents," spokeswoman Anna Heaton said, adding that it is "not productive to spend time engaging in partisan political attacks from out-of-state politicians" such as Cummings.
Chaffetz addressed his letters to the chairmen of committees that oversee congressional spending and the EPA. He asked them to consider redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars now targeted to fighting climate change to upgrade the nation's drinking water pipes and other infrastructure. Chaffetz also asked for closer congressional oversight of the EPA, saying the agency has failed to update rules concerning lead and copper pipes nationwide.
Aryele Bradford, a spokeswoman for Democrats on the oversight panel, called it "inexplicable" that Chaffetz would "rush to close down this investigation." His action "does a real disservice to the families of Flint who hoped they would get a fair shake from our committee," she said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/dem-lawmaker-michigan-gov-snyder-stonewalling-flint-44240212
dsert... As both, a water operator and licensed backflow assembly tester and repairer (gave up my backflow license when I retired), I can tell you, you're right... but the operators shouldn't have to use the water to care about what's in those lines... When they get that license and agree to operate that system, they agree to abide by the Safe Drinking Water rules...
I have my own well, so I didn't use the water that was in the lines of the systems I operated, but I did operate my plants the way they were supposed to be operated and the testing was done as was required by our State DEP, which gets its rules straight out of EPA's play book... Part of the time I was operating, I worked for a government entity and my paperwork was subject to inspection at all times.
I think I do remember reading that the operator(s) in Flint, MI were told to, either, suppress or alter operations log books or lab reports (or maybe both). Either of those activities are grounds to take an operator's license away...
I think each state does things a bit differently, but we also have our County Health Departments looking over the operators' shoulders, doing random testing, as well, along with our Florida Rural Water Association that will come help out with any problems we run into... there's a National Rural Water Association, so I'm sure that help is available nationwide and I'm trying to figure out why states aren't making use of it.
I've been retired for a few years now (still maintain my operator's license), but Florida used to have a low interest loan program available for water and wastewater systems to borrow from to upgrade their systems. Unfortunately, very few owners or municipalities were interested in utilizing the money.
I have my own well, so I didn't use the water that was in the lines of the systems I operated, but I did operate my plants the way they were supposed to be operated and the testing was done as was required by our State DEP, which gets its rules straight out of EPA's play book... Part of the time I was operating, I worked for a government entity and my paperwork was subject to inspection at all times.
I think I do remember reading that the operator(s) in Flint, MI were told to, either, suppress or alter operations log books or lab reports (or maybe both). Either of those activities are grounds to take an operator's license away...
I think each state does things a bit differently, but we also have our County Health Departments looking over the operators' shoulders, doing random testing, as well, along with our Florida Rural Water Association that will come help out with any problems we run into... there's a National Rural Water Association, so I'm sure that help is available nationwide and I'm trying to figure out why states aren't making use of it.
I've been retired for a few years now (still maintain my operator's license), but Florida used to have a low interest loan program available for water and wastewater systems to borrow from to upgrade their systems. Unfortunately, very few owners or municipalities were interested in utilizing the money.
And if Flint, MI isn't enough...
"Louisiana declares public health emergency in St. Joseph
By Khushbu Shah, CNN
Updated 8:52 PM ET, Tue December 20, 2016
(CNN) Each week for months, Janet Thornton has spent $20 to buy drinking water for her husband and herself.
"We don't have a lot of money," she said, "so we just boil the water on the stove for our dogs. No one has told us if that's OK."
This past spring, the town of St. Joseph was dealing with "not aesthetically pleasing" brown water running through residents' faucets. State health officials said then it was not dangerous.
Now, a few months later, water in this Louisiana town of about 1,000 shows high amounts of lead in some samples, and it may be dangerous.
On December 16, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a public health emergency in the town after two of 13 site samples the day before showed elevated levels of lead, which was absent from water samples at the start of the year.
Two other residences had elevated levels of copper, according to a Friday release from the governor's office. "The town of St. Joseph has experienced water problems for years due to the poorly maintained and deteriorating water distribution system. Frequent breaks in the water distribution system provide a potential health risk because of the drop in water pressure," the release added.
Monday, Edwards visited St. Joseph along with state health officials, urging residents to use bottled water for brushing teeth and food preparation.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is asking people not to drink the tap water for at least 30 days, according to State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry. The state is handing out 3 liters of drinking water per person per day for the next 30 days, he said, as officials attempt to test water from every running water source.
A bottle left by health officials from Baton Rouge to collect samples sat on her porch Tuesday, Thornton said. She has been told to expect results from the water samples in two to four weeks.
"Right now, we're buying gallon jugs to wash our hair and using adult washrags to bathe because our water is only good for flushing toilets," Thornton said. But Guidry said he is not worried about the absorption of lead through the skin.
Thornton and her husband still receive a $50 water bill every month. Neither she nor her husband have received the 6 liters of water allocated to their household since the Public Health Emergency was issued by the governor.
Thornton doesn't blame Edwards, but rather the outgoing mayor of St. Joseph, Edward Brown, who has been mayor since 2000. She blames him for financial problems that stalled the new water management system that was planned for installation this year.
"I'm so glad they voted Mayor Brown out," she said.
In March 2016, Brown was accused of mismanaging and misappropriating funds, according to an investigative audit by the state legislative auditor. The audit also found Brown had sole control over construction contracts and awarded contracts to his cousin, Bobby Conner, amounting to $127,058 over five years.
Last year, the state committed $6 million to help fix the town's roughly 90-year-old water infrastructure. But the town couldn't access the money until the mayor turned in his annual town audit, which was due December 31, 2015.
"We completed the audit this June and the money was released," Brown told CNN. He called the late completion "a glitch."
A new mayor takes over in January, one who, Thornton hopes, will address the town's water management issue immediately.
"Most people are farmers and there is not a lot of money in this town," she said. "Lots of people don't have vehicles, so my guess is they're drinking and bathing in this water."
"Louisiana declares public health emergency in St. Joseph
By Khushbu Shah, CNN
Updated 8:52 PM ET, Tue December 20, 2016
(CNN) Each week for months, Janet Thornton has spent $20 to buy drinking water for her husband and herself.
"We don't have a lot of money," she said, "so we just boil the water on the stove for our dogs. No one has told us if that's OK."
This past spring, the town of St. Joseph was dealing with "not aesthetically pleasing" brown water running through residents' faucets. State health officials said then it was not dangerous.
Now, a few months later, water in this Louisiana town of about 1,000 shows high amounts of lead in some samples, and it may be dangerous.
On December 16, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a public health emergency in the town after two of 13 site samples the day before showed elevated levels of lead, which was absent from water samples at the start of the year.
Two other residences had elevated levels of copper, according to a Friday release from the governor's office. "The town of St. Joseph has experienced water problems for years due to the poorly maintained and deteriorating water distribution system. Frequent breaks in the water distribution system provide a potential health risk because of the drop in water pressure," the release added.
Monday, Edwards visited St. Joseph along with state health officials, urging residents to use bottled water for brushing teeth and food preparation.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is asking people not to drink the tap water for at least 30 days, according to State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry. The state is handing out 3 liters of drinking water per person per day for the next 30 days, he said, as officials attempt to test water from every running water source.
A bottle left by health officials from Baton Rouge to collect samples sat on her porch Tuesday, Thornton said. She has been told to expect results from the water samples in two to four weeks.
"Right now, we're buying gallon jugs to wash our hair and using adult washrags to bathe because our water is only good for flushing toilets," Thornton said. But Guidry said he is not worried about the absorption of lead through the skin.
Thornton and her husband still receive a $50 water bill every month. Neither she nor her husband have received the 6 liters of water allocated to their household since the Public Health Emergency was issued by the governor.
Thornton doesn't blame Edwards, but rather the outgoing mayor of St. Joseph, Edward Brown, who has been mayor since 2000. She blames him for financial problems that stalled the new water management system that was planned for installation this year.
"I'm so glad they voted Mayor Brown out," she said.
In March 2016, Brown was accused of mismanaging and misappropriating funds, according to an investigative audit by the state legislative auditor. The audit also found Brown had sole control over construction contracts and awarded contracts to his cousin, Bobby Conner, amounting to $127,058 over five years.
Last year, the state committed $6 million to help fix the town's roughly 90-year-old water infrastructure. But the town couldn't access the money until the mayor turned in his annual town audit, which was due December 31, 2015.
"We completed the audit this June and the money was released," Brown told CNN. He called the late completion "a glitch."
A new mayor takes over in January, one who, Thornton hopes, will address the town's water management issue immediately.
"Most people are farmers and there is not a lot of money in this town," she said. "Lots of people don't have vehicles, so my guess is they're drinking and bathing in this water."
3 Comments
As a licensed water treatment plant operator, I wish I could tell this poor woman that boiling the water won't get rid of the lead (or copper), like it will bacteria, and it's not good for her dogs, either...
I'm trying to figure out what's going on, here with municipalities that have bad water and think it's okay to just leave it that way. They are all required to have licensed operators, just like me - some have higher licenses than I do... what are those operators doing? Why aren't they yelling from the roof tops and why isn't EPA/DEP/Dept of Health enforcing their, rather stringent, rules regarding lead and copper?
The water is safe to bathe in (as long as it's not swallowed), clean with and flush toilets, water lawns, etc, but certainly not to cook with or drink...
I'm trying to figure out what's going on, here with municipalities that have bad water and think it's okay to just leave it that way. They are all required to have licensed operators, just like me - some have higher licenses than I do... what are those operators doing? Why aren't they yelling from the roof tops and why isn't EPA/DEP/Dept of Health enforcing their, rather stringent, rules regarding lead and copper?
The water is safe to bathe in (as long as it's not swallowed), clean with and flush toilets, water lawns, etc, but certainly not to cook with or drink...
Although I don't have the specific answer I do know that much of our infrastructure needs rebuilding yet, nobody seemed to want to talk about that during the election. If we took the money from our endless wars we'd have plenty to replace pipes and keep the waters flowing clean and healthy. Our priorities as a nation are not where they should be, in my opinion
Barb, I can't tell you went wrong with these systems or these operators (though I could make some guesses).
As a licensed backflow assembly tester I can tell you some characteristics that good systems I helped maintain shared:
1) The licensed operators and their families used the water they treated and distributed.
2) The paperwork in the lab was turned in accurately and in a timely manner.
3) The systems were overseen not only by State inspectors, but also by the PHSCC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps
4) They had backflow control programs that weren't just some typed pages in a binder thrown in the back of some supervisor's drawer. Inspections were done regularly, records were kept, and they were inspected by the State Commission on Environmental Quality.
As a licensed backflow assembly tester I can tell you some characteristics that good systems I helped maintain shared:
1) The licensed operators and their families used the water they treated and distributed.
2) The paperwork in the lab was turned in accurately and in a timely manner.
3) The systems were overseen not only by State inspectors, but also by the PHSCC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps
4) They had backflow control programs that weren't just some typed pages in a binder thrown in the back of some supervisor's drawer. Inspections were done regularly, records were kept, and they were inspected by the State Commission on Environmental Quality.
Yesterday, on the news I heard there are areas in the US with lead problems 4 times that of Flint.
They found this out during a program where they test toddlers at 1 and 3 for lead.
This is really frightening how basic needs are falling through the cracks. Hell they aren't cracks anymore they are valleys.
They found this out during a program where they test toddlers at 1 and 3 for lead.
This is really frightening how basic needs are falling through the cracks. Hell they aren't cracks anymore they are valleys.
2 Comments
And yet they do nothing. Doesn't it make you question the benevolence or at least the effectiveness of government... just a little?
I agree with you, our government no longer works for the people. We spend billions on advanced war technology that doesn't work while our infrastructure is failing. Clean water for everyone should not be even questioned.
I wish these people would quit worrying about who to blame for these things and just fix them. Water is a basic necessity and as long as we are going to have an EPA and a DEQ, the frigging water provided to the citizens needs to be drinkable. No excuses.
"He asked them to consider redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars now targeted to fighting climate change to upgrade the nation's drinking water pipes and other infrastructure."
Riiight. Our National Parks alone, have have a 12 billion (with a 'B') dollar maintenance backlog. So it's the drop in the bucket we currently spend trying to keep the environment from degrading any further that will keep your roads from being repaired and your leaky, toxic public utilities from being fixed. Not the firehose of tax breaks for the wealthy.
Gotcha.
Riiight. Our National Parks alone, have have a 12 billion (with a 'B') dollar maintenance backlog. So it's the drop in the bucket we currently spend trying to keep the environment from degrading any further that will keep your roads from being repaired and your leaky, toxic public utilities from being fixed. Not the firehose of tax breaks for the wealthy.
Gotcha.
1 Comments
There is no excuse for that backlog, not with the amount of money they take in.
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