6 Michigan state workers charged in Flint water crisis
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan attorney general's office on Friday charged six state employees with misconduct in office and other crimes stemming from the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint.
A judge authorized the charges filed by the office of Attorney General Bill Schuette against three employees from the Department of Environmental Quality — Liane Shekter Smith, Adam Rosenthal and Patrick Cook — and three from the Department of Health and Human Services — Nancy Peeler, Corinne Miller and Robert Scott. Other charges against them include willful neglect of duty and various conspiracy counts, The Flint Journal reported.
Schuette planned to announce the charges later Friday at a news conference in Flint, a poor, majority-black city of 100,000 that for 18 months used the Flint River for tap water as a way to save money while a new pipeline was under construction. The decision was made by a state-appointed emergency manager. The water, which wasn't treated to control corrosion, leached lead from aging pipes and fixtures as it flowed into homes and businesses in the city about 55 miles north of Detroit. Elevated levels of the toxin were discovered in children.
Shekter Smith, former head of the state's drinking water office, appeared last month in a Detroit courtroom so her lawyer could assert her constitutional right against self-incrimination amid ongoing investigations. She hadn't yet been charged but was reassigned after the water crisis came to light and her firing was announced in February. At the time, her lawyer said she hadn't done anything wrong.
It's the second round of charges stemming from the water crisis. In January, Schuette announced the appointment of a special counsel to help his office investigate whether laws were broken. In April, two state regulators and a city employee were charged with official misconduct, evidence-tampering and other offenses. At the time, the Republican attorney general guaranteed others would also be charged.
Flint utilities administrator Mike Glasgow struck a deal with prosecutors in May, pledging cooperation in exchange for reduced charges as authorities continue investigating lead contamination of the impoverished Michigan city's drinking water supply. He entered a plea to one count of willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor, in exchange for dismissal of a felony charge of tampering with evidence.
Two officials with the state Department of Environmental Quality also were charged were charged with misconduct, conspiracy, tampering with test results and misdemeanor violations of clean-water law and await preliminary examinations.
In June, Schuette filed a lawsuit against two water engineering companies, saying their negligence caused and exacerbated Flint's lead-tainted water crisis and demanding what could total hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
The public health emergency was preceded by E. coli detections; resident complaints about color, odor and taste; and high levels of a disinfectant byproduct. A General Motors plant had stopped using the water just six months after the 2014 switch because it was rusting engine parts, and experts suspect a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak was tied to the water.
Gov. Rick Snyder has apologized for regulatory failures, and the state environmental agency has said it wasn't required to add an anti-corrosion chemical until after a year of testing.
In March, a state task force that investigated the Flint crisis concluded that it was a "case of environmental injustice." The Michigan Civil Rights Commission is holding public hearings on the matter.
Federal experts now say filtered tap water is safe for everyone to drink in Flint, although some doctors still are recommending bottled water for pregnant women and children ages 5 and younger.
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Jeff Karoub reported from Detroit.
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