9 must-read pages from Rick Snyder's e-mail drop
Detroit Free Press staff 11:38 p.m. EST January 20, 2016
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Governor Rick Snyder addresses the Flint water crisis during his State of the
State Tuesday in Lansing.(Photo: Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
Gov. Rick Snyder today released 274 pages of his personal e-mails from 2014 and
2015, as he and his staff seek to combat calls from protesters for him to
resign in the wake of the Flint water crisis.
Snyder pledged to reveal his Flint e-mails in Tuesday's State of the State
address, after
the Free Press editorial board
and others called for greater transparency from Michigan's executive office.
The governor’s office and Legislature are exempt
from Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, which requires public disclosure of
records related to government. Michigan is one of only two states that apply
a blanket exemption to electronic communication from the governor's office and
Legislature.
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DETROIT FREE PRESS
Snyder's e-mail release a start, but not nearly enough
Here are nine must-read pages from today's release.
You can read all the released e-mails here.
Page 2
Importance: High, the e-mail says. But it's 100% redacted. (The first page of
the report says that this e-mail involved an unrelated lawsuit and Snyder
invoked attorney-client privilege.)
Page 2 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 2 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
Page 71
Dennis Muchmore, Snyder's former chief of staff, writes an e-mail to the
governor dated Sept. 25, 2015, claiming that some in Flint were turning the
issue
of children's exposure to lead into "a political football." He said the real
responsibility for the water crisis rested with the county, city and KWA.
"I can't figure out why the state is responsible except that Dillon did make
the ultimate decision so we're not able to avoid the subject."
Page 71 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 71 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
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Page 58
Once Flint was approved into the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA), the Detroit
Water & Sewerage Department (DWSD) sent Flint a letter that formally terminated
their contract. According to the background information found on Page 58,
Genesee County was using DWSD water without a contract at that time.
Nevertheless,
the city of Flint promptly initiated a proposal to Michigan's Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) to use water from their historical backup system,
the Flint River. According to this document, the city of Flint could have
continued using DWSD water without a contract, instead of sourcing its own water
supply from the Flint River. "This proposed shift was billed as a money saver,"
the document notes. "But it put the city in the business of water production,
where they historically had been in the business of water transmission."
Page 58 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 58 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
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Page 102
This e-mail is one of the few released that was written by Snyder. Dated Oct.
2, 2015, Snyder asks staffers to look into "financing mechanisms" that are
available to Flint. He wants action "ASAP."
Page 102 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 102 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
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Page 109
In another e-mail sent from Snyder (on his iPad), he calls for a daily report
on Flint "until our recommendations are fully implemented." Among the items
Snyder mentioned as part of his daily report: water test results from public
schools, number of water filters distributed and new blood test results.
Page 109 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 109 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
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Page 269
Snyder's communications chief Jarrod Agen -- who is now the governor's chief of
staff -- outlined personnel changes at Michigan's Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) in advance of a letter from the Flint Water Task Force. Agen said
members of Snyder's team met and recommended making "structural changes
at DEQ as early as tomorrow." Wrote Agen: "The recommendations in this letter
suggest profound change at DEQ and openly criticize Director Wyant."
Page 269 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails.
Page 269 of Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint e-mails. (Photo: State of Michigan)
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Page 270-272
This a letter to Snyder from the Flint Water Advisory Task Force,
which blames the Department of Environmental Quality for the crisis. The letter
is what prompts Snyder's e-mail on Page 269.
Snyder e-mails 270-272
Source:
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/20/9-must-read-pages-rick-snyders-e-mail-drop/79086170/
