EPA stayed silent on Flint's tainted water Jim Lynch, The Detroit News The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's top Midwest official said her department
knew as early as April about the lack of corrosion controls in Flint's water
supply a situation that likely put residents at risk for lead contamination
but said her hands were tied in bringing the information to the public.
Starting with inquiries made in February, the federal agency battled Michigan's
Department of Environmental Quality behind the scenes for at least six months
over whether Flint needed to use chemical treatments to keep lead lines and
plumbing connections from leaching into drinking water. The EPA did not
publicize its concern that Flint residents' health was jeopardized by the
state's
insistence that such controls were not required by law. Instead of moving
quickly to verify the concerns or take preventative measures, federal officials
opted to prod the DEQ to act, EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman told The
Detroit News this week. Hedman said she sought a legal opinion on whether
the EPA could force action, but it wasn't completed until November. The state
didn't agree to apply corrosion controls until late July and didn't publicly
concede until October that it erroneously applied the federal Lead and Copper
Rule overseeing water quality. An EPA water expert, Miguel Del Toral, identified
potential problems with Flint's drinking water in February, confirmed the
suspicions in April and summarized the looming problem in a June internal memo.
The state decided in October to change Flint's drinking water source from the
corrosive Flint River back to the Detroit water system. Critics have charged
Hedman with attempting to keep the memo's information in-house and downplaying
its significance. As soon as the lack of corrosion controls became apparent,
state and federal officials should have acted to protect the public, said
Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards, whose water analysis in 2015 helped
uncover
Flint's lead contamination. "At that point, you do not just have smoke, you
have a three-alarm fire and should respond immediately," said Edwards, who,
along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, has obtained dozens
of key documents related to Flint's crisis through public record requests.
"There was no sense of urgency at any of the relevant agencies, with the
obvious exception of Miguel Del Toral, and he was silenced and discredited.
About
five months after being alerted to the lack of corrosion controls, a researcher
at Hurley Medical Center in Flint began in August detecting high levels
of lead in the bloodwork of city children. Lead poisoning can cause learning
disabilities and, at high levels, may lead to seizures, coma and death,
according
to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hedman defended her
agency's handling of the Flint water situation, saying her water quality
staff repeatedly worked to convince the DEQ that corrosion controls were needed
to no avail. "Let's be clear, the recommendation to DEQ (regarding the
need for corrosion controls) occurred at higher and higher levels during this
time period," Hedman said in a Detroit News interview. "And the answer kept
coming back from DEQ that 'no, we are not going to make a decision until after
we see more testing results . ' Flint's long-running water problems with
drinking water have shaken Michigan's government, leading to last month's
resignation of DEQ Director Dan Wyant and last week's state declaration of an
emergency in the city. An independent task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder
to review the situation placed the bulk of the blame for Flint's crisis
on the DEQ. The federal government's actions are worth exploring, said Chris
Kolb, co-chairman of the task force. "We have made a request to speak with
a number of EPA employees," said Kolb, president of the Michigan Environmental
Council and a former Democratic state representative. Flint's water crisis
gained a national profile in the past week, as President Barack Obama's chief
of staff said Sunday the White House is "very concerned" and is monitoring
the situation "very closely. Former Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a
Democratic presidential hopeful, called on the administration Tuesday to
"step up" with assistance for Flint as well as do an "expedited review" of the
city's water infrastructure. DEQ-EPA battle DEQ and EPA staffers were at
loggerheads over dueling interpretations of the Lead and Copper Rule a
25-year-old regulation designed to protect drinking water from metals
contamination.
The interpretation of the rule proved to be crucial after the city under
Snyder-appointed emergency managers switched from Lake Huron water provided by
the Detroit system to Flint River water as a cost-saving move in the spring of
2014. Following the switch, DEQ officials argued water testing, including
two six-month periods of sampling, needed to be completed before making a
decision on the need for corrosion controls. EPA officials, according to Hedman,
wanted the controls implemented immediately out of concern for public health.
If they knew Flint's lack of corrosion measures would likely result in lead
reaching the drinking water by June, testing would show it had why didn't EPA
officials inform the public when the DEQ failed to act? Hedman said federal
law clearly lays out the state and federal responsibilities in overseeing safe
drinking water. The EPA's role is to establish treatment standards and
monitoring
techniques, and provide technical assistance, she said. The state acts as the
primary regulator of water operations. "It is important to understand the
clear roles here," Hedman said. "Communication about lead in drinking water and
the health impacts associated with that, that's the role of DHHS, the county
health department and the drinking water utility. In addition, EPA officials
argue that there wasn't sufficient early evidence for any sweeping steps to
be taken. Hedman said the EPA talked with its legal counsel about its authority
to compel action a question that wouldn't be straightened out for months.
In the interim, she said her agency urged Michigan to have its Department of
Health and Human Services provide information on precautions for residents.
EPA's lack of urgency But critics such as Edwards contend Hedman acted with no
urgency, even behind the scenes. A week after the June 24 memo was circulated,
an email exchange between Hedman and then-Flint Mayor Dayne Walling showed no
sense of alarm over the threat to public health and more concern about
procedure.
"The preliminary draft report should not have been released outside the
agency," Hedman wrote in the July 1 email. "When the report has been revised and
fully vetted by EPA management, the findings and recommendations will be shared
with the city and DEQ will be responsible for following up with the city.
The revised and vetted memo was released four months later in November. Edwards
has described Del Toral's original memo as "100 percent accurate" in its
assessment of the looming problem. Flint's drinking water ills led to the
resignations last month of both Wyant and DEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel. It also
caused the October reassignment of Liane Shekter Smith, then chief of DEQ's
Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance. The crisis prompted Snyder
to switch Flint back over to the Detroit water system in mid-October until a
new regional water authority using Lake Huron as its source is completed later
this year. Despite all of the moves, officials warn that unfiltered Flint water
is still not safe to drink. There has been no fallout for federal environmental
officials. "There's been a failure at all levels to accurately assess the scale
of the public health crisis in Flint, and that problem is ongoing," said
state Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint. "However, the EPA's Miguel
Del Toral did excellent work in trying to expose this disaster. Anyone who
read his memo and failed to act should be held accountable to the fullest
extent of the law. Congressman Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, stressed that the
lion's share of responsibility for Flint's situation lies with the state DEQ.
Yet he has questions about how the Lead and Copper Rule ostensibly a safeguard
for the public may have contributed to EPA's response. If changes are
necessary, he wants them made. "There is a legitimate concern about EPA's
performance
in terms of alerting the public," Kildee said. "And frankly, as a member of
Congress, I want to know when there's the potential of a health crisis in my
district. jlynch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (313) 222-2034
