And it goes on with every agency in state government here including those with
VR, BSBP and others at the Flint State Office building referanced herein.
Oh yes the Michigan Department of Civil Rights offices in that building with a
water cooler months before Genesee County residents were informed of the
real dimensions of the crisis and while all agencies were saying the water is
safe!
Joe
DEQ official: Staffers earn raises for Flint work Joel Kurth , Jonathan Oosting
, Christine MacDonald and Jim Lynch , The Detroit News A top Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality official joked with employees that they deserved a
raise for handling citizen complaints about lead contamination of the Flint
water supply. On Sept. 30, one week before Gov. Rick Snyder ordered Flint to
stop using the Flint River for its water supply, DEQ official Richard Benzie
sent an email to seven employees within the office praising their handling of
the crisis. "I want to thank you for the effort you have made to respond
to this issue," wrote Benzie, who is field operations chief of the DEQ's Office
of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance. "It is noticed and appreciated.
In recognition for your performance, I have arranged for you to receive a 2
percent merit increase starting tomorrow. There was a raise the next day but
it was scheduled months in advance. It was a cost-of-living increase, and it
was for all state employees. The email, which described how workers should
respond to complaints about Flint water, is one of thousands of communications
from Michigan employees to federal, city of Flint and Genesee County from
2013 to late 2015 reviewed by The Detroit News that offer a glimpse about how
employees handled the growing crisis. Among other things, the emails show
that Benzie and others continued to insist Flint's drinking water met federal
standards a few days before Snyder acknowledged the contamination and ordered
the switch on Oct. 8. "Biggest firestorm I have experienced in almost 40 years.
And to think it is about a water system that has never exceeded an Action
Level," Benzie wrote on Oct. 5. Months earlier, Benzie raised concerns about
the state government's placement of water coolers in the Flint State Office
Building. The water was ordered in January 2015 as state officials assured
residents the municipal water was safe to drink. Benzie argued that state
employees
deserve as much protection as the public. "Why does 'public traffic' deserve a
higher consideration than concern for state workers? How does that reasoning
appear to state employees? Benzie wrote. "A visitor may take one drink of water
from this site in their lifetime. State workers (like any employees) may
get half the water they consume each day at their place of employment. Which
group faces the greater health risk from drinking water in state oc'cup'ied
premises? Other highlights include: ? EPA Michigan Program Manager Jennifer
Crooks saying she's "developing a thick skin" because of citizen complaints
and using a smiley face while describing Flint water. "Yep. Another complaint
about our favorite water supply :)" Crooks wrote on Oct. 14, 2014, forwarding
a complaint to DEQ officials. "Let me tell you, this Flint situation is a nasty
issue I've had people call me 4 letter words over the phone, yell at me
and call me a crook," she wrote Feb. 9, 2015. "I'm developing a thick skin. Two
days later, she wrote that resident complaints are "like ticking time bombs
around here. ? DEQ District Engineer Michael Prysby repeatedly telling
residents that drinking water from the Flint River is safe and downplaying
suggestions
otherwise from reporters and other officials. On Oct. 13, 2014, he emailed
details of an interview with a reporter after General Motors Co. stopped using
city water because it was corroding engine parts. "I stressed the importance of
not branding Flint's water as 'corrosive' from a public health standpoint
simply because it does not meet a manufacturing facility's limit for
production," Prysby wrote. On April 3, 2015, he responded to a question from a
resident
about how a sewage spill into the Flint River would affect the water. "I will
need to know the location of the spill and when it occurred," he wrote. The
woman replied: "I refuse to believe you are unaware of this incident. She
included a web link to a newspaper story about the discharge. It was the day
before. ? State officials blaming others for inflaming the passions of Flint
residents or not doing enough to assure them. "The state is trying like mad
to get the word out that we're working on every aspect of the health safety of
local water that we can manage and the system needs a lot of work ... but
it's been rough sledding with a steady parade of community groups keeping
everyone hopped-up and misinformed," Brad Wurfel, who was then the DEQ's
communications
director, wrote on Aug. 27, 2015. "I'm somewhat surprised that the leadership
in Flint has not responded better to the community questions," then-chief
of staff Dennis Muchmore wrote July 29, 2015. Both are no longer with the
state. Wurfel resigned in late December. Muchmore left the administration on
Jan. 20 to become a lobbyist. JKurth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @joeltkurth
