Flint Water Crisis update: Criminal charges filed against 3; 'only the beginning' says Attorney General; Governor Snyder believes he did nothing criminal
Three government employees were charged criminally by the office of the Michigan state Attorney General in the Flint water contamination probe. Two were state employees of the environmental department who both entered a plea of 'not guilty,' Stephen Busch and Mike Prysby, and the third, a Flint local employee, Mike Glasgow.
Busch and Prysby were charged with allegedly misleading the United States government regarding the Flint water contamination. Specifically, these two state employees were brought under felony charges: two counts of office misconduct; one, tampering with evidence; and one, conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Misdemeanor charges were also brought against the two for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, one for water treatment and the other for monitoring.
In Prysby's case, a misconduct violation is for allegedly authorizing a permit for the operation of the Flint Water Treatment Plant knowing it was inadequately doing its job of providing safe drinking water.
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Both were released on their own recognizance and paid the bond of $10,000 for each count charged against them.
Glasgow was charged with the alleged alteration of the test results on the water samples in a 2015 report, "Lead and Copper Report and Consumer Notice of Lead Result." He was purportedly told by Busch and Prysby to alter the results on water quality as well as remove those samples with the highest lead levels.
Attorney General Bill Schuette said at a press conference, "They had a duty to protect the health and safety of the families and citizens of Flint. They failed Michigan families. Indeed, they failed us all ..."
The press conference was held after the prosecutor of the Genesee County, Michigan, David Leyton, had announced the charges for the three officials. But Flint residents are not satisfied as they believe the criminality extends to the top of the state government.
"No one is above the law, not on my watch," said Schuette, as he vowed to go after anyone else guilty in the Flint water crisis.
The Attorney General said that the investigation is still ongoing in order to uncover others involved in the crime against the almost 100,000 predominantly black residents of Flint. Other charges will be filed, according to Schuette, although he did not elaborate who the targets of the continuing investigation were or even when they will be charged.
Governor Rick Snyder also issued a statement that he is supporting efforts to amass evidence to prove wrongdoing in order to go after those responsible. At a later news conference, when asked whether he did anything criminal, the governor replied that he did not believe so. He went on to say that due process of the law would show whether those charged acted with criminal intent.
In a show of faith in the safety of Flint's drinking water amid the lead crisis, Snyder announced Monday that, for at least 30 days, at work and at home, he will drink filtered tap water. This came in the light of calls for his resignation.
"I completely understand why some Flint residents are hesitant to drink the water and I am hopeful I can alleviate some of the skepticism and mistrust by putting words to action," the governor said in a statement.
The Flint water crisis came into light in 2014 when the city switched its water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which drew its water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River, to the Flint River, which has a reputation for being filthy.
Adding to this, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality did not treat the corrosive water, causing it to eat into the iron and lead pipes of the system, leaching lead into the drinking water supply. But it was not only lead which was found in the water supply; Escherichia coli, carcinogens, and toxins in high levels were also detected. The switch in water source came as a cost-saving effort.
In children, exposure to lead can cause learning disabilities as well as behavioral problems. Since early this year, as many as 50 lawsuits have been filed, with one class-action suit claiming that residents are suffering health problems as hair, vision and memory loss, skin lesions, and depression as a result of drinking the contaminated water.
