The Flint Crisis-Who is to blame?

Today’s topic starts with another inappropriate apology. We all know the present crisis of contaminated water and lead poisoning among Flint residents. But let’s peel back the onion a bit here.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder gave a State of the State address Tuesday night, following remarks he made a day earlier on how he's made mistakes in handling the Flint, Mich., water crisis.

"I'm sorry and I will fix it," Snyder said near the opening of his speech, directly addressing the residents of Flint. "Government failed you at the federal, state and local level."

And…pause. First of all a mistake is an understatement. Secondly, it was local officials who made the decision to change the water source so why add higher government into the mix as far as failures? By his own admittance, he never called a state of emergency to ask for Federal help. This issue really came to a head and received national attention from local residents speaking out, filing complaints with the EPA and putting the story out there on various social media outlets.

All of this started with the state appointing an emergency manager.  (Read emergency manager background here.) Supposedly, the decision was made locally to change the water source before he and his replacement were ever appointed.  Several sources claim that the decision was made by the mayor and voted on by the city council. His job was only to implement the decision they made.   He was just to manage and implement the change, oversee things. So if you follow the bouncing ball long enough it all comes down to saving money. The Flint contract to purchase water had expired under the old terms and instead of just signing the contract for 1-2 years until the new water pipeline was completed, they decided to do it on the cheap and use the river. That is not a decision you can just make on the fly. It is also not something you leave to the expertise of a manager to handle. This same manager was later appointed to be the emergency manager of schools. Which is it? Is he an expert in education or in water sanitation? That manager should have been a scientist, someone with the background to say, hey wait a minute here. We need this water tested before it is ever consumed by humans. If they had done that simple step, all of this could have been avoided. They would have known that water was contaminated and had to negotiate a new contract. While saving money is always seen as a success, clearly you have to weigh the options when it comes to public safety. At the end of the day everyone is pointing the finger at the other. The manager states that the decision to use the river was already made when he came on board but he was just tasked to oversee it. The city government to include the Mayor and City Council members say that was not the case. The more you dog the more you will find that the truth lies in the middle. Ultimately, both sides of the table made a bad decision to save money during the 1--2 year interim until the new pipe line was ready to go. Secondly, the decision to use river water and the closed down Flint water site to filter it was poorly executed and managed. Third, they were aware of issues with the sanitation of that water from the beginning but cries from residents were ignored. Not just from local officials and the emergency manager but the EPA itself. Now these residents are struggling with not only unsanitary and unsafe water conditions but health issues such as lead poisoning and Legionnaires Disease. 

While Legionnaires disease resolves in a year and very rarely does it cause long term effects , Lead poisoning, especially in children, has serious health repercussions that include but are not limited to: learning disabilities, developmental delays and slowed growth. No matter how you feel about the situation, we all know that this would never have been allowed to happen in an affluent neighborhood/community. Class-ism at it's finest. Some people have been asking me why I keep saying this is a race issue as well. There are all types of racism and this is also an example of environmental racism. Yes, there is such a thing. Flint has been dealing with this type of racism for years. This is just another example in a long line of many. Flint has definitely been disproportionately discriminated against in this manner and that is a direct violation of Title VI if the civil rights act. To save a bit of money these residents have been poisoned and there will be long term effects that will need to be managed and addressed. It really is a travesty. Even more disturbing is that the city is still expecting residents to pay for this polluted and poisoned water. Residents who do not pay their water bill and are found not to have running water can be fined and CPS can be called. The city owes it's residents more than an apology. They need answers and a plan that includes medical and financial compensation to move forward. All people need to be protected but people of color and the poor definitely need local and federal government to step up. Risk analysis, planning and management need to be in place in order to prevent these type of crises from happening in the 1st place.  

Update/additional information: Flint residents are being forced to pay for the filthy and contaminated water. If they do not pay, their city can place a lien on the home. Some people have lost their homes already. In addition, if they have children, CPS is called since the home does not have running water. What sense does this make? The water is not usable at all. So why are residents being penalized and investigated because they will not pay for it? This makes no sense. Every city has laws about having running water in a home. However, in these circumstances, the law needs to be put on ice until the water situation is resolved. 

To further add insult to injury, at least 1 bottled water brand has been found to contain lead. Residents have special meters that they use to test water and at least 1 brand has been shown to contain lead as well. Why this story has not gotten more press and why people cannot see the level of environmental racism here is beyond me. What are your thoughts on the crisis?