Jul
19
EPA Report Faults Response to Flint Water Crisis
ByWeak oversight at local, state and federal levels delayed action to protect the Michigan city’s residents from lead contamination
Weak oversight at the local, state and federal levels contributed to and slowed the response to the Flint, Mich., water crisis, according to a report Thursday from the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general.
Flint residents were exposed to high levels of lead after the city, under control of a series of emergency managers, switched its water source in 2014 without properly treating it, allowing lead to leach from aging service lines. Tests showed many children in the city had elevated levels of lead as a result…