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This

1:00

episode is about the Flint water

1:02

crisis which happened more than

1:04

eight years ago, believe it or not. There

1:07

have been some recent developments since this episode

1:09

came out almost three years ago. Spoiler

1:12

alert. Not much has changed.

1:15

The residents of Flint still rely heavily

1:17

on bottled water. The lead levels

1:19

in Flint's tap water have been below the federal

1:21

action level for six years now, but

1:23

the people don't care. Their neighbors are

1:25

still getting sick. Children are getting

1:27

cancer. They do not trust the government.

1:30

Because no one has been held accountable and

1:32

it doesn't look like it's ever going to happen.

1:35

In October twenty twenty two, Michigan

1:37

judge dropped felony charges against seven

1:39

government officials, including two former

1:42

state health officials who had been charged with

1:44

involuntary manslaughter. The

1:46

Michigan Supreme Court ruled that a one person

1:48

grand jury has no authority to issue

1:51

indictments, which is what happened in these

1:53

cases. Two months later,

1:55

in December twenty twenty two, two

1:57

misdemeanor charges against former Michigan

1:59

governor Rick Snyder were dropped for

2:01

the same reason. Michigan attorney

2:04

general has vowed to continue fighting for

2:06

flint, but many and flint are skeptical.

2:09

Not only because of the statute of limitations,

2:11

but it's also been eight year since the

2:13

peak of the crisis. People don't

2:15

care anymore. The media forgot

2:17

about Flint a long time ago. Let

2:20

me catch you up again. Thought

2:23

much has changed. Anyway,

2:25

enjoyed the episode. Season seven

2:27

is right around the corner. I talk about

2:29

it a little in the latest episode of Value

2:32

news for valued listeners, which

2:34

also includes more updates on Flint,

2:36

Nicholas Oliverdian. Meghan has

2:38

a body broker, It's one of the best

2:40

parts of being a valued listener, which

2:42

you can become at valued listener dot

2:44

com. Go check that out. See

2:47

you.

2:51

This episode of Swindled may contain

2:53

graphic descriptions or audio recordings

2:56

of serving

2:56

events, which may not be suitable for

2:58

all audiences. Listener discretion

3:01

is advised.

3:03

Mean, is there any precedent for this? There

3:06

is a precedent not to this degree

3:08

though, congressman. I mean, there are

3:10

instances

3:12

this is the worst case that's ever happened

3:14

in the country in terms of

3:16

the level and length of exposure

3:18

to lead through the drinking water. Is that a fair statement?

3:23

Staff is informing me that at

3:25

super fun sites. I mean, there there are

3:28

lead contamination problems. Oh, hazardous material

3:30

sites well. Yeah. Right. In

3:33

March two thousand

3:34

three, a group of homeowners in

3:36

Washington DC discovered that

3:38

they were all facing a similar issue.

3:41

Leaking water pipes. And

3:43

these leaking pipes were more than just your typical

3:46

pitfalls of home ownership. Many

3:48

of these pipes exhibited multiple

3:50

pinhole sized leaks, showering

3:52

basements with water, like a lawn

3:54

sprinkler in spring. Even

3:57

more confounding, a large percentage

3:59

of the copper pipes were essentially brand new.

4:02

Some of the pipes have begun leaking just eighteen

4:05

months after installation. Copper

4:07

pipes are supposed to last fifty years.

4:10

Something was definitely wrong. So

4:14

the group of DC homeowners contacted

4:16

one of the world's leading experts in

4:18

water corrosion and home plumbing, a

4:21

man named doctor Mark Edwards. Doctor

4:24

Edwards was a professor at Virginia Tech

4:26

and that's been the better part of decade researching

4:29

the increasing incidences of ten

4:31

whole leeks and copper water pipes. He

4:34

was the perfect man for the job, and

4:36

he was actually already working with Wassa.

4:38

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer

4:40

Authority on that exact issue

4:43

when he received a call from those residents asking

4:45

him to investigate their misfortunes Suspecting

4:49

a change in the water chemistry as the

4:51

cause of the leaks, doctor Edwards

4:53

paid visit to one home where you used the

4:55

field meter to test the water for lead,

4:58

the meter maxed out. That's

5:01

got to be some kind mistake he thought.

5:04

Doctor Edwards diluted the sample to

5:06

ten percent of its original strength and

5:08

retested. Again,

5:10

the meter pegged. It

5:13

was at that moment that Mark Edwards discovered

5:15

that the water in some Washington DC homes

5:18

can tained at least twelve Swindled and fifty parts

5:20

per billion of lead. It

5:23

was at that moment that Mark Edwards realized

5:25

that the water in some Washington DC homes

5:28

contained enough lead to be considered toxic

5:30

waste, and the residents of

5:32

those wash in DC homes have been

5:34

drinking it for years. Exposure

5:39

to lead is not safe at any level In

5:42

children, they can lead to brain damage, learning

5:44

disabilities, behavioral problems,

5:47

stunted growth, and more. And

5:49

adults hypertension, anemia,

5:52

and then increased risk of miscarriages and

5:55

the effects are irreversible. According

6:00

to the Environmental Protection Agency's lead

6:02

and copper rule, the national

6:04

standard for lead and water fifteen parts

6:06

per billion. Again, any

6:08

exposure to lead is dangerous. But

6:11

according to federal guidelines, any

6:13

level exceeding that fifteen PPB

6:15

threshold requires aggressive action

6:18

by the municipalities and utility companies

6:20

responsible for the water system. Needless

6:23

to say, Mark Edwards' test

6:26

results showing twelve hundred and

6:28

fifty PPP of lead in water

6:30

was a prime candidate for aggressive action.

6:35

Those tests were not the first signs of trouble

6:37

in DC either. In two thousand

6:39

one, more than half of the water was

6:42

taken from fifty three homes in the DC

6:44

area had exceeded the national standard.

6:47

A year later, the Washington City

6:49

paper published an ago about a DC

6:51

resident whose water tested eighteen times

6:53

higher than the action level. Yet

6:56

the DC Water and Sewer Authority had

6:58

not taken any action nor

7:01

had it informed the

7:01

public, the city council, or the mayor,

7:04

about a potential widespread problem.

7:08

But the Edwards test in two thousand and three

7:10

could not be ignored or

7:12

maybe they could. When CEMA bought

7:15

A water quality manager at the DC

7:17

Water and Sewer Authority, encouraged

7:19

her supervisors to take action based on

7:21

the results of Mark Edwards' test,

7:24

she was fired improperly.

7:29

A wider survey of the water quality

7:31

in DC did eventually occur in the fall

7:33

of two thousand three when the tap

7:35

water was tested at six thousand homes in

7:37

the area. Two thirds

7:39

of the samples were found they contained lead levels

7:41

higher than the acceptable amount. Customers

7:44

were not notified until months later.

7:48

There was a new warning on their water

7:50

bills. They read quote. Some

7:53

homes in this community have elevated

7:55

lead levels. Lead can pose

7:57

a risk to your health. That's

7:59

it. No mention of drinking water

8:02

or significant health issues as

8:04

required by regulations. Wassa

8:07

had also advised its customers to let the

8:09

faucet run for at least thirty seconds before

8:12

using the water. Additional

8:14

sampling by professor Edwards would reveal that

8:16

lead levels were actually at their highest

8:18

between thirty seconds and one minute.

8:21

He told Prism Magazine, quote, the

8:23

water utility and the EPA were

8:26

inadvertently causing some people to drink

8:28

the very worst water possible. Thanks

8:32

to one homeowner whose water had failed

8:34

the lead test, the press was finally

8:36

tipped off in January two thousand four.

8:39

Water in DC exceeds EPA

8:42

led limit. Front page news.

8:45

The citizens of DC panicked. The

8:48

politicians panicked. And by

8:50

November, Wassa's Board of Directors

8:52

had signed off on a three hundred million dollar

8:54

plan to replace all twenty three

8:56

thousand of the city's lead pipes by two thousand

8:59

ten. All it took

9:01

was two hundred articles by the Washington

9:03

Post and six congressional hearings.

9:07

At one of those hearings, in March two thousand

9:09

four. Professor Mark Edwards

9:11

revealed the cause of the lead contamination. Four

9:14

years earlier, the DC Water and Sewer

9:16

Authority got switched to treatment of the water

9:19

from chlorine to monochloramine. Edwards

9:23

testified that the monochloramine which

9:25

is used as a disinfectant, was

9:27

leaching lead from the old pipes as well as

9:30

the brass and copper fixtures in people's homes.

9:33

That lead was being washed down the pipes out

9:35

of the faucets into drinking glasses,

9:38

right into the bloodstreams of thousands of Thursday

9:40

Washington DC residents. Professor

9:45

Mark Edwards had confirmed the treatment

9:47

switch as the cause and research

9:49

that was funded out of his own pocket. In

9:52

early January, Wassa had threatened

9:54

to cut his funding and access to samples

9:56

if he continued working with the homeowners. In

9:59

other words, Edwards told prison magazine

10:02

I was either with them or against them.

10:06

Days later, the EPA would discontinue

10:08

its own subcontract with Mark

10:10

Edwards. Realizing

10:14

the severity of the issue. Professor

10:16

Edwards couldn't eat, couldn't

10:18

sleep. He lost thirty five pounds

10:20

in three weeks, Mark Edwards

10:22

could not understand why governmental agencies

10:25

like the DC Water and Sewer Authority

10:27

and the Environmental Protection Agency agency

10:30

whose primary objectives are to protect

10:32

the health and well-being of its citizens, dragged

10:34

its speed for years on a major

10:36

public health crisis. And

10:39

even after the crisis was exposed, other

10:42

agencies continued to downplay its effects,

10:45

On March thirtieth two thousand four,

10:47

the United States Center for Disease Control

10:50

released a report about the contamination concluding

10:53

that the elevated blood levels in DC

10:55

drinking water, quote, might

10:57

have contributed to a small increase

10:59

in blood levels. In other

11:01

words, the CDC concluded

11:04

that despite the unprecedented exposure

11:06

to

11:06

lead, nobody was

11:09

seriously hurt.

11:12

Six years later, thanks to emails

11:14

obtained by Mark Edwards through a

11:16

Freedom of Information Act request. That's

11:20

Center for Disease Control Report was

11:22

proven to be falsified. The

11:24

group of people tested whom the report

11:26

refers to as the worst case in the DC

11:29

area had actually not been

11:31

affected at all. They had

11:33

not been drinking the water, and

11:35

the CDC had that knowledge

11:37

when they were writing the paper. A

11:40

congressional investigation has found that the nation's

11:42

premier public health agency knowingly

11:44

used flawed data to claim that high lead

11:46

levels DC's drinking water did

11:48

not pose a health risk to the public. The

11:51

day after the report was released, Mary

11:54

Jean Brown, the head of lead poisoning

11:56

prevention in the US in response

11:59

to an email from another official at the CDC

12:01

asking her how the report was being received,

12:04

replied, quote, Today has been the

12:06

first day in over a month that there

12:08

wasn't a story on lead in water in

12:10

the Washington Post, and also

12:13

the first that I haven't been interviewed by at least

12:15

one news outlet.

12:16

I guess that means it worked. I

12:20

mean, think about them in no matter

12:23

where you are. Right? It is such as lead

12:25

in water. If they're not trustworthy

12:28

on lead in water, which is the most black

12:30

and white issue you can imagine. Let

12:33

is the one chemical for

12:35

which there is no dispute about the health

12:37

offense at all. And

12:40

if they blow it on that,

12:42

if they lie and cover up

12:45

lead in water problems, their most basic

12:47

fundamental responsibility public.

12:50

What why should we trust him

12:52

about anything?

12:55

Before the CDC report that was proven

12:57

false. Cities all across the

12:59

world would point to it as proof that

13:01

there was no reason to be concerned about lead

13:03

and drinking water. What

13:06

is now known is that thousands of

13:08

children in the DC area had

13:10

blood blood levels above the CDC

13:12

threshold. All living with

13:14

the long term effects. And

13:16

it is estimated that as many as two thousand

13:18

children were miscarried because

13:20

of it. Yet,

13:22

there have been no apologies, no

13:24

accountability by anyone.

13:27

Not a single government official was fired

13:29

or demoted or punished. Other

13:32

than the ones that tried to blow the whistle.

13:35

In fact, the EPA gave their own

13:37

DC lead response team a

13:39

gold medal for quote. Distinguished

13:42

service of major significant environmental

13:44

improvement

13:45

and to public service. This

13:48

is Professor Mark Edwards. That

13:50

a that a couple years went by and the agency

13:52

started to give themselves awards. Okay? You cannot

13:54

make this shit up people. If you did not learn from

13:56

your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat eat

13:58

them. And I was preparing

14:01

for the day that somewhere, somehow,

14:04

another city in the United States

14:07

was going to get hammered by

14:10

these environmental criminals.

14:14

That day would come about a decade later

14:17

in Flint, Michigan. A

14:19

failure of government at all levels

14:22

leads to a manmade water crisis in

14:24

one of America's most vulnerable cities

14:27

on this episode of swindled. Prime

14:32

government officials find a country created

14:34

by the citizens of them as they long and

14:36

really don't have the pain of aliens and

14:38

taxpayer dollars that are way in

14:49

line with us and in the soul of some goddess.

14:58

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16:03

This is a historic step for us. It's

16:05

the day where we actually turn

16:09

off the Detroit system and turn

16:11

on the treated Flint River

16:13

water going into our drinking water

16:15

supply.

16:17

April twenty fifth two thousand fourteen,

16:20

was a day for celebration in Flint,

16:22

Michigan. The city was taking

16:24

control of its own tap water and

16:27

ending its dependence on the city of Detroit

16:29

had been pumping a water to Flint for the

16:31

past fifty years. It

16:34

was a small glimmer of hope that Flint was

16:36

finally on the path to recovery. Truthfully,

16:40

there had not been a lot to celebrate about Flint,

16:42

Michigan since general motors downsized

16:45

in the nineteen eighties. What

16:47

followed what's fast disinvestment and

16:49

abandonment and an increased

16:51

crime rate. The once driving

16:53

vehicle city became one of the poorest

16:56

places in America.

16:58

Forty thousand of its one hundred thousand

17:00

residents live in poverty. The

17:04

population of Flint used to be about

17:06

two hundred thousand people but half

17:08

of them left town, mostly

17:10

the white half. And when a

17:12

city's population disappears, so does it

17:14

tax revenue. In two

17:16

thousand eleven, an auditor projected

17:19

a twenty five million dollar deficit in

17:21

the city of Flint's operating budget. In

17:24

response, Michigan Governor Rick Schneider

17:26

declared that Flint was in the state of financial

17:28

emergency and appointed an emergency

17:31

manager to take over all

17:33

of the city's decision making. One

17:37

of the main culprits of that twenty five

17:39

million dollar deficit was the city's

17:41

water supply fund. Turns

17:43

out pumping millions of gallons of water from

17:45

the Detroit Water and Seward's Department is

17:48

expensive. That was costing Flint

17:50

about one million dollars every month. So

17:54

city officials and Flint explored ways to

17:56

switch away for its current provider to

17:58

something else, something cheaper.

18:01

Why not cut out the middle man?

18:03

Detroit was getting its water from Lake Huron.

18:06

Flint could build its own pipeline, join

18:09

the Kerganati water authority and

18:11

pull its own water from the same source.

18:14

And in doing so, the city of Flint

18:16

could begin its ascension out of its financial

18:18

hole by saving two hundred million

18:21

dollars over twenty five years

18:23

seemed like a no brainer.

18:27

On April sixteenth, two thousand thirteen.

18:30

Emergency manager Ed Kurtz, the

18:32

second person to hold the position in less

18:34

than a year. Informed the state

18:37

treasurer of Flint's decision to

18:39

join the KWA. The

18:41

next day, according to city of

18:43

Flint officials, Detroit terminated

18:46

the water contract and alerted them

18:48

that service would end a year later.

18:51

The only problem was that it would take two

18:53

years to build Flint's new KWA pipeline,

18:57

but city officials had planned for this.

18:59

Until the pipeline was operational, the

19:01

city of Flint would pump water from the

19:04

local Flint River, which

19:06

had served as the city's main water

19:08

source until nineteen sixty five,

19:10

the temporary solution for a temporary

19:12

problem. What's the worst

19:15

that could happen? To

19:17

squash any lingering doubts, the city

19:20

of Flint sent out a press release quoting

19:22

Michael Prisbee. Of the MDEQ, the

19:25

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

19:28

He verified that the Flint River Water was safe,

19:31

and that it adhered to the state's drinking

19:33

water standards. Crispy

19:35

said, quote, even with the proven

19:37

track record of providing perfectly

19:39

good water for Flint, There still

19:41

remains a lingering uncertainty about

19:43

the quality of the water. In

19:46

an effort to dispel myths and promote

19:48

the truth about the Flint River, and its

19:50

viability as a residential water resource.

19:53

There have been numerous studies and tests conducted

19:55

on its water by several independent

19:57

organizations. In

20:00

that same press release, flint mayor

20:02

Dane Wallink offered his own words

20:04

of comfort, quote, it's

20:07

regular, good, pure drinking

20:09

water and it's right in our backyard. This

20:12

is the first step in the right direction for Flint

20:14

and we take this monumental step forward

20:16

and controlling the future of our community's

20:19

most precious resource. On

20:22

Friday, April twenty fifth two thousand

20:24

fourteen, After consultations with

20:27

outside engineering firms, numerous

20:29

studies and tests, construction delays,

20:32

and multiple turnovers at the emergency manager

20:34

position. The Flint River

20:36

was ready for consumption. About

20:40

a dozen elected officials city

20:42

employees and representatives from

20:45

the MDEQ gathered

20:47

in a small outbuilding at the Flint water

20:49

treatment plant to watch mayor walling

20:51

perform the ceremonial closing of

20:53

the valve. Here's

20:55

our moment. So I think we need a we need

20:57

a countdown to run for from

20:59

three. Here's

21:06

the plant.

21:17

After the countdown, mayor Walling pressed

21:19

a small black button. The green light

21:21

turned red. The pumps powered down

21:23

and water stopped flowing in from the thirty

21:25

six inch pipe connected to Detroit. The

21:28

switch was complete. The

21:30

crowd erupted in the applause Darnell

21:34

Early, the latest emergency manager,

21:37

called it the best choice for the city of Flint

21:39

going forward. Flint

21:42

councilman Joshua Freeman took

21:44

a sip from a clear plastic cup and

21:46

remarked, quote, it tastes

21:48

like water, not

21:50

realizing that it would take another two

21:52

days for the residual Detroit water to

21:54

clear the system. Not

21:56

that he would have been able to notice anyway.

21:59

It was the city of Flint's hope that the contrast

22:01

between the two waters would be negligible.

22:05

But less than a week after the switch, it

22:07

was obvious to everyone that something was different

22:09

about the water from the Flint River. The

22:12

new water smelled weird when the color

22:14

was off. It was like brownish

22:16

orange, full of the burrito, oily,

22:18

like used cooking grease. You

22:23

want me to pay for that? Hit

22:27

four.

22:34

Rusty circles formed around bathtub

22:36

drains. House plants died.

22:39

Pets were sick. Adults and

22:41

children in Flint discovered mysterious rashes

22:43

on their bodies in addition to other

22:45

unexplained illnesses. Sometimes

22:48

the effects were gradual, like hair falling

22:51

out over time, and sometimes they

22:53

were instant. Like when Cord and Maynard,

22:55

a twenty year old man who lived on Flint's

22:57

east side, drank two glasses

22:59

of water from the tap before going to

23:01

bed one night. Maynard told

23:03

the Detroit Free Press that he spent the rest of the

23:06

night hugging its toilet. Quote,

23:08

I was throwing up like bleach water

23:11

that came up through my nose burning. The

23:15

city of Flint responded by assuring residents

23:18

that the water was fine, just some

23:20

buildup that needs to flush out.

23:23

Although according to the MDEQ, the

23:25

city would increase the water's chlorine

23:27

levels to help improve the quality. But

23:30

over time, the quality seemed

23:32

to get worse. In August two

23:34

thousand fourteen, Clint's water

23:37

tested positive for total coliform

23:39

bacteria, which while

23:41

not harmful by themselves are

23:43

an indication of the possible presence of

23:45

other disease causing bacteria such

23:48

as E. Coli. This

23:51

discovery led to multiple boil water

23:53

advisories for the citizens of Flint.

23:55

As well as another increase in chlorine

23:57

and other disinfectants in the water

23:59

system. Residents were told

24:01

they could safely resume drinking the water, just

24:04

four days later. On

24:09

October thirteenth, General Motors

24:11

announced that it had stopped using the Flint

24:13

River water at its factory. The

24:15

added chloride in the water was corroding

24:17

its machines. GM

24:19

said it would purchase water from nearby suburb

24:21

instead until the pipeline

24:24

was finished. Another

24:26

side effect of the additional chlorine in the water

24:29

was the increased level of Tri Halo

24:31

Methane, or TTHM, a

24:34

byproduct of disinfection. When

24:38

chlorine reacts with microorganisms and

24:40

water, TTHMs are

24:42

left behind. And when consumed

24:45

by humans, TTHMs can

24:47

be carcinogenic. According

24:49

to the EPA, years of exposure

24:51

may cause liver, kidney, or central nervous

24:54

problems, and an increased risk

24:56

of cancer On

24:58

January second two thousand fifteen, the

25:01

TTHM levels in Flint's water

25:03

far exceeded the acceptable amounts

25:05

established in the safe drinking water

25:08

act. It would later be revealed

25:10

that it was at this time that the state government

25:12

office in downtown Flint began

25:14

purchasing bottled water for its employees

25:16

and would continue doing so even

25:19

after TTHM levels

25:21

normalized. Yet,

25:23

four days later, mayor Dane

25:25

Walling was telling reporters that the water

25:27

in Flint was safe to drink.

25:31

By now, the city of Detroit had heard about

25:34

Flint's rough transition and offered

25:36

to reconnect its water until everything

25:38

was drained out. Detroit

25:40

even offered to waive the four million dollar fee

25:42

to restore service. But

25:45

Flint emergency manager, Darnell

25:47

Early, rejected the proposal. He

25:49

said the city of Flint, planned to hire

25:52

water treatment consultants to work out the

25:54

kinks. A few days later,

25:56

Darnell Early resigned from his emergency manager

25:59

position and was reappointed by

26:01

Governor Schneider as the emergency

26:03

manager of Detroit Public Schools. A

26:05

promotion, and a raise. Farnell

26:09

Early was the third state appointed

26:11

emergency manager in his many years

26:14

to quit on the city of

26:15

Flint. It must be nice

26:17

to be able to wash your hands clean.

26:24

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dot com slash wendled.

27:38

Outburged We cannot use. We

27:40

can't drink it. We can't drink it.

27:42

And if you're doing it, take it a chance. After

27:45

outburst,

27:46

sir, kill my ass. I'm not

27:48

telling anybody. Third

27:49

Flint neighbors fed up with the quality of

27:51

their water. We're having the carpet pulled over

27:53

eyes. I don't believe anything they're saying right now

27:56

City officials tried to answer questions.

27:58

Excuse

27:58

me. Excuse Excuse me. Excuse me. But

28:01

neighbors say the answers about the city's

28:03

water quality aren't good enough.

28:06

Michigan is in the middle of the Great

28:07

Lakes.

28:07

They have some of the best water in the country. So there's

28:09

no reason for this. We have been telling

28:12

people to don't, you know, don't use

28:14

the water until they think it's

28:16

safe. While city officials admit the water quality

28:18

isn't where they want it, they say it's

28:20

safe to drink and are working on improving

28:22

it.

28:24

In early two thousand fifteen, Clint's

28:27

residents began demanding answers They

28:29

had been living with the dirty water for

28:31

more than six months. Town

28:33

hall meetings with local officials erupted

28:36

in shouting matches after the citizens

28:38

were continually assured, sometimes

28:40

patronizingly by city and state officials

28:43

that everything was okay. Some

28:46

residents like Tony Paladino who

28:48

had been escorted out of one of those meetings

28:50

was tired of the excuses.

28:53

My eyes are burning. I could hardly breathe.

28:56

My my skin's all rashed

28:58

up, you

28:59

know, and I'm furious about it. If

29:01

if you want me to be happy, give me some

29:03

fresh water. Other

29:05

residents like Lianne Walters had

29:07

stopped using the Flint water months ago.

29:10

Not since she, her husband, and therefore

29:12

children found themselves covered in rashes.

29:15

But what concerns Leon Walters the most

29:17

was the physical and mental development of her

29:19

son Gavin, or lack thereof.

29:23

She told NPR, quote, I kept

29:25

talking to the doctors trying to figure out

29:27

why he wasn't growing. He was twenty

29:29

seven pounds at four years old. His

29:32

hair was thinning, breaking out and rashes.

29:35

Lian said her son even had to relearn

29:37

the alphabet. Gavin's

29:41

under development was made more obvious

29:44

because Gavin has a twin brother. While

29:47

both boys appear to be suffering from similar

29:49

learning and behavioral issues, Gavin

29:51

was thirty pounds lighter and two inches

29:53

shorter than his twin. So

29:57

Lian Walters contacted the Environmental Protection

29:59

Agency She told them about the dark

30:01

sediment present in the family's tap water

30:03

and how her kids were sick and how she

30:05

was confident that the two were related. On

30:09

February sixth, EPA manager,

30:11

Miguel Del Toro, traveled to the Walter's

30:13

Residence to test their water for lead.

30:16

The results one hundred and

30:19

four parts per billion, seven

30:21

times greater than the EPA limit

30:23

of fifteen parts per billion. Leanne

30:27

was told to make sure nobody in her family

30:29

consumed the water. It required

30:31

further testing and monitoring. It

30:33

was given the phone number of someone who

30:35

could help with that. Professor

30:38

Mark Edwards arrived in front of miss chicken

30:41

with deja vu. He and his

30:43

team of researchers from Virginia Tech were

30:45

there to test homes for a potential widespread

30:47

lead and water issue, just like he had

30:49

done a decade, four in Washington DC.

30:54

Professor Edwards gave Lian hundreds of

30:56

test kits so that flint residents

30:58

could collect samples from their homes and send

31:00

them back to the university lab. On

31:04

March eighteenth of two thousand fifteen, The

31:06

second test of the Walter's tap water

31:08

indicated lead levels of three hundred and ninety

31:10

seven parts per billion, almost

31:13

quadruple the last results. Five

31:16

days later, the Flint City Council

31:19

voted seven to one in favor of

31:21

doing everything possible to reconnect to

31:23

the Detroit Water System But

31:26

that vote was meaningless. Since

31:28

the city of Flint was in a financial emergency,

31:31

the city council was essentially powerless.

31:34

The state appointed emergency manager had

31:36

the final say. So what

31:38

did that state appointed emergency manager

31:41

say? I'm glad you asked,

31:43

quote, Plant water

31:45

today is safe by all EPA

31:48

and MDEQ standards, and

31:50

the city is working daily to improve its

31:52

quality. It is incomprehensible

31:55

to me that members of the Flint City

31:57

Council would want to send more than twelve million

31:59

dollars a year to the system serving Southeast

32:02

Michigan even if Flint's ratepayers

32:04

could afford it. Water from

32:06

Detroit is no safer than

32:09

water from Flint. That

32:12

quote comes from Jerry Ambrose, the

32:14

fourth and final emergency manager

32:16

of Flint. And so does this

32:18

one?

32:19

We want people to know, you know, we know

32:21

that just seeing the water safe. Number one

32:23

is not enough. Okay? We wanna be here. We

32:25

want been to feel that he was safe,

32:27

and we also need to improve the quality.

32:30

We're working on that every day.

32:32

But Jerry Ambrose did not stick around

32:34

to see the fruits of his labor. On

32:37

April twenty ninth two thousand fifteen,

32:39

the financial emergency in Flint, Michigan

32:42

was declared over. And Jerry Ambrose

32:44

vacated his position. Major

32:47

financial and policy decisions would

32:49

now be overseen by a quote Snevership

32:52

Transition Advisory Board. Before

32:54

the most part, the mayor and the city

32:57

council could resume their pre emergency roles.

33:01

A few weeks earlier, Leanne

33:03

Walters had received news that no

33:05

parent wants to hear.

33:07

At that time, I got a frantic

33:09

phone call. April

33:11

second, telling me my son had blood

33:13

poisoning. And

33:17

anemia from the blood poisoning Another

33:22

test of the tap water at the Walter's Residence

33:24

in the spring of two thousand fifteen found

33:27

lead levels of an astounding thirteen

33:29

thousand two hundred parts per

33:31

billion.

33:33

This is Professor Mark Edwards. We

33:35

found the worst lead in water

33:38

contamination that I have seen in

33:40

twenty five years. And believe

33:42

me, I've seen a lot. Hazardous waste,

33:45

levels of lead coming out of her tap water.

33:49

And the cause of the lead contamination in

33:51

Flint was similar to what Professor

33:53

Edwards had seen in other places.

33:56

The whole problem arose because this

33:58

corrosive water source was put into this

34:00

distribution system. So the corrosion's

34:02

eating up the pipe to teething up the iron

34:04

pipes. It's causing main breaks. It's causing

34:06

discolored

34:07

water. And about twenty percent of homes, there's

34:09

just too much left. Researchers

34:11

from Virginia Tech had discovered that the water

34:14

from the Flint River was more corrosive than

34:16

the Detroit water from Lake Huron. And

34:18

that gross of water was leaching lead from

34:20

the pipes and service lines that delivered water

34:23

to thousands of homes throughout the city. And

34:25

thanks to months of sleuthing through technical

34:28

documents. Leanne Walkers discovered

34:30

that the entire crisis could have been avoided,

34:33

Lian Walters discovered that the city of Flint

34:36

had not implemented a corrosion control

34:38

plan. Most

34:41

cities like Detroit, for example,

34:43

avoid corroding pipes by treating their

34:45

water with corrosion inhibiting chemicals

34:47

such as orthophosphate. These

34:50

chemicals basically form a protective mineral

34:52

crust on the insides of the pipes, so

34:55

the water never actually makes contact

34:57

with the metal. When these chemicals

34:59

are not present. The corrosivity

35:01

of the water and the chlorine and disinfectants

35:04

begins eating away at that mineral

35:06

crust and eventually at the lead beneath

35:09

it. Next thing you know,

35:11

that mineral crust and lead was filling

35:13

up your glass. Professor

35:16

Edwards told NPR that Flint

35:18

was the only city in America that he

35:20

was aware of that did not have

35:22

a corrosion control plan. And

35:25

nobody would know why that was the case

35:27

until months later in

35:29

an email to a Detroit newspaper. Dan

35:32

Wyatt, director of the Michigan Department

35:34

of Environmental Quality, said it

35:36

was a simple mistake. The

35:38

staff at MDEQ had never worked on

35:41

a source switch as large as flint. He

35:43

said that at the time they thought

35:45

they had used a proper protocol. But

35:47

it turns out they had not. But,

35:50

hey, they tried their best, a

35:53

for effort, Dan. On

35:55

June twenty fourth two thousand fifteen.

35:57

Miguel Del Toro at the EPA

36:00

learned about the lack of corrosion control

36:02

plan and the alarmingly high levels

36:04

of lead and Leon Walter's home. He

36:07

immediately sent out an internal memo

36:09

to his superiors at the agency expressing

36:11

his concerns. The EPA

36:14

whose regional administrator in the area

36:16

was Susan

36:17

Hedman, never made a move.

36:21

A few weeks later, That internal memo

36:23

leaked into the hands of the local chapter

36:25

of the ACLU, who published

36:27

a video on its website detailing its contents.

36:31

That very same day, when most

36:33

of the city was learning about the possibility of

36:35

a widespread lead contamination. The

36:38

mayor of Flint, Dane Walling, was

36:40

on the local TV news, taking

36:42

a swig.

36:44

Okay. So we are here on

36:46

the set, mayor, on the set Are you

36:48

ready to drink it?

36:49

Yeah. Okay. My family and I drink the water every

36:51

day. So It's

36:56

it's your standard tap water, and you

36:58

know you taste a little bit of the chlorine. All

37:01

of our tests ever since this year

37:03

-- Mhmm. -- have been parable with

37:05

what we used to get out of Detroit. Now last year

37:07

was different. The chlorine level was elevated.

37:09

There were the TTHMs, which is actually

37:12

colorless, but it's a concern. But

37:14

those issues, you know, have been put behind us. And

37:16

now I think it's more a matter of the perception.

37:19

When Missic and Public Radio, reached

37:21

out to the MDEQ for comment about

37:23

leaked memo. Spokesman Brad

37:25

Wervful put it bluntly. Quote.

37:28

Let me start here. Anyone

37:30

who is concerned about lead in the drinking water

37:32

can relax. Workful

37:35

added that while he hadn't actually read the

37:37

memo. The MDE q's

37:39

own test proved it wrong. He

37:41

said the city of Flint was within federally

37:43

mandated levels, and that the Leanne

37:46

Walters case was simply an anomaly.

37:50

What we now know is that the city of Flint was

37:52

within federally mandated levels because

37:55

the state had omitted two

37:57

samples from its report, two

37:59

of the highest samples. Which

38:01

was enough to drop the average below

38:03

the action level. Meanwhile,

38:07

the EPA was conducting damage control

38:09

of its own The agency's regional

38:11

administrator Susan Hedman called

38:13

mayor Walling to personally apologize.

38:17

She said the memo had not been reviewed and

38:19

had never been released. And she

38:21

referred to Miguel Del Toro, the author

38:23

of the memo, as a rogue employee who

38:25

did not speak for the entire agency. There

38:29

would be no action taken by the

38:31

EPA in regards to the lead in

38:33

Leanne Walters home nor anyone

38:35

else's. Not until there was

38:37

proof that lead was a widespread issue.

38:41

Inter professor Mark Edwards and

38:43

his batch of freshly tested water

38:46

samples. By September

38:48

two thousand fifteen, Flint residents

38:50

had returned to ninety percent of the three hundred

38:52

testing kits he had passed out. And

38:54

according to those testing kits, forty

38:57

percent of Flint Homes had elevated lead

38:59

levels. Professor Edwards

39:01

also set a visual test to demonstrate just

39:03

how much more corrosive flint water was

39:05

than Detroit. His final

39:07

recommendation was for the state to declare

39:09

the water unsafe for drinking or

39:12

cooking. The

39:14

results of the test were sent to the MDEQ

39:17

who dismissed them almost immediately. And

39:19

an email to an m live journalist, MDEQ

39:23

spokesman Brad Wharfill wrote. It's

39:25

scientifically probable a research team

39:27

that specializes in looking for lead and water,

39:29

could have found it in Flint when the city was on

39:32

its old water supply. We

39:34

won't know that because they've only just arrived

39:36

in town. And quickly proven the

39:38

theory they set out to prove. And

39:40

while the state appreciates academic participation

39:43

in this discussion, offering

39:45

broad, dire public health advice

39:47

based on some quick testing could

39:49

be seen as spanning political flames

39:51

irresponsibly.

39:53

Glenn speaking water is meeting applicable state

39:55

standards. And we should be

39:57

encouraged by that.

39:59

But Professor Mark Edwards refused to go

40:01

away. He challenged the state to repeat

40:03

his test and see for themselves but

40:05

they declined. So

40:07

instead, professor Edwards traveled to Flint

40:10

and visited the fourth grade classroom where

40:12

the students were able to replicate his results

40:14

in just five days. It was

40:17

a humiliating defeat for the MDEQ.

40:20

But it wasn't about Swindled losses.

40:23

It was about the health and safety of an entire

40:25

population. The population who

40:27

had been dealing with the questionable water for

40:29

over a year at this point with very

40:31

little knowledge about how or if

40:33

it was affecting them. Some

40:36

of those questions would be answered on September

40:39

twenty fourth two thousand fifteen. When

40:41

a pediatrician named doctor Monahan

40:43

Atisha released the results of a study

40:45

she had been conducting at early medical center.

40:48

The entire city of Flint had an

40:50

almost doubling of the percentage of children with

40:52

elevated lead levels. It went from two point one percent

40:54

of children to four percent of children with

40:56

elevated levels.

40:58

Based on blood samples from more than seventeen

41:00

hundred children living in Flint, Dr.

41:03

Hannah Atisha found that four percent of children

41:05

under the age of five had elevated

41:07

blood lead levels. Before

41:09

the switch, that number was two point one percent.

41:12

So the percentage of infants and children with

41:15

above average lead levels had nearly

41:17

doubled in a year. In

41:19

high risk areas that percentage had

41:22

tripled. And just like

41:24

Professor Edwards, doctor Hannah

41:26

Atisha, recommended that the city

41:28

and its use of the Flint River as its

41:30

drinking water source as soon as possible.

41:35

While the state acknowledged the increase in the

41:37

children's blood blood levels, it hesitated

41:40

to conclude that the Flint river water was

41:42

at fault This is Nick

41:44

Lyon, the director of Michigan's health

41:46

and human services department.

41:48

There has been an increase in elevated childhood

41:50

blood levels in specific areas We

41:53

can act coclusively say that water source

41:55

is the only cause of this. Another

41:57

spokeswoman for HHS attributed

41:59

the results to a predictable seasonal spike.

42:02

Just a heavier than usual lead season.

42:05

Nothing to worry about. The

42:07

city of Flint however took action and issued

42:10

lead advisory warnings residents but

42:12

didn't want to accept too much of the blame.

42:15

Quote. While the city is in full

42:17

compliance with the Federal Safe Drinking Water

42:19

Act, This information is being

42:21

shared as part of a public awareness

42:23

campaign to ensure that everyone takes

42:25

note that no level of lead IT'S

42:27

CONSIDERED

42:28

SAFE. Reporter: FLT RESIDENTS BEING

42:30

TOLD NOT TO DRINK TAP WATER, A

42:32

NEW STUDY IS SHOWING AN INCREASED LEVEL

42:34

OF LED IN YOUNG CHILDREN. This

42:37

is the latest in a series of problems

42:39

since Flint pulled out of the Detroit

42:41

water system more than a year ago

42:43

now. Feel like I'm living in a third world

42:45

country. What can you you and the United

42:47

States of America, and the water is no

42:49

good. I don't know what to say,

42:51

man. In early October, Michigan

42:53

governor Rick Snyder finally broke

42:55

his silence. He admitted

42:58

that, quote, things were not fully understood

43:00

before making the switch to the Flint River

43:02

and that everything had been planned rather

43:04

poorly. But he wasn't there

43:07

to point fingers. Governor Rick

43:09

Schneider was there to take action Again,

43:11

this isn't about blaming anyone. Right

43:14

now, I want to stay focused in on the solutions

43:16

and taking action to solve the problems.

43:19

Governors Snyder's action plan included

43:21

distributing thousands of free water filters

43:23

and water testing to flint residents and

43:26

he agreed to sign off on switching back to

43:28

the Detroit Water System because

43:30

the Detroit Water, as he mentioned in the

43:32

press briefing, quote, will

43:34

be easier to manage. It comes

43:36

from a more stable source than the river. It

43:38

is fully optimized for corrosion control,

43:41

And it is clear that residents of Flint

43:43

have more confidence in this water

43:45

source. Here is mayor

43:48

Dane Walling delivering the good news.

43:51

Today, we're reversing the decisions

43:53

of four emergency managers.

43:57

We stood up to Lansing. And we

43:59

fought back to get assigned to Troy Warner.

44:03

We're announcing today that our hard work is

44:05

paid

44:05

off. We're connecting back to

44:07

trick water. But

44:10

not everything could be reversed. There

44:12

was no magic button depressed that could reroute

44:14

the distrust that plant residents now

44:16

fell for their state and local governments. There

44:19

was no way to undo the suffering experienced

44:21

by thousands of people who had been drinking,

44:23

bathing, and cooking, but the contaminated water.

44:27

No matter what happened next, there was no

44:29

switching back for Leanne Walters or

44:31

her son Gavin who would be dealing

44:33

with the effects of lead poisoning. For the rest

44:35

of his life. Their time

44:37

on Earth had been permanently altered

44:40

by no fault of their own. And

44:42

there was no way to turn off the bad memories that had

44:44

collected in their home, a home that

44:46

would forever be remembered. That's ground

44:48

to zero, but the Flint water

44:50

crisis.

44:56

Generally, I have not been doing stunts

44:58

here, but, you know, And

45:03

this used a filter. The

45:07

water around this table was

45:10

plant water that was filtered. And

45:12

it just confirms

45:14

what we know scientifically, which is

45:17

that if you're using a filter, if you're

45:19

installing it,

45:21

then plant water at this point

45:23

is drinkable. By

45:27

two thousand sixteen, the Flint water

45:30

crisis had become national news. President

45:32

Barack Obama visited the city to

45:35

see first hand what it was dealing with and

45:37

to offer some reassurance as

45:39

long as there was a filter in place.

45:42

Speaking of hope and change, Flint

45:45

had elected a new mayor the prior November,

45:47

and a lot of notable events had transpired

45:49

since then. Unsatisfied with

45:52

incumbent Dane Walling's response to the

45:54

crisis, the citizens of Flint

45:56

turned to Karen Weaver a lifelong

45:58

resident who promised to solve the water

46:00

issue.

46:01

It's a twofold kind of situation. We have

46:03

an infrastructure crisis, but we have a public

46:05

health crisis in the city of Flint right

46:07

now. And even though we

46:10

have gone back to Lake Huron Water

46:12

through Detroit, we're still in trouble

46:14

because we still can't drink our

46:15

water. Wouldn't

46:16

you first notice? You're a resident. When did you first

46:18

notice something was

46:19

wrong with the water?

46:20

Shortly after the switch, and that's what a lot of

46:22

people know but shortly after the switch to the Flint

46:24

Riverwalk. Did

46:24

you stop drinking it? I

46:25

didn't start drinking it. One

46:28

month after taking off this Mayor

46:30

Weaver declared a state of emergency in

46:32

Flint.

46:33

Mayor Karen W Weaver declared state

46:35

of emergency in the state.

46:37

Another

46:38

move that was downplayed by the state.

46:40

This is HHS director, Nick

46:42

Lyon. This is certainly a situation

46:44

that deserves attention. I do not think that it rises

46:47

to the level of a statewide emergency. Why

46:49

not? There's there's

46:52

just the

46:54

we are here with the resources necessary to

46:57

address the situation without that declaration,

46:59

so I don't think it's necessary from that perspective.

47:02

The same month that the emergency declaration

47:04

was made, The state department that

47:06

Nick Lyon oversaw produced an

47:08

online poster informing residents that it

47:10

was safe to bathe in contaminated water.

47:13

The poster featured two smiling babies,

47:15

one white, one black, with

47:18

text bubbles, the red, quote. Hey,

47:20

Flint. It is safe to wash.

47:22

Lead and bath water will not soak into your

47:24

skin fast or at high levels. Unfiltered

47:27

warm tap water is okay for showers and bath.

47:30

For you and your kids,

47:32

Just don't let the kids drink the bathwater when

47:34

they play in the tub. Yuck.

47:38

Even though the information on the poster

47:40

was true, human skin does not absorb

47:42

blood and water. It was just another

47:45

example of how tone deaf and bumbling the

47:47

state of Michigan's response to the crisis

47:49

had been. But changes

47:51

were coming. On December twenty

47:53

eighth two thousand fifteen, the Flint

47:55

water advisory task force created

47:57

by governor Rick Schneider, released its

47:59

preliminary report on the crisis and

48:02

placed the blame directly at the state of

48:04

Michigan's feet. In

48:06

a letter to the governor, the independent

48:08

investigators concluded, quote, we

48:10

believe the primary responsibility for

48:12

what happened in Flint rests with the

48:15

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

48:18

Although many individuals and entities that state

48:20

and local levels contributed to creating

48:22

and prolonging the problem, MDEQ

48:25

is the government agency that has responsibility

48:28

to ensure safe drinking water in Michigan.

48:31

It failed in that responsibility and

48:33

must be held accountable. The

48:36

report also accused MDEQ of

48:38

responding to residents, doctors, and

48:40

engineers with, quote, aggressive dismissal,

48:43

belittlement, and attempts to

48:45

discredit. MDEQ

48:48

director Dan Wyatt, and his

48:51

measly little spokesperson Brad Wervful

48:53

resigned from their positions the day after

48:55

the report was released. A

48:58

week later, Governor Rick Schneider

49:00

declared his own state of emergency and

49:02

requested fifty five million dollars in assistance

49:05

from the federal government. So that Flint

49:07

could install lead free pipes throughout the city.

49:10

The move was quite a departure from the state's

49:12

recent responses. It was

49:14

almost like governor Schneider knew something

49:17

that the citizens of Flint did not.

49:20

One week after his emergency declaration,

49:23

Snyder again found himself behind the

49:25

podium,

49:26

This is to continue the fact that

49:28

we want to make sure we're making good communications with

49:31

respect to Flint. The information was

49:33

just recently presented to me. And

49:35

I thought it was important to share. Over

49:38

the course of twenty fourteen and twenty

49:40

fifteen, we saw a spike in Legionnaire's

49:42

disease. With the

49:44

Genesee County. If you go

49:46

back to the prior years, I believe

49:48

the numbers for the preceding years before

49:50

twenty fourteen, we had a

49:52

six cases, eleven cases, thirteen

49:55

cases, and eight

49:56

cases. In twenty

49:58

fourteen, we had forty five cases. And

50:01

then in twenty fifteen, there were forty two

50:03

cases.

50:06

Legionaries disease, the pneumonia

50:09

type illness, is caused by breeding in

50:11

Legionella bacteria found in untreated

50:13

freshwater, although the

50:15

elderly and those with compromised immune

50:17

systems are most affected. The

50:19

Genela is so dangerous that it has

50:21

been experimented with in biological weapons,

50:24

which is an apt comparison to what

50:26

happened in Flint. Since

50:29

the switch to the Flint River in two thousand

50:31

fourteen. Cases of Legionnaire's

50:33

disease in the area had more than quadrupled

50:35

rates of prior years. An outbreak

50:37

that would ultimately account for more than eighty

50:40

diagnosis and twelve deaths. Although,

50:43

PBS frontline would later discover

50:45

that the true number could be much higher due

50:47

to patients being misdiagnosed for pneumonia,

50:50

which dozens more had succumb to during

50:52

the same time period. One

50:56

week after Snyder's Legionnaire's announcement

50:58

in response to the governor's urging,

51:01

president Obama declared a federal

51:03

emergency.

51:04

I am very proud of what I've done as president, but

51:12

The only job that's more important to

51:14

me is the job of father.

51:18

And I know that if I was a parent up there,

51:22

I would be beside myself.

51:27

That my kid's health could be at risk.

51:31

That's why over the weekend, I declared a

51:33

federal emergency in Flint to

51:35

send more resources on top of the assistance

51:38

that we've already put on the ground.

51:41

Flint, Michigan would receive an initial round

51:43

of five million dollars in federal aid to

51:45

help cover the cost of providing water,

51:48

water filters, and other items. FEMA

51:50

workers would hit the ground and the EPA

51:53

would finally take action. At

51:56

the same time, the Michigan Attorney General

51:58

was also taking action. It

52:01

was announced that a state investigation would

52:03

begin to determine what, if any,

52:05

laws were violated in the process

52:07

that resulted in the contamination crisis.

52:10

This is governor Schneider. To

52:12

you, the people of Flint, I say

52:15

tonight, as I have before, I

52:17

am sorry, and I will fix it.

52:19

For those whose mistakes contributed this

52:21

disaster,

52:23

We are fully cooperating with investigations

52:25

and we'll hold those individuals accountable. And

52:28

let me be perfectly clear to all of

52:31

state government. And the in

52:33

situations like

52:34

this, they must come to my desk immediately. No

52:37

delays. No excuses. Period.

52:40

Susan Hedman, the regional head of the

52:42

EPA, who oversees the MDEQ, resigned

52:45

the next day. This is special

52:47

counsel Todd Flood, the prosecutor

52:50

in charge of the investigation.

52:52

This is an investigation I can assure

52:54

you. We're gonna

52:56

open up every door. We're gonna

52:59

ask the tough

52:59

questions. Those proverbial questions

53:02

of what did you know and when did you know it?

53:05

What did you know? And when did you know

53:07

it? That was a question that Governor

53:09

Schneider would be asked repeatedly in the upcoming

53:12

months. Because Governor Schneider

53:14

made the Legionnaire's announcement in January

53:16

two thousand sixteen. Emails

53:19

obtained soon after, but proved that he

53:21

was made aware of the you at least one

53:23

month prior. And there

53:25

was reason to believe that Governor Schneider

53:28

or at least the members of his staff were

53:30

informed of the outbreak almost a year

53:32

earlier.

53:34

An email dated March tenth from the

53:36

Flint, Tennessee County Health Department said,

53:38

quote, the increase of the illnesses

53:41

CLOSELY CORRESPONDS WITH THE TIME frame

53:43

OF THE SWITCH TO THE FLINT River

53:45

WATER. THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN

53:48

EXPLAIN TO MDEQ AND MANY

53:50

OF THE CITY'S OFFICIALS. ANOTHER EMAIL

53:53

THREE DAYS LATER, I WANT TO MAKE SURE

53:55

IN WRITING THAT THERE ARE NO

53:56

MISunderstandings. Regarding this

53:58

significant and urgent public

54:00

health issue. In

54:04

February twenty sixteen, the House

54:06

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

54:08

began their own investigation. After

54:11

declining twice to testify in front of congress,

54:14

Governor Schneider finally made an appearance

54:16

in March. Once

54:18

representatives began their questioning, it

54:21

became clear why Schneider had dragged his heels

54:24

This is representative Cartwright from

54:26

Pennsylvania's eighth district. Pleasable

54:30

deniability only works. When

54:32

it's plausible. And I'm not buying

54:34

that you didn't know about any of this until

54:36

October twenty fifteen. You were

54:39

not in a medically induced coma

54:41

for a year. And

54:43

I've had about enough of your false contrition

54:45

and your phony apologies Susan

54:48

Hedman from the EPA bears not

54:50

one tenth of the responsibility of

54:52

the state of Michigan in your administration,

54:55

and she resigned And there you

54:57

are dripping with guilt,

54:59

but drawing your paycheck, hiring

55:02

lawyers at the expense sense of the

55:04

people and doing your

55:06

dead level best to spread accountability

55:09

to others and not being accountable

55:11

It's not appropriate. Pretty soon,

55:14

we will have men who strike their

55:16

wives saying, I'm sorry,

55:19

dear, but there were failures at

55:21

all levels. People

55:23

who put dollars over the fundamental

55:26

safety of the people do not

55:28

belong in

55:28

government, and you need to resign

55:31

too. Governor Schneider. Represented

55:33

that Brendan Boyle echoed his

55:36

sentiment that the governor of Michigan

55:38

should resign.

55:40

Governor, don't you have a moral

55:42

responsibility to resign. My

55:46

commitment is to fix the problem. This

55:48

is a case where we should have demand

55:51

more answers. I said that in my opening

55:52

statement. And as long as you have and,

55:55

again, a moral responsibility as

55:57

the governor of an administration that

56:00

failed and poisoned its own

56:01

people, don't you have the moral

56:04

responsibility to resign? What

56:06

I would say is is when you have Experts

56:09

that you relied on, they failed. They

56:12

worked for me. So you have a responsibility

56:14

for that. I kicked myself

56:16

every day wishing I would have demanded more answers

56:18

and asked more questions. But to put

56:21

it in context, when something bad

56:23

happens and this is a terrible

56:25

tragedy.

56:26

This has been a the humbling

56:27

experience in my life is

56:29

I believe in the city of Plan. It's been

56:31

far worse than just the humble experience. To

56:33

walk away from it. I want a commitment to I'm

56:36

making a commitment to solve this problem because

56:38

that made people deserve better.

56:40

The people of Flint did deserve better.

56:42

My governor Snyder did admit that the plant

56:45

water crisis was a failure of government

56:47

at all

56:47

levels, but he had no intentions

56:50

of resigning from office. In

56:52

fact, Governor Schneider would go

56:54

on to complete his second term in

56:56

full.

56:59

Professor Mark Edwards also testified

57:01

at one of the congressional hearings. His

57:03

fury was directed at someone who had

57:06

already

57:06

resigned. Susan Hedman, a

57:08

DEP After

57:11

hearing the testimony of

57:13

Susan Hedman this morning, I can't help

57:15

but comment on the qualities

57:19

that seem to be valued and administrators

57:22

at the EPA. Wheelful

57:24

blindness in this case

57:27

to the pain and suffering of

57:29

flint residents. Unremorseful

57:33

for their role in causing this

57:35

man made disaster and

57:38

completely unrepentant and

57:41

unable to learn from their mistakes. Miss

57:45

Hedman said EPA had nothing to do

57:47

with creating Flint. EPA

57:50

had everything to

57:52

do. With creating Flint.

57:55

Because the EPA has effectively condoned cheating

57:57

on the letting copy of the monitoring since

58:00

two thousand and six, This

58:02

is because EPA and other agencies

58:04

caused a similar lead in water crisis

58:06

in Washington DC from two thousand

58:09

one to two thousand four that actually

58:11

was twenty to thirty times worse

58:14

in terms of the health arm to

58:16

children in Washington, D. C. And

58:18

they completely covered that

58:20

up for six years and

58:22

wrote falsified scientific

58:25

reports. And

58:27

it created a climate in which anything

58:29

goes across the United States. Anything

58:32

at all to cover up

58:34

health harm from lead in drinking

58:36

water. Yet EPA

58:38

has allowed entire cities to

58:40

be unnecessarily exposed to

58:43

elevated lead in their drinking water. And

58:45

they've covered up evidence of their unethical

58:47

actions by authoring these

58:49

falsified scientific reports.

58:51

And they never apologized for

58:54

what they did in Washington DC. And

58:56

incredibly to this day, they have not apologized

58:59

for what they did in Flint, Michigan. No

59:02

apology. From

59:04

EPA, completely unrepentant

59:07

and unable to learn from their mistakes.

59:11

By April two thousand sixteen, additives

59:13

had been introduced to the Flint River Water

59:15

that would, quote, rescale the corroded

59:18

pipes. However, that

59:20

treated water was not making its way into

59:22

the pipes because the flint residents

59:24

were not using it. Flint

59:26

residents did not want to pay for water. They

59:28

did not fill safe despite

59:31

the assurances from the government agencies that

59:33

have been lying to them for two

59:34

years. This is Leanne Walters.

59:37

Nobody trusts the city or the state anymore.

59:40

So the tests that are available, people

59:42

don't trust. After everything

59:44

that's happened and they continue to happen

59:47

with the way things are being done with

59:49

mDEQ. People don't trust

59:51

the results. They don't trust the city.

59:54

They don't trust the

59:55

state. And they don't trust the EPA. According

59:58

to Detroit Free Press, when Governor

1:00:00

Snyder publicly encouraged Flint residents

1:00:02

to start using the tap water with a filter,

1:00:05

so that the pipes could be repaired. He

1:00:07

was told by state official that Flint's

1:00:09

residents wanted him to start drinking

1:00:11

the tap water

1:00:12

first. Message out.

1:00:14

Yeah. Well, again, that's part of the message, and that's

1:00:16

why I wanna thank them for letting me grab

1:00:19

some water from their

1:00:19

place. Because, literally, I'm gonna are drinking this

1:00:21

at home at work. Great. So I'm

1:00:23

gonna be drinking flint filtered water at home

1:00:25

at work for the next thirty days or

1:00:27

so. Right. People brought that up and

1:00:29

went back better way to help

1:00:31

shelves support.

1:00:33

But Snyder's thirty day pledge of drinking

1:00:35

filtered tap water did not impress

1:00:38

the residents of

1:00:38

Flint, including mayor Weaver.

1:00:41

First of all, what I wanna say about that is

1:00:43

I hope it's filtered long. The

1:00:45

other thing I need to say about that is

1:00:49

lucky for him that he can bring

1:00:51

filter water because we've been dealing

1:00:53

with this for two years. And

1:00:55

we were drinking it when it wasn't filled.

1:00:58

So what I'm here to say is if the

1:01:00

governor really wanted to know

1:01:02

what it's like to deal with the

1:01:04

situation and we're in. Then instead

1:01:06

of staying, he's going to drink filtered water

1:01:09

for thirty days. He needs to come and

1:01:11

stay here for thirty days and

1:01:13

live with us and but it's like

1:01:15

to have to use bottled or filtered

1:01:18

water when you want to cook and when

1:01:20

you want to drink and when you want to brush

1:01:22

your teeth. That's what he needs to

1:01:24

sleep. We still can't bathe with

1:01:26

this woman. There are a lot of things.

1:01:28

We can't do. We can't shower with this water.

1:01:31

So drinking filtered water

1:01:33

does not impress us at all. The

1:01:37

residents of Flint were still angry.

1:01:39

Still mistrustful, still bitter

1:01:41

about the total lack of accountability. With

1:01:44

the state of Michigan's response have been similar,

1:01:47

but that happened in a majority wide city

1:01:49

like Ann Arbor, rather than Flint

1:01:51

where more than half of the population is black and

1:01:53

poor. Would the EPA outright

1:01:55

deny action to the country clubs

1:01:58

if the water from the sprinkler systems was

1:02:00

corroding their golf clubs? Or

1:02:02

was this just another well doc minute

1:02:04

and well executed act of systemic

1:02:06

racism. The residents of

1:02:08

Flint think so. And when you've

1:02:10

experienced it a thousand times before

1:02:13

you start to recognize

1:02:14

it. There was new

1:02:16

hope, however, that some justice would

1:02:19

be served. Today, We

1:02:21

are announcing we filed criminal charges

1:02:24

in the Flint water crisis against

1:02:27

three individuals. They

1:02:29

failed Michigan families. Indeed,

1:02:33

they failed us all, and I don't care where you

1:02:35

live. These charges

1:02:37

are only the beginning. And

1:02:41

there'll be more to come that

1:02:43

I can guarantee

1:02:44

you. On April twentieth two thousand

1:02:46

sixteen. Attorney general Bill Shutti,

1:02:49

announced charges against Stephen Bush

1:02:51

and Michael Prizby, two state officials

1:02:53

at the MDEQ. As well as

1:02:55

Michael Glasgow, Flint's water

1:02:57

quality supervisor. All

1:03:00

three were faced with felony charges, including

1:03:02

misconduct, collective duty

1:03:04

and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.

1:03:07

It was alleged that Bush and Przyby instructed

1:03:09

Glasgow to discard the two lead

1:03:11

sample so the city would remain within

1:03:14

the acceptable tolerance. That

1:03:16

July, six more state officials

1:03:18

were charged with similar times. Leanne

1:03:21

Schechter Smith, Adam Rosenthal, and

1:03:24

Adam Cook from MDEQ, and

1:03:26

Nancy Peeler, Coreen Miller, and Robert

1:03:28

Scott from the health human services department.

1:03:31

Attorney general Shutti said the crimes of the

1:03:33

six individuals buried, but there

1:03:36

was a common theme, quote, Each

1:03:38

of these individuals attempted to bury

1:03:40

or cover up to downplay or to

1:03:43

hide information that contradicted their own

1:03:45

narrative their story and

1:03:47

their story was there's nothing wrong with

1:03:49

Flint water and it was perfectly

1:03:51

safe to use. In essence,

1:03:53

these individuals concealed the truth. They

1:03:56

were criminally wrong to do so, and

1:03:58

the victims are real people. They

1:04:00

are families who have been lied to by government

1:04:02

officials and treated as if they

1:04:04

don't

1:04:04

count. Well, they

1:04:07

do count. The tragedy

1:04:09

that we know is the Flint water crisis

1:04:11

did not occur by accident? No.

1:04:16

Flint was a casualty of air

1:04:18

against, disdain

1:04:21

and a failure of management, an

1:04:24

absence of accountability city, shirking

1:04:28

responsibility. All

1:04:31

too prevalent and very

1:04:33

ever during the course of this

1:04:35

investigation has been a fixation

1:04:38

on finances and balance sheets.

1:04:41

This fixation has cost lives.

1:04:45

This fixation came at expense

1:04:48

to protecting the health and safety of

1:04:51

Flint. It's all

1:04:53

about numbers over people.

1:04:56

Money over health.

1:05:00

The investigation continued to make its way

1:05:02

to the top. Four more officials

1:05:05

were charged with felonies in December, including

1:05:07

Jerry Ambrose and Darnell Early. The

1:05:10

two former state appointed emergency managers

1:05:12

who orchestrated did the switch. The

1:05:15

allegations were the Ambrose and early

1:05:17

misused bond money that was

1:05:20

supposed to go toward the cleanup of a lagoon of

1:05:22

blind sludge and instead steered it

1:05:24

toward the KWA pipeline. The

1:05:26

city of Flint would have been unable to obtain

1:05:29

the pipeline funding on its own, so

1:05:31

the emergency manager took advantage of a

1:05:33

loophole that allowed even cities without

1:05:35

a credit rating to borrow millions of dollars

1:05:38

in cases of fires floods or

1:05:40

other calamities. Jerry

1:05:43

Ambrose was also accused of having known about

1:05:45

the spike Legionnaire's disease, almost

1:05:48

a year before the public was warned. He

1:05:50

apparently told the Genesee County Health Department

1:05:53

that he didn't want tell anybody because

1:05:55

it would, quote, inflame the situation.

1:05:59

Two weeks later, Ambrose was declaring

1:06:01

the plant water safe to drink and

1:06:03

overriding the city council's decision

1:06:05

to switch back to the Troy water. Darnell

1:06:09

Early and Jerry Ambrose were the highest

1:06:11

ranking officials charged in the investigation

1:06:13

so far. Howard Croft

1:06:16

and Dougherty Johnson, two city

1:06:18

of Flint officials were also charged

1:06:20

with the false pretenses for their roles in

1:06:22

the switch. But the most serious

1:06:24

charges of the investigation came the following

1:06:26

year. On June fourteenth two

1:06:28

thousand seventeen, attorney general

1:06:30

Shutti announced involuntary manslaughter

1:06:33

charges related to the Legionnaire's outbreak.

1:06:35

Against Farnell Early, Howard Croft,

1:06:38

Leanne Schechter Smith and Steven Bush,

1:06:41

all of whom had already been charged with other crimes.

1:06:44

Also charged were Eaton Wells, the state

1:06:46

health department's chief medical executive,

1:06:48

and Nick Lyon, the health department's

1:06:50

director. Among

1:06:52

other highly questionable decisions, Nick

1:06:55

Lyon had allegedly stopped Wayne

1:06:57

State University from searching

1:06:59

the Legionnaire's issue. When the

1:07:01

doctor from the university expressed concerns

1:07:03

and declined that his decision could lead

1:07:05

to more deaths, Mister Lyon

1:07:08

responded that he couldn't save everyone and

1:07:10

that people quote, have to die

1:07:12

of

1:07:12

something. THAT STATEMENT

1:07:15

WOULD COME BACK TO HONT AND DECLINED AT HIS

1:07:17

TRIAL. Reporter:

1:07:18

EMPER SITENNA BOMSHELL GAIN CHANGER

1:07:21

TONIGHT IN THE FLINT WATER CRISIS. ALL

1:07:23

ARGES HAVE BEEN DROPED, BUT THE INVESTIGATION

1:07:26

WILL CONTINUE.

1:07:28

JUST KIDDING, THERE WAS NO TRIAL, NOT

1:07:30

YET ANYWAY. After three years,

1:07:33

eight million dollars of expenses, and multiple

1:07:35

guilty pleas. The new Michigan

1:07:37

attorney general, Dana Nessel, decided

1:07:40

to dismiss all the pending criminal cases.

1:07:43

Prosecutors alleged that the investigation had

1:07:46

been bought and pledged the

1:07:48

start over from scratch. They

1:07:50

had uncovered over twenty million documents

1:07:52

that had not been reviewed and were critical

1:07:54

of how their predecessors offered plea deals

1:07:56

to seven officials that resulted in

1:07:58

no jail time. The

1:08:00

new administration promised to move forward with

1:08:03

the more, quote, thorough, methodical,

1:08:05

and ethical investigation. While

1:08:08

it is possible that similar charges will

1:08:11

be refiled against the culprits. So

1:08:13

far, many of them have already

1:08:15

been dropped. As

1:08:18

of February two thousand nineteen, more

1:08:20

than seventy five lawsuits have been filed

1:08:23

in regards to the crisis. Lawsuits

1:08:25

against the city of Flint, the state

1:08:27

of Michigan, Tennessee County,

1:08:29

Governor Schneider, the MDQ, the

1:08:32

EPA, the two engineering

1:08:34

companies who were hired to consult the city on the

1:08:36

switch and so on. In

1:08:38

January twenty twenty, the Supreme

1:08:41

court declined to hear two of the cases, allowing

1:08:43

them to proceed in the lower courts and

1:08:45

asserting the Flint Residences right

1:08:47

to a remedy.

1:08:49

FLINT HAS REPLACED MORE THAN six thousand

1:08:52

LEED PIPES, BUT NEARLY ten thousand

1:08:54

ARE

1:08:54

LEFT. THE STATE INSIST THE WATER QUALITY

1:08:57

IS RESTORED. Reportedly,

1:08:59

lead bubbles and flint water have been below

1:09:01

federal limits since January two thousand

1:09:04

seventeen. Thanks to hundreds

1:09:06

of millions of dollars in grants aid and

1:09:08

other donations. Thousands of

1:09:10

service lines that lead pipes have been inspected

1:09:12

or replaced. According to

1:09:14

Michigan Radio, Glint's drinking

1:09:16

water system has become one of the most closely

1:09:18

monitored and most rigorously tested

1:09:21

in the country for obvious reasons.

1:09:24

In fact, at this point, Flint's lead

1:09:26

levels are better than at least six other cities

1:09:28

in Michigan

1:09:29

alone, but the long term effects

1:09:31

of the crisis are still not fully

1:09:33

known. According to a new medical

1:09:35

RESEARTS STUDY FEETAL DEATH

1:09:37

RATES INCREASED BY fifty eight percent

1:09:40

IN FLINT AFTER THE CITY SWITCHED ITS

1:09:42

WATERSOURCE BACK IN APRIL OF twenty fourteen.

1:09:44

The researchers say between one hundred

1:09:46

ninety eight and two hundred seventy six more

1:09:48

children would have been born had

1:09:50

fled, not enacted that switch in the

1:09:53

water supply.

1:09:58

As for the citizens of Flint, they're

1:10:00

still using water filters. Still

1:10:02

relying on bottled water donations, still

1:10:05

not trusting the government. Many

1:10:07

of the residents are not convinced that the water

1:10:09

is safe, including the mayor. And

1:10:11

after everything that has transpired, can

1:10:13

you blame them? There is

1:10:15

a reason to be wary. Thanks

1:10:18

to aging infrastructure and cuts to environmental

1:10:20

regulations and funding. This could

1:10:22

happen again. It's

1:10:25

already happening. In the United

1:10:27

States, in Canada, and Australia.

1:10:30

It's possible anywhere brass or copper pipes

1:10:32

are installed. As professor

1:10:35

Mark Edward said after the Washington

1:10:37

DC crisis. If we

1:10:39

do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed

1:10:41

to repeat them. Flint

1:10:43

has already proven him correct. The

1:10:46

question is, have we learned from

1:10:48

our mistakes? If not,

1:10:50

It's only a matter of time before what happened

1:10:52

in Flint, Michigan. happens

1:10:54

in your backyard.

1:10:56

Doctor Mark Edwards expose high levels

1:10:58

of lead in Flint, Michigan, and now

1:11:00

he is coming to New

1:11:01

York. These lead levels are quite high.

1:11:04

I mean, four hundred PPP one

1:11:06

glass of water could really be a very

1:11:08

harmful exposure to a child.

1:11:16

Swindled is written, researched, produced,

1:11:18

and hosted by me, a concerned citizen.

1:11:21

With original music by Trevor Howard.

1:11:24

For more information about Swindled, you can visit

1:11:26

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1:11:28

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1:11:30

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