Lies, deceit and more sniper fire: the obama administration knew about Flint last April- UPDATED

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flint water plant

 

See if you can tell that I’m angry.  Sean Penn is the dolt who fancies himself as a journalist while surrendering all editorial control to his subject, a drug lord and murderer. CBS This Morning has decided to enroll in the Sean Penn School of Journalism. The Hillary whores hosts at CBS This Morning spent an entire segment of the show painting Michigan Governor as the bad guy in the Flint Michigan tainted water scandal. They likened it to a “Katrina moment.” The segment then turned entirely into a Hillary Clinton campaign commercial. Everything centered around what Hillary had to say. Clinton was quick to seize upon the issue and make it political. She promptly set fire to the issue when injected race into it, saying that it was a “civil rights issue.”

Not content with that, she had another sniper fire moment:

“I issued a statement about what we needed to do and then I went on a TV show and I said it was outrageous that the governor hadn’t acted,” Clinton said. “And within two hours he had.”

As with the sniper fire, it was bullsh*t. Snyder had sought help from FEMA days before. That was in addition to Snyder distributing filters back in September.

That perennial a$$hole Michael Moore weighed in:

Director Michael Moore was at the front lines of a rally he held in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, where he claimed the government neglected the city’s complaints of a contaminated water supply until it turned into a crisis.

Moore claimed Gov. Rick Snyder knew that ‘toxins, pollutants and, eventually, lead’ was leaching into the water after the city switched sources – exposing thousands of vulnerable children.

About 200 residents joined the protest, some chanting ‘Syder’s got to go, hey hey, ho ho, water is a human right’ and holding up signs with phrases like ‘Callous Rick made Flint sick’.

‘This is not a mistake,’ Moore said about the controversy that has devastated the financially-strapped city. ‘Ten people here have been killed because of a political decision.’

‘They did this. They knew.’

 

Then comes the rest of the bullsh*t:

“I think the governor’s incredibly thinned skinned on this issue,” Democratic consultant Joe DiSano said Monday. “Tragedies like this happen when you run government like a business, and this is wholly owned by the Michigan Republican Party and Gov. Snyder.”

Absolutely false. This, just as in New Orleans, is a democrat owned issue and the left is furiously trying to turn it around. That reversal is facilitated in no small part by the vapid, shallow Pennesque reporting by CBS News.

Here’s how it all went down.

Flint Michigan has been run by democrats for a long time. They ran it so far into the ground that an emergency manager was appointed to run the city in September of 2013- democrat Darnell Early. To save money for the city, the (democrat) Flint City council voted in March of 2013 to stop buying water from Detroit and join the Karegnondi Water Authority. Problem was, the KWA would not be ready for three years and another source of water was needed. It’s unclear how it happened, but the Flint river became the source of the town’s water. One thing is clear- it was all democrats. Here they are celebrating the switch to the Flint river as the source of the city’s water:

 

On April 25, 2014 democrat Mayor Dayne Walling ceremoniously closes the valve shutting off Detroit water:

“Water is an absolute vital service that most everyone takes for granted,” Walling said. “It’s a historic moment for the city of Flint to return to its roots and use our own river as our drinking water supply.”

The water’s great, said everyone

“The Flint River is a different river than it was the last time we used it – that was pre-Clean Water Act,” Flint Utilities Director Daughtery Johnson told The Flint Journal last week, adding that the city made two years’ worth of improvements at the water plant in nine months. “It’s a great system. It’s a great asset the city has. Every drop we pull out, we’re going to clean and put right back in the river.”

Johnson said although the hardness of the water treated from the Flint River will be higher than it is now from Detroit, customers still shouldn’t notice a difference. Higher hardness in water means it may take more water and soap to create a lather.

As for Governor Snyder, he has been anything other than neglectful. Back in October:

Last week, after warnings from researchers and doctors of elevated lead levels in drinking water and the blood of children since the switch, Snyder announced a plan to finance the purchase of nine months of water from the Detroit water system for Flint.

Originally democrats pinned the blame on Early. In October the Michigan democratic Party called on Snyder to fire Early. Early resisted:

Earley said he had no reason at the time to second-guess what appeared to have been a consensus decision.

“The decision to separate from (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) and go with the Karegnondi Water Authority, including the decision to pump Flint River water in the interim, were both a part of a long-term plan that was approved by Flint’s mayor, and confirmed by a City Council vote of 7-1 in March of 2013 — a full seven months before I began my term as emergency manager,” Earley’s email says.

Ready for the best part of this? The democrat obama administration has known about this since last April:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top Midwest official said her department knew as early as April about the lack of corrosion controls in Flint’s water supply — a situation that likely put residents at risk for lead contamination — but said her hands were tied in bringing the information to the public.

Starting with inquiries made in February, the federal agency battled Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality behind the scenes for at least six months over whether Flint needed to use chemical treatments to keep lead lines and plumbing connections from leaching into drinking water. The EPA did not publicize its concern that Flint residents’ health was jeopardized by the state’s insistence that such controls were not required by law.

Instead of moving quickly to verify the concerns or take preventative measures, federal officials opted to prod the DEQ to act, EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman told The Detroit News this week. Hedman said she sought a legal opinion on whether the EPA could force action, but it wasn’t completed until November.

 

This was a total screw-up for sure, but to lay it at the feet of Snyder is both asinine and wrong. Erin Brockovich, Jan. 2015:

“Now is not the time for the blame game…Detroit has failed and Flint jumped ship. So much for local control… everyone is responsible from the top down: USEPA, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the State of Michigan and the local officials,”

In February 2015 the democrat-controlled city of Flint hired urban water expert Veolia North America to analyze the situation. They came back with a report:

‘Your water is safe’

FLINT, MI — A city consultant says Flint has problems with sediment and discoloration in its water but it is safe to drink and currently meeting all state and federal standards.

Officials for Veolia North America gave that initial assessment Wednesday, Feb. 18, but several members of the City Council were unconvinced and said the report amounted to little more than a sugar coating on deep problems.

This is not a new event. The grandstanding by Hillary Clinton is simply loathsome but typical. The administration has known about this since April and it did nothing. Hillary promises to continue that tradition and she’s got CBS’s Hillary Clinton This Morning’s propagandists unabashedly promoting her campaign.

 

clinton cheerleaders

 

Hey, where’s a Presidential Executive Order when you really need one?

UPDATE

The obama administration member who knew about this since April has resigned.

 

 

 

 

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if a republican is elected next nov. look for the true unemployment numbers and the real amount of debt and any casualties in the overseas contingency operations to be headline news day in and day out. Obama’s new refugee resettlement program will be laid at the feet of the republicans when that blows up in our faces (I hope not literally). WaW&T,F’d

The problem is one of definitions of ”unsafe levels of lead.”
The EPA, after Obama took office, tried to foist a ZERO PPM/L level of lead on the nation as the only level that is ”safe.”

The maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is zero. This is the levels determined to be safe by toxicological and biomedical considerations, independent of feasibility.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=7&po=8
This number is technologically impossible to get to in water supplies where lead is present either in the water OR lead is present in the pipes and the water is ”hard.”
Therefore the EPA ”allows” a reasonable level of 15 pb/L in drinking water.

And, the GOVERNOR was NOT the bad guy in this.
It was all DEMOCRATS all the way across.
Even that ONE vote against was the lone Republican on the Flint City Council.

No surprise that when liberal-induced disaster strikes, the liberals seek out the closest Republican to blame. Simply another pitiful sign of Hillary’s desperation that she tries to remake this issue.

Here’s a suggestion; go get water from the Anamus River.

cbs also know as the clinton broadcasting service. the domo-rats took control of Detroit in 1962 and have bankrupted the city-typical of socialists. the governor inherited this problem, but the demo-rats are making him the scapegoat.

for insight, I would suggest a wonderful book- Philip Tetlock’s , “Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?” This is a great book and it captures the a wondrous event of hindsight. Similar to Hannah Arendt’s work the “Origin of Totalitarianism”. All offer insight to the issue of water and leadership.

While looking for a house very recently we found two houses that have a lead pipe bringing in water from the city, the city has been replacing lead main lines when streets are replaced, but some of the owners of homes opt not to have the lines into the homes and to the meter (not the citys responsibility) replaced. 1 plumber will for a reduced cost when street work is being done replace the lines with copper.
There is a chemical they add to the water it clings to and coats the lead pipes allowing the water to pass through the lines (according to the water dept) safely. We declined offering purchase of either of those houses, the streets had recently been replaced at both houses.
Flint and every other city should be adding this chemical to the water. I like older homes, but check the plumbing carefully.
Seeing a sample of flints cloudy dirty water coming out of the taps, looks like a major fail of the water treatment plant.

Director Michael Moore was at the front lines of a rally he held in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, where he claimed the government neglected the city’s complaints of a contaminated water supply until it turned into a crisis.

The government did ignore complaints. Specifically, the government headed by republican Rick Snyder, who ordered that the authority of the democratically elected officials of Flint be nullified and that control of city affairs be given over to one of his highly paid Emergency City Managers. It was one or more such appointees who made the decision to draw the city’s drinking water from the Flint River, who who contracted the required work to be done to accomplish this, and who saw the work completed. It was an appointee who failed to see that proper treatment was undertaken, and who ignored EPA warnings that the levels of lead were, in fact, becoming dangerously high as a result. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality also ignored the EPA’s notifications.

Flint water mystery: How was decision made?

Everybody who had any part in the decision is trying to shirk responsibility, but responsibility ultimately rests with the people who were empowered to make the decision. Snyder and Andy Dillon are likely central players. You’ve got to wonder about the relationship between Snyder and Dillon. Dillon resigned as State Treasurer the year following the decision to switch Flint’s water source from Detroit—a decision made despite a paid study that found that this would actually cost Flint more money than keeping Detroit as the supplier. This a bit odd, considering that the entire point of taking over management of Flint was to get the city back on firm financial footing. Interestingly, Dillon continued to draw his full State Treasurer salary after his resignation, in return for remaining available as a consultant. I suppose continuing access to his good advice is worth the taxpayer’s money.

@Greg: Who caused the emergency to begin with. Those so good at blaming a previous administration for current issues and now sure wont own up to their own screw ups, and Moore is an idiot so irrelevant.
Snyder also appointed a task force to investigate what caused the crisis. Last month, the group released a scathing report that placed blame chiefly on the state’s environmental department – from failing to properly treat the Flint river to officials belittling responses to public outcry. The federal government is also investigating what happened.
So the governor and Mayor relying on a state agency to provide accurate info when they spring from years/decades of democratic appointments and hiring…the fools!

@kitt, #8:

Snyder also appointed a task force to investigate what caused the crisis.

I can imagine the press release header: “Fox Assembles Committee to Investigate Disappearance of Chickens from Hen House.”

Last month, the group released a scathing report that placed blame chiefly on the state’s environmental department – from failing to properly treat the Flint river to officials belittling responses to public outcry.

Right. Their conclusion? The fault lies with the federal government:

“We believe in the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance (ODWMA) at MDEQ, a culture exists in which ‘technical compliance’ is considered sufficient to ensure safe drinking water in Michigan. The minimalist approach to regulatory and oversight responsibility is unacceptable and simply insufficient to the task of public protection. It led to the MDEQ’s failure to recognize a number of indications that switching the water source in Flint would — and did — compromise both water safety and water quality. The MDEQ made a number of decisions that were, and continue to be, justified on the basis that federal rules ‘allowed’ those decisions to be made. ODWMA must adopt a posture that is driven not by this minimalist technical compliance approach, but rather by one that is founded on what needs to be done to assure drinking water safety.”

It’s the EPA’s fault, because federal rules ‘allowed’ irresponsible decisions to be made? That’s what they’re claiming? You’ve got to be kidding me.

The task force is still looking into

A long-term financing of a model health public program and also replacement of lead-containing water service lines and fixtures, heightened lead dangers awareness for the public and holding people responsible for the Flint water crisis, including employees with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Have at it. I’m guessing the scope of what the DOJ is looking into might be somewhat wider than that.

@Greg: The feds knew since April have the authority to intervene and did nothing, not a thing, zip, nada. And Hillary is outraged!
by the way since you love Fox
p.s.
ohh boy. Fox News has obtained a letter from Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III to members of Congress that states emails discovered on Hillary Clinton’s home-brew server contained intelligence from “special access programs,” which is “a level of classification beyond even ‘top secret’.”

So, we’re supposed to blame the federal government because the EPA failed to intervene and overrule decisions made by the Michigan state government? That’s certainly an unexpected philosophical u-turn.

The problem lies within the Michigan governmental system. Incompetence, or corruption? Perhaps the DOJ—which I’m sure you won’t object to for intervening—can figure that out.

It won’t be easy. Michigan is one of only two states where the governor’s office and the legislature are exempt from freedom of information requests. They determine what the public can and can’t know about their inner workings. They’re allowed to keep their secrets from the voters. What the public doesn’t know won’t hurt them. (Them primarily being elected officials and their flunkies.)

@Greg: Question, Greg: what is supposed to be the purpose of the EPA? What are they paid to do, when they aren’t destroying rivers?

@Bill, #12:

Their function is to protect the nation’s environment.

Do you believe their first response upon noting indications of a problem should be to alert the media and parachute in an emergency response team, or to notify the responsible state and local officials that a problem exists?

You can’t have it both ways, depending upon what is politically convenient at the moment. “The Obama administration knew about Flint last April” is taking the republican practice of blame-shifting to a ludicrous extreme. The fault lies somewhere within the State of Michigan. An elected city government that had its decision-making authority taken from it by the State government is hardly a credible scapegoat.

Actually, lead water pipes are still used in areas where minor earth quakes occur. That allows the pipe to flex with out breaking. The EPA assumed primacy for water in their recent regulations. Maybe they only want to harass farmers and builders.

This just simply means that we must all take personal responsibility to filter all water coming to our homes there are systems we can purchase that will insure our own safety, but what they charge for water in flint you would think you would at least be able to shower. I wish they would stop pointing fingers and act.

@Greg:

Their function is to protect the nation’s environment.

So, when they notified Flint of the hazards of their ignoring the threat of lead contamination, why would the organization that wants to control every stream, creek, pond, ditch, rivulet, tank, lake, canal, spring, trickle or river not do what they do best; poke their nose right into someone else’s business? Especially when what they are in actual existence for is actually underway? Because they are shy? Embarrassed? Polite?

This is a problem that, like most liberal-induced problems, begins from the very beginning with liberals, is driven by liberals, is controlled by liberals, is covered up by liberals and then, when the cat is out of the bag, blamed on others by liberals. It is so boringly formulaic.

The lying left believes controlling entities like the EPA should be involved in every aspect of life and protecting us from evil, greedy powers. However, when they fail to do their JOB, as defined by the left, the left scrambles to find scapegoats and, as a last resort, point out that it is not looked upon favorably by those who understand the legal limits of power, so what’s the harm? If they exist, Greg, and they are THERE, the very least they could do is what they are designed to do… protect people and the environment.

If you are not willing to hold the very powers you support and promote accountable when they fail to even perform the bare minimum of their functions, at least have the dignity to NOT blame those that have been telling you the width and breadth of their very worthlessness.

@Randy: No earthquakes here, our problem is rapid freezing or thawing thats some of Flints issue as well.

If you are not willing to hold the very powers you support and promote accountable when they fail to even perform the bare minimum of their functions, at least have the dignity to NOT blame those that have been telling you the width and breadth of their very worthlessness.

I think the right has done so much spinning that they’ve finally fallen over from the resulting dizziness. They’re looking up at the ceiling from the floor, and their eyes are going around like pinwheels.

Is it actually being suggested that the EPA—or EPA officials appointed by Obama—have for some reason gone out of their way to cover up the incompetence of Michigan officials appointed by or working under the administration of republican Governor Rick Snyder? If so, I’m really curious what their motives for doing so might be.

Thanks for dealing in FACTS…. The GoverNerd “accepting” so much of the blame will, of course, only further the LYING from the Left….

#Flint #Michigan…. Michael Moore-on (and then Jackson) comes to town and demands the Resignation of the Republican Governor. While there are many reasons I’d like to see the GoverNerd to resign so that the supposedly “more Conservative” Lt Gov Brian Calley could take over – this is not one of them. There was NO MALICE (on the part of the Liberal Democrats on the Flint Council that voted for it, nor in Lansing) in what happened in Flint.

THEN THERE’S THAT SMALL PROBLEM OF DEALING WITH THE FACTS….. You’ll notice Mikey Moore-on or Rev Jackson don’t call for the resignation of the Flint City Council members that Voted to approve the Water deal/switch (they were NOT forced to vote for it (only 1 dissenting vote) by Gov or EM) – cuz they’re all Liberal Democrats (and many of whom were crying endlessly about the COST/EXPENSE of Detroit Water themselves, yet, again and of course, not really calling for anything or anyone to be held accountable for that – cuz they are all Liberal Democrats appointed by Liberal Democrat Detroit Mayors). Nor do you hear any demands for resignation or prosecution of Flint’s Water Department Workers/Leaders that were supposed to treat and monitor the water locally – again, cuz they’re all Liberal Democrats. This is, of course, the usual – never let a crisis go to waste (Alinsky Democrat) tactics to engage in a hyper-partisan Witch hunt!!!

There is plenty of blame to go around (those at the State’s version of the EPA are also very culpable) – what needs to be focused on is the immediate needs of Flint residents and all to work toward the long-term fix. Mikey Moore-on (nor Jesse Jackson) isn’t here to help anyone fix anything, he’s just here to grandstand – after all, he has a movie coming out this month he needs sheeple to go see!!! You’ll notice Mikey Moore-on nor Jesse Jackson brought any Water with them!!!!

FACTS (try them some time)(read): http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/03/flint_residents_should_be_drin.html

see also:

Lies, deceit and more sniper fire: the obama administration knew about Flint last April- UPDATED

Again, The Flint City Council voted to approve the switch BEFORE THE EM ARRIVED… I guess Liberals/Democrats are just angry that neither the GoverNerd nor the EM were PSYCHIC and therefore failed to see the results coming and therefore STEP IN and STOP Flint Democrats from “poisoning their citizens” (as the ridiculous accusation is against the Governor). Could you imagine the out-cry had the EM/Gov STOP THEM from doing it – the cries about meddling they are already screaming about cuz an EM had to be appointed cuz Democrats have driven Flint to the point of Bankruptcy!!

GoverNerd quoted as saying Flint is his Katrina… Exactly right, he will be blamed for what Liberal Democrats did (Flint Council voted to make Water switch before EM took-over) in Flint just as Bush was blamed for what Liberal Democrats failed to do (use monies to fix/improve Levies as they were supposed to, but instead constantly diverted funds to other “pet” projects that enriched their friends) in NOLA which made Katrina worse than it should have been. All because the MSM is (either willing accomplices to the Democrats lies or) too lazy to bother to research and report (some of what they themselves had previously reported) the facts!

@firefirefire: Oh Libtard Please…. Your “concern” about “Unemployment numbers” is laughable… When the Federal numbers have been cooked to pretend U/E is at 5%. The percentage of folks out of the Workforce is at an all-time high (not seen since the Carter years) with 95M, and they ain’t all Seniors happily enjoying retirement – there are countless Millions that have stopped looking for Work entirely and are therefore not calculated in the U/E numbers…. Countless numbers, and not all legit, have gone on to Social Security Disability (cuz they can’t get work), countless others are now on Welfare and Food-Stamps (which is why the participation rate of those are at the highest levels in history), and countless Young people who are having to live off Mom and Dad (we see stories all the time about them whining they got a degree in worthlisness and yet are surprised they can’t find a Job)!!!

@Joseph M Lenard (@JLenardDetroit), #20:

You’ll notice Mikey Moore-on or Rev Jackson don’t call for the resignation of the Flint City Council members that Voted to approve the Water deal/switch (they were NOT forced to vote for it (only 1 dissenting vote) by Gov or EM)

The city council only voted to change Flint’s water provider from Detroit to the Karegnondi Water Authority, which is in the process of building a new pipeline that will provide water from Lake Huron. They DID NOT vote to discontinue purchasing water services from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department in the interim, while construction was underway. That decision was made after an Emergency City Manager was appointed and given control over the city. There was no vote taken, because the city council and mayor no longer had any authority to decide.

Elected city officials were invited to participate in a little “ribbon cutting” ceremony, however, to keep up the illusion that the city’s democratically elected officials were still involved in running the affairs of their city. It was even arranged for them to toast the occasion for the media with glasses of water that quite obviously did not contain the discolored stuff that began coming out of people’s kitchen taps a couple of days later. The Mayor was photographed pushing the button that made it all happen. The following is from an article that appeared on April 25, 2014, detailing the event:

“Individuals shouldn’t notice any difference,” said Steve Busch, Lansing and Jackson district supervisor in the DEQ’s office of drinking water and municipal assistance. (The DEQ is Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.)

He said Flint still had a final bacteria test that it passed Friday morning, allowing Flint to close the valve to Detroit.

Flint will use the river until the KWA builds its pipeline to Genesee County. The $274 million project is expected to be complete sometime in 2016.

“This is indeed the best choice for the city of Flint going forward,” said Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley.

Uh, no. It was a horrible choice. And Flint’s elected officials didn’t actually make it. If you have any questions concerning the degree to which the appointment of an Emergency Manager renders local elected officials virtually powerless, have a look at Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Public Act 72 of 1990, Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the Appointment of Emergency Financial Managers.

No vote was taken concerning water from the Flint River. The governor’s designated boss man was now in charge, with his hefty salary paid out of the city’s budget. Flint’s mayor and city council members were powerless to decide anything.

@Greg: So, did the EPA identify this issue in 2014, Greg? Did they do ANYTHING about it?

Motive? Why, to hide more failure… the usual. The same motive that drove the Fast and Furious, IRS, Benghazi, VA and Obamacare cover-ups.

Who’s spinning?

@Bill: Greggie has issues with the truth and reality, I admire your efforts Bill but with a swine like Greggie your pearls are wasted.

@Bill, #23:

The EPA notified the appropriate Michigan authorities. That’s what the EPA was supposed to do. It’s the responsibility of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to directly oversee and regulate public water supplies within the State of Michigan, not the EPA. The Michigan DEQ operates under the authority of the governor. The director of DEQ is appointed by the governor.

Governor Snyder wants to characterize this as a failure at all levels of government, to dilute the blame. It wasn’t. The failure was entirely at the state level. All decisions were made at the state level and below—excluding the elected city officials of Flint.

@Greg:Hmmm… usually, it seems the EPA simply barrels in and does what it wants to do. Perhaps since they were dealing with liberals (in the process of continuing to destroy another city) they decided to show some tolerance? Tolerance that put lives in danger?

http://www.mesothelioma.com/news/2009/4/epa-shuts-down-operations-at-tennessee-plant.htm

http://www.timesnews.net/News/2009/03/31/EPA-shuts-down-salvage-operations-at-Morristown-Liberty-Fibers-site.html

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/16881-epa-closure-of-last-lead-smelting-plant-to-impact-ammunition-production

http://www.globalwarming.org/2011/04/25/epa-shuts-down-drilling-in-alaska/

In other words, the usually muscle-flexing EPA failed to do its actual job. Liberal failure… as usual.

The EPA is not able to micro-manage environmental quality issues at the local level in every city and town in the nation.

The political right generally isn’t happy with what they perceive as the EPA’s currently excessive level of “intrusiveness.” Yet suddenly they’re claiming the problem in Flint should have been prevented by the EPA? This is more than a little ironic.

@Greg: Not that they should have, that they could have, they could have reported the issue to HHS or CDC. But they really don’t care about the American people they only care about the power and control they can exercise to assist in wealth redistribution schemes of the elite. They knew and did nothing.
But the report ordered by Snyder that was to find cause, actually pointed to the State officials as I stated in #8 not the feds as you stated in #9.Typical of your knee jerk reaction to any report that one of the presidents pets are being questioned. The water as tested at the water plant would pass guidelines until it went through the pipes and to peoples homes, the state officials belittled peoples concerns, I hope those responsible join the unemployed, and are replaced with competent caring humans.
But now the issue is out in the open, and something must be done.

@Greg: The EPA is able to do whatever it f*****g wants to whenever it wants to. It simply didn’t want to because there was no liberal agenda to be served by exposing the incompetence and corruption of liberals.

The following is from a March 7, 2014 letter from Darnell Earley, Governor Rick Snyder’s appointed Emergency Manger for the city of Flint, to Sue McCormick, then Director and Chief Executive Officer for the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, from which Flint was purchasing their water. As can clearly be seen, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department had offered Flint the option of continuing to purchase their water from Detroit. Detroit didn’t “cut Flint off,” as has been alleged. Rather, a decision was made to use water from the Flint River instead:

“Thank you for the correspondence dated February 12, 2014 which provides Flint with the option of continuing to purchase water from DWSD following the termination of the current contract as of April 17, 2014.

“Following DWSD’s April 17, 2013 notice of termination of the water service contract between the City of Flint and DWSD, the City of Flint has actively pursued using the Flint River as a temporary water source while the KWA pipeline is being constructed. We expect that the Flint Water Treatment Plant will be fully operational and capable of treating Flint River water prior to the date of termination. In that case, there will be no need for Flint to continue purchasing water to serve its residents and businesses after April 17, 2014.”

Ed Kurtz had been appointed by Governor Rick Snyder as Flint’s Emergency Manager effective August, 2012. Flint remained continuously under the authority of Emergency Managers appointed by Rick Snyder until April 30, 2015.

There’s probably a reason Snyder’s office released no related correspondence from 2013. That’s actually the year in question. That’s the year when somebody was making the decisions that brought all of this about.

It’s obvious where the blame will properly fall: on the Snyder administration, Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, and Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services. E-mails that have thus far been released provide evidence of that:

Flint’s water crisis: newly released emails show Michigan officials’ long indifference to residents’ concerns

@Bill:
from LA Times
A regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency resigned Thursday in connection with the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., and EPA chief Gina McCarthy issued an emergency order directing state and city officials to take actions to protect public health.
McCarthy said in a statement that Susan Hedman, head of the EPA regional office in Chicago, whose jurisdiction includes Michigan, was stepping down Feb. 1.

The EPA “is deeply concerned by continuing delays and lack of transparency,” McCarthy said in a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder.

She said that steps outlined in her order “are essential to ensuring the safe operation of Flint’s drinking water system and the protection of public health.”
What do you know a Chicago connection not very shocking at all.

You’ve seen all the SPIN and Lies…. The simple/basic timeline/FACTS of the Flint Water situation…

The Democrat Flint City Council (before the EM ever showed up) voted (only 1 dissent) to switch from Detroit Water (run by Democrats, cuz Detroit Democrats have so mismanaged the Dept that the cost of Water is prohibitive – and even Democrats admit that failing when they are marching and complaining about Detroit Water Shutoffs (that Democrats are behind)). Then, the Detroit Water Democrats threw a tantrum and said: Fine, you don’t want our Water we’re going to immediately withdraw the Water from you (fellow Democrats) in Flint which is what FORCED the Flint Mayor, Council, and Water Department onto their only viable (at the time) alternative of the Flint River (The EM didn’t force them, the Gov didn’t force them, the State or Federal EPA didn’t force them – Detroit Democrats did). THEN, we’re not done yet, the Flint (Democrats) Water Department whose job it was to treat that Water (NOT the Gov or EM) FAILED TO DO IT PROPERLY and also failed to monitor the situation properly for some time which then created the situation where Lead leeched from the Old-Pipes. (You can also easily google the facts that Bay City had a similar switch with the same basic Old-Pipes, but did NOT POISON their residents – cuz they properly treated the water so as to avoid Lead from leeching from the pipes – look it up)… Was the State and Federal EPA slow to do anything once things came to light? YES, and guess what – some folks in Lansing were forced to Resign over it and even a person in OBAMA’S FEDERAL EPA that knew about it and did nothing also resigned…. but none of it would have occurred if not for the actions/decisions/failings of FLINT AND DETROIT DEMOCRATS! And no amount of attempts, by the Left, to Distort, Deflect, or Deny those FACTS will change it!! NO CALLS for Flint Water Dept workers that failed and are the ones who actually caused the poisoning of its citizens are, of course, being made. No calls pointing out the culpability of Detroit Democrats for PULLING THE WATER FROM FLINT before Flint was ready are, of course, being made. And while the Left keeps trying to blame the EM or the Governor because both Flint and Detroit Democrats had failed to correct course and prevent their cities from further going to Hell that would have then avoided the whole need for the State to have to appoint an EM to bail them out. PERIOD!!! IT’S THAT SIMPLE and all that actually use their brain and examines the facts knows where the blame actually lies. These are undisputable facts and News-stories that outline every step in this process can be found!

@Joseph M Lenard (@JLenardDetroit), #33:

Your account is deliberately misleading—as in, a load of manure.

The Flint city council only voted to switch from Detroit Water and Sewage Department as a supplier to Lake Huron water provided by a new pipeline project. They DID NOT vote to use Flint Lake water in the interim. That decision would have to have been made by one of Snyder’s appointed Emergency Managers, because once said Emergency Manager was in place, Flint’s elected city officials no longer had authority to decide squat.

Nor did Detroit vindictively cut off the supply to Flint in the interim, as the March 7, 2014 letter from Emergency Manager Earley to the Director of DWSD cited in post #30 clearly establishes. The current contract with Detroit was going to end on April 17, 2014, at which point Flint clearly had the option to extend service—that decision being up to the appointed Emergency Manager, not the City Council. Either the Emergency Manager decided on his own authority, or he followed instructions that came down from the governor’s office. The Flint City Council had nothing to say about it.

That much, at least, has been documented. It follows from the date an Emergency Manager took over control of Flint, Michigan, and from dated correspondence that has already been released. That alone is enough to demonstrate that the story you’re telling is a fairy tale.

The excerpts from correspondence cited in the article linked in post #31 suggest far worse than that: incompetence in a couple of Michigan state departments, and more concern about political fallout in the governor’s office than for the well-being of the people of Flint, Michigan.

@Greg:

It’s obvious where the blame will properly fall: on the Snyder administration, Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, and Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services. E-mails that have thus far been released provide evidence of that:

Yeah, that’s probably why the Finger-Pointer in Chief has not blamed Snyder and there is a shake-up going on in the EPA.

The Flint city council only voted to switch from Detroit Water and Sewage Department as a supplier to Lake Huron water provided by a new pipeline project. They DID NOT vote to use Flint Lake water in the interim. That decision would have to have been made by one of Snyder’s appointed Emergency Managers, because once said Emergency Manager was in place, Flint’s elected city officials no longer had authority to decide squat.

Because he is the leader of the state and, by that right, bears responsibility for whatever happens, Snyder released information and took responsibility. Compare that to the actions of Hillary or Obama. THAT is what leadership looks like, Greg, not taking every opportunity in every tragic occurrence (or liberal failure) to make it a racial issue and try to divide that country into more manageable camps for their own selfish needs.

The EPA has a lot of faults, mostly when corrupt politicians use it as a political weapon to follow an agenda. However, it was created, rightly or wrongly, to accomplish a specific goal and one of those was to protect the public. In Flint, it had the opportunity to do just that. Due to politics (the same thing that drives it to harass farmers, ranchers and businesses over small bodies of water) it looked the other way. Though Snyder is a Republican, he has not replaced every Democrat in the state and, just as obviously, those running the state environmental departments acted the same as the EPA. And, of course, there is the local, Democrat government which wasn’t exactly pushing the issue.

Wait… Flint voted to switch from Detroit to Huron BEFORE the conduit to bring Huron water to Flint was in place… what were they intending to do for water in the interim? More liberal genius?

You might also want to answer the question as to why so much of Michigan is under emergency financial management in the first place. Any thoughts?

Fact 1: Regardless of any other “facts” surrounding the reasons why Flint switched to the Flint River – it was the Flint Water Department that failed to properly clean and treat the water that created the crisis of Lead leeching from the pipes! (undeniable/indisputable) Period! (and the Left will continue to do anything and everything to continue to deflect, distract, and distort, from this Fact)

Fact 2: Others (after the fact) mismanaged the crisis (created in Fact 1)

Until people are willing to deal with the people responsible for/in Fact 1 – I frankly don’t give a darn who they want to scapegoat for Fact 2 (which would be moot had Fact 1 not happened)! And people in Lansing have been held accountable (for Fact 2) by people being forced to resign, while people in Flint (Fact 1) continue to get a PASS! Including the previous Mayor that was on TV drinking a glass of Flint water to tell his citizens the water was safe, while, again, the left will constantly try to deflect that it was ONLY THOSE DARN REPUBLICANS in Lansing creating a cover-up!

The Detroit River water, that flowed through the same Flint pipes and DID NOT leech Lead from them, isn’t “good” water and somehow “magical” and “pure” but was/is just water properly cleaned and treated (and Detroit Water Dept deserves credit for that). The Flint River water is not “evil” water but just water that needed to be properly cleaned and treated and was not (and Flint Water Dept is to blame for it, no-one else)! And everything else is just an attempt to deflect, distract, and distort! Especially constantly bringing up the EM (which is Fact B) that would not have happened if (Fact A) the constant mismanagement of Flint finances by Flint Mayors/Council didn’t dictate the need to bail them out (again, another FACT the Left will do anything and everything to deflect from)!

@Joseph M Lenard (@JLenardDetroit): I think that many people in cities across the country would be appalled at the quality of raw water before treatment by competent water treatment plants. All of our cities run by liberals who appoint their buddies to critical positions have similar issues but have not been discovered as yet.

@Joseph M Lenard (@JLenardDetroit), #36:

Fact 1: Regardless of any other “facts” surrounding the reasons why Flint switched to the Flint River – it was the Flint Water Department that failed to properly clean and treat the water that created the crisis of Lead leeching from the pipes! (undeniable/indisputable) Period!

I’m afraid you don’t get to put a period at the end of that assertion without mentioning that control over all municipal departments of Flint, Michigan had been taken away from democratically elected city officials and turned over to a city boss, by gubernatorial proclamation.

One thing that shifts as a result of such an extreme action—and the suspension of democratic governance of a city by state proclamation certainly is a bit extreme—is responsibility for the results of any decisions made from that point forward.

@Greg:

I’m afraid you don’t get to put a period at the end of that assertion without mentioning that control over all municipal departments of Flint, Michigan had been taken away from democratically elected city officials and turned over to a city boss, by gubernatorial proclamation.

Then how did they manage to vote to switch from Detroit to Lake Huron water?

@Bill, #39:

The decision get Flint’s water from Lake Huron upon completion of the new Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline was made by the Flint City Council on March 25, 2013. The vote was 7 to 1 in favor of that decision. The single dissenting vote was from Councilman Bryant Nolden. He wanted to use water from the Flint River, but was soundly outvoted. Here’s an old article that reported this decision. No decision was made concerning an interim supply because because a contract with Detroit was already in place that would run a year into the future. (The contract with Detroit ran for a full year each time it was extended. See page 3 of this document.)

Detroit subsequently notified Flint that service would be terminated April 17, 2014, upon expiration of the current one-year contract. New terms would have to be negotiated to continue service. As there was a full year of service remaining, it made sense for Flint to put such negotiations off, since it would be easier later to accurately estimate a likely completion date for the new pipeline. An inaccurate estimate could extend the time Flint was contractually obliged to pay two sources.

No further vote was taken by the City Council on the matter. It was the appointed City Manager who told the Director of the Detroit Water and Sewer Department that there would be no new contract. He pretty much ran it down to the wire, officially notifying her on March 7, 2014.

If there had ever been a vote to use Flint River water, Governor Snyder’s office would be citing that exonerating fact at this point. It would throw the blame on city officials. No such vote was taken. Somebody certainly made the decision, but it wasn’t made by elected Flint city officials. They weren’t empowered to do so. They had no authority.

Who ya gonna call?

Snyder requests federal medical aid for Flint

The Snyder administration said Tuesday it plans to direct its request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Among other services, the Republican governor wants the Democratic Obama administration to finance expanded eligibility — regardless of income level — for Flint residents up to age 21 in Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor.

Michigan already participates in Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act, but this request would expand Medicaid coverage for residents who already have other forms of insurance to ensure that comprehensive benefits are available to children who may have been exposed to lead in the water, the Snyder administration said.

@Greg: Thanks to years of failed management by liberals, Michigan is practically broke, as the defaults of Detroit and Flint show. Why shouldn’t he go to a liberal to get relief? Since the EPA failed to do ITS ONE AND ONLY DESIGNATED TASK, the already strapped state of Michigan should not be forced to pay the bills the left have run up and left.

@Bill: Whats going to happen when the grid goes down due to federal mismanagement and green tyrany? http://freebeacon.com/issues/emails-show-steyer-epa-coordination-to-undermine-agency-critics/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=d4dec35cc4-WFB_Morning_Beacon_01_27_161_26_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-d4dec35cc4-45944157
Blame the GOP who is taking the reins of the liberal runaway wagon

@kitt, #43:

Whats going to happen when the grid goes down due to federal mismanagement and green tyranny?

Yeah, I’ve noticed how quickly the republican-majority Congress has sprung into action on that particular issue.

The last time they paid any attention was to condemn the 2009 Recovery Acts allocation of $4.5 billion for grid modernization projects—a pittance, compared with the estimated $150 billion that is lost to the economy each year owing to power outages. Then there was the disinformation campaign against energy-efficient light bulbs, which were pushed onto the market by Obama administration initiatives. LEDs use around 1/3 as much power. They last for years, and you can now sometimes find them on sale for under $5. They’re saving me money every time I turn on a light, and they’re making the entire nation a lot more energy efficient.

It’s not like the right is never wrong. It’s that they will never admit it.

Name one bankrupt city run by Republicans. Liberal Mayors and Governors as well as liberal presidents continue to drive up government cost wit no means for payment. I am glad one of our resident trolls finally turned on the lights!

@Greg: A bill passed in the house, Sen. Murkowski stripped H.R. 5026 of the main elements designed to protect our infrastructure and did not add them to her bill,” (evil bitch) said Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. 2010. Is this bill designed to protect the grid from an EMP, or just another coal killer?

@Randy, #45:

Name one bankrupt city run by Republicans. Liberal Mayors and Governors as well as liberal presidents continue to drive up government cost wit no means for payment. I am glad one of our resident trolls finally turned on the lights!

Blue states are less dependent on federal money than red states.

You’re also confusing cause with effect. Why would the people of any financially strapped city vote for a party that wants to minimize financial assistance to their community? Cities that have lost much of their industrial base aren’t in the situation they’re in because of Democratic city policies. They’re in the condition they’re in because globalization has resulted in the offshoring of so much industry. Corporations have boosted profits by exploiting foreign labor that will work for wages so low an American worker couldn’t even begin to live on them. Costs are greatly reduced because environmental and safety regulations are almost totally absent. Such things have consequences. This is what Beijing sometimes looks like. This is a photo of a reservoir in southwestern China.

@Greg: The rise of the rustbelt is so much more complex than your tiny mind could ever grasp.

The Soecial Prosecutor is now talking about possible MANSLAUGHTER. Charges being leveled against the fiscally responsible GOP Govenor
Over the deaths resulting in that crisis

@John: If anyone needs to be charged they better start at the source, the water department who made the decision that 80 dollars worth of chemicals a day was too much to add to the water supply so the pipes would remain safe. Everyone outside of that position and decision is simply a goat. Not the governor, mayor, or city council. Now if it was a Democratic appointment or some person the democrats hired then there will never be true accountability.