The Patriot Post® · Flint Deadlock

It’s been a few months since the story of the contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, made national news, but the problem has been going on for years. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder accepted some of the blame, admitting, “Government failed you … by breaking the trust you place in us.” He was absolutely right, and that became even clearer this week as three government employees were charged over the debacle. That may be only the beginning.

Long story short, almost exactly two years ago, the state converted the water supply in Flint from Lake Huron to that of the Flint River, which has long been known to be rather dirty. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality then neglected the proper water treatment, leaving lead from old pipes to permeate the supply of drinking water. Thousands of residents allege health problems created by the tainted water. The city changed back to its old supply last fall, but some lingering contamination remains.

A task force commissioned by Gov. Snyder concluded that lead wasn’t the only contaminant. Its report found, “Flint residents, who are majority Black or African American and among the most impoverished of any metropolitan area in the United States, did not enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards as that provided to other communities.” It’s not the least bit surprising to hear allegations of racism — it is, after all, the fallback for most leftists. Then again, we’ll grant that it’s also hard to imagine that this would’ve happened in a wealthy white town.

State employees Stephen Busch and Mike Prysby, as well as city employee Mike Glasgow are the first three government employees to be implicated. There are several charges, including tampering with reports, manipulating sampling, misleading federal regulatory officials, and willful neglect of duty. More people may be charged or ousted from office.

Snyder resisted condemnation beyond a general complaint about bureaucracy: “What I’ve said consistently from the beginning is this tragic situation was the result of bad decisions by bureaucrats. Again, I always described it as people lacking common sense. This puts it in the context of criminal behavior. Was it actually criminal? Or was it poor decision-making? And again, I’m not looking for vindication. This is about getting to the truth, getting to accountability.”

Speaking of accountability, Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bears some responsibility, but unlike Snyder has denied it at every turn. And with charges of racism floating around, it’s no wonder. Besides, the EPA already contaminated a Colorado river with three million gallons of toxic sludge last year; we’re sure its bureaucrats aren’t keen to have Flint added to their list of accomplishments.

But if the shoe fits … In February, we noted that, while the EPA regulates lead and copper piping, its latest rules regarding these commonly found commodities date back to 2007. Since 2010, the EPA has dithered on tightening the standards, but they now promise new corrosion control rules by 2017.

Try as she might, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy shouldn’t be allowed to exonerate her agency of wrongdoing. The best-case scenario for the EPA is that both it and the state of Michigan were complicit. The more realistic scenario is the EPA — which we remind you is ostensibly tasked with protecting us from environmental hazards — did very little to rectify the situation despite knowing full well what was at stake.

Probably the most worrisome aspect is this: Like most cities, Flint is in no position to tackle the task of fixing its infrastructure alone. Considering that it takes a few hundred million dollars to replace the piping infrastructure in a city of roughly 100,000 like Flint, imagine the cost for the entire country. The EPA estimated this back in 2003, concluding it would cost $276.8 billion and take 20 years or more to complete the task. With inflation, that cost now runs over $356 billion — or more than $1,100 per American. And that doesn’t factor in the government’s tendency to understate costs while overstating benefits.

We may be only scratching the surface of America’s water troubles.