Flint, Michigan accused of ignoring lead-contaminated water to save $$
- Thread starter JamesATL
- Start date
For my people lining out there, take a look at this.... One side note, use coffee filters instead of paper towels, if you can, and be sure to boil the water after you finished, then when you done filter it again via a normal warter filter...
Step one use this tequnic with the coffee filters, if possible.
Then use one of these if possible, if not filter it with the other method three times, or one more time with a regular filter
Then boil the water....
Step one use this tequnic with the coffee filters, if possible.
Then use one of these if possible, if not filter it with the other method three times, or one more time with a regular filter
Then boil the water....
Leaked Emails Show Government Officials Making Fun of Poisoned Flint Residents
t was bad enough that the City of Flint Michigan knowingly allowed residents to be poisoned by government-controlled, lead-poisoned water. But to add insult to literal injury, Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder has just been exposed mocking residents for being poisoned by the government.
In an attempt to exonerate himself from the negligence that led to the massive water poisoning crisis in Flint, Snyder released a ton of emails that he hoped would clear things up.
But he failed to realize that there were some emails that would prove even further damning.
A total of 294 pages of Snyder’s emails were released, though most key ones were heavily redacted.
The emails do reveal, however, that the decision to force residents to pay for poisoned water from the city was done with the hopes of politicians saving $5 million dollars, in order to fund corporate handouts.
Such shortcuts resulted in the city water supply simply having chlorine added to it after “coliform and fecal coliform bacterium” were found in it.
The Snyder administration was also caught in the emails belittling the residents who complained about their disgusting, poisoned water. They jokingly referred to the water pollution as “initial hiccups” and said residents were merely whining about the “aesthetics” of the water.
Snyder’s Chief of Staff notes, “I can’t figure out why the state is responsible except that [State Treasurer] Dillon did make the ultimate decision so we’re not able to avoid the subject.”
so wait who are the terrorists that we are supposed to be so concerned with? this motherfucker needs to go to jail
Rachel Maddow of MSNBC coming to Flint 4 town hall meeting..tried 2 embed..this new board. Smdh..http://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...r-crisis/2016/01/22/flint-town-hall/79206030/
And so it begins:
http://www.newshounds.us/fox_s_the_...sis_deflects_blame_gop_governor_snyder_012316
Fox’s The Five Joins The ‘Blame Democrats For The Flint Water Crisis’ Club And Deflects Blame Away From GOP Governor Snyder
Once again, Fox is trying to deflect blame for the Flint water crisis away from Republican Governor Rick Snyder. This time, the hosts did it with snarky jokes about an American tragedy.
On The Five, Cohost Kimberly Guilfoyle blew the “race card” dog whistle in her teaser: “The water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Democrats have been playing the race card but it turns out the Obama administration may have just admitted they were partly to blame.”
As if to mock the situation, the song “Dirty Water” played in the background as the show went to commercials.
Cohost and resident insult comic, Jesse Watters, wasted little time getting to the liberal bashing as he opened the discussion: “For years, the left has told Americans they are the ones who will keep the water clean. They are the ones who cared about safe drinking water. Remember?”
Videos were at the ready showing Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and John Kerry talking about the importance of clean drinking water, suggesting that they were the hypocrites responsible for the Flint water and not Governor Snyder or any of his state-appointed emergency managers who are actually in charge.
Watters accused Clinton of having “played the race card” because she said, “We've had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways, and majority African American, has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care.”
It should be noted that the population of Flint, Michigan is majority African American. So is mentioning that really playing the race card?
Instead of discussing Snyder’s actions, Watters went right to blaming the Obama administration: “Well, guess what? It was also the Obama administration who dropped the ball. President Obama’s EPA. How do we know this? The EPA administrator overseeing the water crisis in Flint has just resigned.”
Watters smirked to cohost Dana Perino, “So it’s clear, Dana, the Republicans want polluted water. We want the water to be dirty so everybody drinks it and gets sick. Isn’t that what everybody is saying?”
Perino snarked, “It makes for a great soundbite in front of a crowd at a Democratic debate. But when you actually put the details of the story out. It’s criminal to talk about it in a political way.”
You mean like FOX was doing right then and there, pointing fingers at Democrats who had nothing to do with the crisis? Perino continued, “You have a failure at every level of government. The city, the state and now the EPA. The federal government, basically, the question is, did the EPA at that regional level… Did they bury the info and did they not step in when they knew that they should have?” She didn’t ask whether the governor or the state buried any info or failed to step in when they should have. Nor did she point out that Flint’s state representative said he warned Snyder about the water crisis a year ago.
Then “It’s criminal to politicize” Perino criticized Obama for speaking in Detroit and not visiting Flint.
Watters was back for some more Democrat-bashing snark: “It seems like the Environmental Protection Agency is not protecting the environment, they’re actually polluting the environment. I mean, they did this in Colorado. They turned a river there bright orange. Oops that was a mistake. That was an accident and then all of a sudden this Democratic city, no one can drink any water and the EPA sat on this and everyone’s getting sick and the president won’t even go there?”
But it was not the EPA that switched the Flint water supply source to the corrosive Flint River water.
Cohost Eric Bolling also denied he wanted to "do politics." "It doesn't matter who’s a Republican or who’s Democrat,” he said. But he, too, blamed the EPA, saying there was a “smoking gun e-mail” from the regional EPA manager to the local EPA, saying, "‘Don’t put this information out yet till we’re absolutely certain.’ In the mean time, months, a year goes by before they even alert the governor that there’s a problem with the drinking water. So it was a failure on so many levels. Assign blame all across the board and just fix it.” (Funny how they come to solution when they fuck up.)
http://www.newshounds.us/fox_s_the_...sis_deflects_blame_gop_governor_snyder_012316
Fox’s The Five Joins The ‘Blame Democrats For The Flint Water Crisis’ Club And Deflects Blame Away From GOP Governor Snyder
Once again, Fox is trying to deflect blame for the Flint water crisis away from Republican Governor Rick Snyder. This time, the hosts did it with snarky jokes about an American tragedy.
On The Five, Cohost Kimberly Guilfoyle blew the “race card” dog whistle in her teaser: “The water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Democrats have been playing the race card but it turns out the Obama administration may have just admitted they were partly to blame.”
As if to mock the situation, the song “Dirty Water” played in the background as the show went to commercials.
Cohost and resident insult comic, Jesse Watters, wasted little time getting to the liberal bashing as he opened the discussion: “For years, the left has told Americans they are the ones who will keep the water clean. They are the ones who cared about safe drinking water. Remember?”
Videos were at the ready showing Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and John Kerry talking about the importance of clean drinking water, suggesting that they were the hypocrites responsible for the Flint water and not Governor Snyder or any of his state-appointed emergency managers who are actually in charge.
Watters accused Clinton of having “played the race card” because she said, “We've had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways, and majority African American, has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care.”
It should be noted that the population of Flint, Michigan is majority African American. So is mentioning that really playing the race card?
Instead of discussing Snyder’s actions, Watters went right to blaming the Obama administration: “Well, guess what? It was also the Obama administration who dropped the ball. President Obama’s EPA. How do we know this? The EPA administrator overseeing the water crisis in Flint has just resigned.”
Watters smirked to cohost Dana Perino, “So it’s clear, Dana, the Republicans want polluted water. We want the water to be dirty so everybody drinks it and gets sick. Isn’t that what everybody is saying?”
Perino snarked, “It makes for a great soundbite in front of a crowd at a Democratic debate. But when you actually put the details of the story out. It’s criminal to talk about it in a political way.”
You mean like FOX was doing right then and there, pointing fingers at Democrats who had nothing to do with the crisis? Perino continued, “You have a failure at every level of government. The city, the state and now the EPA. The federal government, basically, the question is, did the EPA at that regional level… Did they bury the info and did they not step in when they knew that they should have?” She didn’t ask whether the governor or the state buried any info or failed to step in when they should have. Nor did she point out that Flint’s state representative said he warned Snyder about the water crisis a year ago.
Then “It’s criminal to politicize” Perino criticized Obama for speaking in Detroit and not visiting Flint.
Watters was back for some more Democrat-bashing snark: “It seems like the Environmental Protection Agency is not protecting the environment, they’re actually polluting the environment. I mean, they did this in Colorado. They turned a river there bright orange. Oops that was a mistake. That was an accident and then all of a sudden this Democratic city, no one can drink any water and the EPA sat on this and everyone’s getting sick and the president won’t even go there?”
But it was not the EPA that switched the Flint water supply source to the corrosive Flint River water.
Cohost Eric Bolling also denied he wanted to "do politics." "It doesn't matter who’s a Republican or who’s Democrat,” he said. But he, too, blamed the EPA, saying there was a “smoking gun e-mail” from the regional EPA manager to the local EPA, saying, "‘Don’t put this information out yet till we’re absolutely certain.’ In the mean time, months, a year goes by before they even alert the governor that there’s a problem with the drinking water. So it was a failure on so many levels. Assign blame all across the board and just fix it.” (Funny how they come to solution when they fuck up.)
Report: ‘Every Major US City East of the Mississippi’ Is Underreporting Heavy Metals In Its Water
Alissa Walker
Friday 3:46pm
12
Just when the news about lead poisoning the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, couldn’t get any worse. A report from The Guardian says many US cities are systemically and purposely downplaying the amounts of lead and copper in municipal water systems.
A scientist who was part of an Environmental Protection Agency taskforcedisclosed documents to The Guardian which shows how water boards are distorting tests to make their water appear safer, a practice confirmed by an anonymous source:
The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in “every major US city east of the Mississippi” according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. “By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people’s drinking water is potentially unsafe,”he said.
Specific cities named included Detroit and Philadelphia, and the entire state of Rhode Island.
The documents in question were obtained via FOIA by Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou, who sat on the Environment Protection Agency taskforce that recently proposed revisions on the federal rules for lead. Lambrinidou toldThe Guardian that more rigorous oversight will reveal more offenders: “There is no way that Flint is a one-off.”
This does not mean the Environment Protection Agency is being lax in its regulations, necessarily—rather it’s the agency’s guidelines that are being ignored by those who are contracted to administer the tests. For example, in Philadelphia and Michigan, testers were instructed by local water boards to run the water for two minutes or until cold before testing for lead, a practice called “pre-flushing,” which is seen as controversial.
Even if the incidences of lead and copper are not as high as the anonymous source claims, Lambrinidou’s assertion that Flint is not an isolated case is probably right. With corroded pipes to blame, there are many American cities suffering from similar infrastructural neglect. Pair that with a testing system that’s so easily gamed, and it may take years for some cities to figure out if their water is truly safe.
************************
Toxic Chemicals, Carcinogens Skyrocket Near Fracking Sites
The spikes almost certainly will lead to a cancer increase in surrounding areas, a study author says.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...gens-skyrocket-near-fracking-sites-study-says
Alissa Walker
Friday 3:46pm
Just when the news about lead poisoning the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, couldn’t get any worse. A report from The Guardian says many US cities are systemically and purposely downplaying the amounts of lead and copper in municipal water systems.
A scientist who was part of an Environmental Protection Agency taskforcedisclosed documents to The Guardian which shows how water boards are distorting tests to make their water appear safer, a practice confirmed by an anonymous source:
The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in “every major US city east of the Mississippi” according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. “By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people’s drinking water is potentially unsafe,”he said.
Specific cities named included Detroit and Philadelphia, and the entire state of Rhode Island.
The documents in question were obtained via FOIA by Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou, who sat on the Environment Protection Agency taskforce that recently proposed revisions on the federal rules for lead. Lambrinidou toldThe Guardian that more rigorous oversight will reveal more offenders: “There is no way that Flint is a one-off.”
This does not mean the Environment Protection Agency is being lax in its regulations, necessarily—rather it’s the agency’s guidelines that are being ignored by those who are contracted to administer the tests. For example, in Philadelphia and Michigan, testers were instructed by local water boards to run the water for two minutes or until cold before testing for lead, a practice called “pre-flushing,” which is seen as controversial.
Even if the incidences of lead and copper are not as high as the anonymous source claims, Lambrinidou’s assertion that Flint is not an isolated case is probably right. With corroded pipes to blame, there are many American cities suffering from similar infrastructural neglect. Pair that with a testing system that’s so easily gamed, and it may take years for some cities to figure out if their water is truly safe.
************************
Toxic Chemicals, Carcinogens Skyrocket Near Fracking Sites
The spikes almost certainly will lead to a cancer increase in surrounding areas, a study author says.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...gens-skyrocket-near-fracking-sites-study-says
Is there a place to check your cities water supply? This is crazy. I boil all my water I drink in tea but still.... This is so diabolical.
Boiling water alone is one of the worst things you can do with water contaminated with heavy metals... Because when you boil it, you boil off some of the water vapors consolidating the heavy metals that are left behind...
What you need to do is look at the filtration process I posted, a few post up and then after you filtered out the water, then you can boil it to kill off all pathogens...
True. I boil water for tea. Its pretty much the only tap water I drink. Ill look back in the thread though. Im not sure if this water contains heavy metals. I guess will look into locally and figure it out. Ill be honest was the last thing I think about when boiling water for tea. Appreciate it.
There may be some truth to this, but more close to "home" for me this seems to be the case:
Sebring Ohio is home to a big fracking company. The city was alerted today that the schools would be closed tomorrow due to concerns over heavy metals in the water. Not even 2 hours after that announcement, the local news already had this story out.......All these politicians that approve this fracking bullshit are gambling with peoples lives....and these white people are falling for the okiedokie hook line and sinker. It's not their kids that will suffer, and when the people that have been taken advantage of and lied to have the nerve to ask for help, these motherfuckers will say "see, they always want a handout!"
EPA: Sebring knew of high lead levels in water since December
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SEBRING, Ohio (WKBN) – Letters from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to the Village of Sebring show problems with lead in the village’s water supply, dating back to at least November.
Sebring water customers — which include approximately 8,100 residents in Sebring, Beloit, Maple Ridge and parts of Smith Township — weren’t officially notified by the village until Thursday, however. It was then the village issued an advisory, urging pregnant women and children to avoid drinking the water and others to flush it before using it.
The Environmental Protection Agency says exposure to lead in pregnant women and young children could create health problems. Those health problems can include reduced growth of the fetus and premature birth in pregnant women and behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems and anemia in children.
When asked about the EPA letters, Village Manager Richard Giroux initially denied that he had received them. A letter, written from the Ohio EPA to Giroux, state that tests from the June through September 2015 monitoring period showed that the village’s water exceeded the lead action level. That letter was dated December 3, 2015.
EPA Letters to Sebring
Another, dated December 22, is a Verification of Lead Consumer Notice Issuance signed by Sebring Water Superintendent James Bates. When contacted Friday night, he said the notice was sent to those immediately affected by the high levels of lead — in seven of 40 tested areas where samples showed lead levels at 21-parts-per-billion, above federal standards that require action for readings above 15-parts-per-billion.
When asked whether that notice was sent to all Sebring water customers, he said he could not comment and directed all questions to Giroux. In the notice Bates signed, it says the notices were mailed to locations where samples were collected on December 18 but it lists no other actions taken.
Photos: Timeline of Sebring’s lead levels
According to a letter from the Ohio EPA, the Village of Sebring was required to deliver public education materials by November 29, 2015 regarding the high lead levels. Part of those responsibilities included posting informational notices in a public place or common area in each building and distributing notices to each person served by the system.
The village was then required to report back to the Ohio EPA by December 31, and it’s unclear whether they did so.
The Ohio and Mahoning County Emergency Management Associations have been passing out bottled water in Sebring for those who don’t want to drink tap water. The agencies began passing out the water at 5 p.m. Friday at the Sebring Community Center on W. Texas Avenue.
Ohio EPA Director of Communications Heidi Greismer said the village did wait too long to notify its customers, although she did not specify when they learned of the lead problems.
“We agree that it took too long for the village of Sebring to alert their customers. When it became clear they weren’t taking the corrective action necessary in a timely manner, we issued a notice of violation to force them to take action,” she said via email Friday night. “The village does have a good water system, but they must take steps to stop the corrosion that is causing some residents to see higher than allowed levels of lead.”
Greismer said it was the Sebring Water Plant’s responsibility to notify the public, not the EPA’s. A drinking water advisory alert on the EPA’s website shows that the advisory has been in effect since December 3.
Two Ohio lawmakers say they are upset that the Ohio EPA and the village knew about the problem for some time. In a letter sent to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Friday, Ohio Senator Joe Schiavoni and Representative John Boccieri claimed that by Ohio law, the EPA should have told the people affected by December 10.
“If I’m somebody who lives in Sebring, I wouldn’t be too happy,” Schiavoni said. “It seems weird that there was all this discussion.”
When contacted Friday about the lead levels, Giroux denied that the village knew of the elevated levels until just recently. He said the village office was notified “just a few days ago.”
“The first thing my office did, after we were aware of it, we were in conversation immediately with the EPA,” he said.
Giroux said the village had a teleconference with EPA representatives Thursday morning “to go over the situation” and “make sure the notices had gone out.”
In a letter to the EPA dated January 15, the EPA notes that a phone conversation was held on January 13 between Bates and the EPA about the issue. The agency recommended a corrosion control study.
The Ohio EPA and Sebring city officials were doing more tests Friday to try to determine what caused elevated levels of lead in their water.
The Ohio EPA began testing locations that it calls, “Tier 1,” which includes single-family homes and possibly some multiple-family living locations. Tests began near Sebring Local Schools’ campus first, and school was closed for the day on Friday due to the water issues.
Officials hope to get results from those tests back Sunday or Monday, at the latest.
Giroux said in talking with the EPA, they believe that water from their facility may be reacting with lead in pipes in people’s homes to cause the elevated levels. He said the problem is not with the headwaters of the Mahoning River, where Sebring gets its water, nor with the city’s water plant or the distribution system, which he says is different from the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan. There, the corrosive water lacked adequate treatment and caused lead to leach from old pipes in homes and schools.
Giroux said the concern is really for older homes and buildings like schools that would have been built prior to 1983.
Meanwhile, the Ohio and Mahoning County Emergency Management Associations have been passing out bottled water in Sebring for those who don’t want to drink tap water.
The agencies began passing out the water at 5 p.m. Friday at the Sebring Community Center on W. Texas Avenue. People can also get water Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday to Friday of next week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Customers that do opt to drink the water are advised to run it for about 30 seconds before using it to flush the lead out. The EPA says there can be a danger to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children who are exposed to high levels of lead, and those at-risk individuals are advised not to drink the water.
The village is having a blood lead screening clinic to test lead levels in those people on Sunday.
The village of Sebring recently built a $2 million addition to its water treatment plant in order to meet EPA standards after contaminants, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, were found to exceed EPA levels.
The contaminants are created when materials such as leaves, grass and twigs mix with chlorine that is used to disinfect surface water.
An expert in lead water testing said improvements to the water plant could have led to the lead issues, as the improvements could have caused more acidic water.
Props to all who have contributed.
Flint, a city of roughly 100,000 people, is in the midst of a water crisis so severe that 10 people have died from Legionnaires’ disease. So severe that residents are reporting hair loss, blistered skin, skyrocketing blood pressure and worse. We spoke to residents in order to broadcast their message to the world. One man had some pretty harsh words for filmmaker Michael Moore.
Dr.King talked about Man's inability to man. Common human sense says suspend water bills and stop shut off notices.
Judge Greg Mathis will be at Quinne Chapel Ame church on Lippincott Blvd at 12 noon on Saturday to help residents with their concerns , understanding and moving forward.
Judge Greg Mathis will be at Quinne Chapel Ame church on Lippincott Blvd at 12 noon on Saturday to help residents with their concerns , understanding and moving forward.
The Black Mayor said the governor shouldnt resign....smh
That's important but focus on the citizens no matter the color and the kids in Flint . Don't get bitchy majoring in she said he said bull.
I just read this article saying how government employees (ie: gov, mayor, etc) can't be sued for something that happened while doing their civil duties. Shit is despicable man. Sovereign immunity is what it's called. I'll try to find the article. It's entirely possible these evil mutherfuckers won't be prosecuted for poisoning children.
here it is:
Plaintiffs' lawyers wary of taking on Flint water scandal
BY BRENDAN PIERSON
The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant in Flint, Michigan January 13, 2016.
The water scandal in Flint, Michigan has many of the ingredients for a mass, class-action lawsuit: danger signs that may have been ignored, many thousands of potential victims, the possibility of lifelong health problems, and the alleged systemic failure of people in charge.
Even consumer activist Erin Brockovich, the main subject of a 2000 movie named after her, has drawn attention to Flint's plight on her Facebook page and in public appearances.
But big-name, national plaintiffs' firms have yet to jump into the fray in Flint, which has a population of about 100,000.
What's holding them back, several lawyers said, is not the facts or the victims, but the prospective targets: The State of Michigan, the city of Flint, and officials at various levels of government. Special legal protections make it difficult to hold governments liable for damages, they said.
Federal and state governments and employees engaged in their official duties are shielded from most private lawsuits by a legal doctrine known as sovereign immunity. The doctrine, enshrined in the laws of many countries, stems from the centuries-old principle that the government itself cannot commit a legal wrong, though exceptions have evolved.
While cities in the U.S. are not technically considered to have sovereign status, they are similarly protected by state and federal laws.
As of Friday, only a few lawsuits had been filed in the wake of the crisis that began when the city began in April 2014 to use river water, which was more corrosive than its previous supply source and caused lead to leach from aging pipes into the water that people drank and washed in.
Those suits were filed against the state, city, and various state employees by a group of Michigan lawyers who are pushing relatively novel theories designed to circumvent immunity. The financially troubled city was governed by a state-appointed emergency manager at the time of the change to the river water.
A spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to comment on the lawsuits. The Flint City Attorney's Office did not return calls seeking comment.
The legal scene couldn't be more different in Southern California, where several big, national law firms are behind some of more than 25 suits filed over a disastrous natural gas leak near Los Angeles that has forced thousands of residents from their homes since October.
The targets of those suits are the utility Southern California Gas Co and its parent company Sempra Energy, the non-government operators of the leaking gas storage facility. A state court in Los Angeles is currently considering a motion to coordinate the cases.
"THEY POISONED KIDS"
Frank Petosa, head of complex environmental litigation at Florida's Morgan & Morgan, which is representing residents in the California case in multiple lawsuits, said the firm decided against litigating in Flint for now.
"The concern is the sovereign immunity," Petosa said.
Robin Greenwald of New York plaintiffs’ firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is also representing plaintiffs in California, agreed that immunity was an obstacle in Flint. But she did not rule out getting involved in some way.
“I really believe there must be something to do here,” she said. “There must be an opportunity for that community to be compensated. They poisoned kids.”
Tests have shown an alarming rise in the levels of lead in the blood of children from the city.
The crisis has led to the resignations of several officials, federal and state investigations, and widespread concerns that a potential health crisis in a largely poor, majority African-American city had been ignored. Officials had insisted the water was safe for many months despite concerns expressed by residents and activists after the change in the source of the supply.
Sovereign immunity does not apply if the government or an employee infringes on the U.S. constitution, as in, for example, cases where police have allegedly violated someone’s civil rights. It also may not apply if the plaintiff can show there was gross negligence. Michigan law, however, shields the state's topmost officials - including the governor, agency heads and Flint's emergency manager - even in cases of gross negligence.
There are other exceptions to immunity, such as injuries involving government-owned vehicles or buildings, but they are typically spelled out in state and federal laws and not applicable to the water crisis, lawyers said.
Undaunted by the high bar, a coalition of Michigan lawyers is pursuing creative arguments on behalf of what one of them, William Goodman of Detroit's Goodman & Hurwitz, said could be as many as 30,000 to 90,000 residents.
"We're zigging and zagging around government immunity," said another of the lawyers, Michael Pitt, of Royal Oak, Michigan's Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers.
STATE-CREATED DANGER
One of the Flint lawsuits, filed in November against the state and local governments and various officials in U.S. district court in Ann Arbor, makes a federal constitutional argument. It contends that the decision to switch the water source denied residents their civil rights to bodily integrity and to be free from state-created danger. The state's response is due next month.
Pitt said he was aware of no federal appeals court that had addressed such claims in a comparable situation, but a similar suit over asbestos in public housing is currently pending in a Philadelphia trial court.
The Flint lawyers announced two other lawsuits this month. One, filed in the Michigan Court of Claims against the governor and state agencies, alleges state constitutional violations. The other, filed in Genesee County Circuit Court, targets lower-level officials who are not protected by Michigan's immunity laws if they are shown to have acted with gross negligence.
In all three cases, the plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged health problems from the water. In the federal case, they also are seeking punitive damages, which are barred in Michigan state courts.
"We're going to continue to fight until we get what we need," said former Flint City Attorney Trachelle Young, one of the lawyers in the group.
Jean Eggen, a professor at Delaware Law School specializing in environmental law, said all the Flint lawyers' legal arguments would be challenging but maybe not impossible. In her view a "forward-thinking" judge might be open to the constitutional arguments.
But Peter Hsiao, the Los Angeles-based head of the environment practice at global law firm Morrison & Foerster, who has represented California agencies and municipalities against environmental lawsuits seeking to circumvent sovereign immunity, said those cases were all dismissed by judges before trial.
"I think in Flint they’ll have the same difficulties," Hsiao said.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Anthony Lin,Amy Stevensand Lisa Girion)
here it is:
Plaintiffs' lawyers wary of taking on Flint water scandal
BY BRENDAN PIERSON
The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant in Flint, Michigan January 13, 2016.
The water scandal in Flint, Michigan has many of the ingredients for a mass, class-action lawsuit: danger signs that may have been ignored, many thousands of potential victims, the possibility of lifelong health problems, and the alleged systemic failure of people in charge.
Even consumer activist Erin Brockovich, the main subject of a 2000 movie named after her, has drawn attention to Flint's plight on her Facebook page and in public appearances.
But big-name, national plaintiffs' firms have yet to jump into the fray in Flint, which has a population of about 100,000.
What's holding them back, several lawyers said, is not the facts or the victims, but the prospective targets: The State of Michigan, the city of Flint, and officials at various levels of government. Special legal protections make it difficult to hold governments liable for damages, they said.
Federal and state governments and employees engaged in their official duties are shielded from most private lawsuits by a legal doctrine known as sovereign immunity. The doctrine, enshrined in the laws of many countries, stems from the centuries-old principle that the government itself cannot commit a legal wrong, though exceptions have evolved.
While cities in the U.S. are not technically considered to have sovereign status, they are similarly protected by state and federal laws.
As of Friday, only a few lawsuits had been filed in the wake of the crisis that began when the city began in April 2014 to use river water, which was more corrosive than its previous supply source and caused lead to leach from aging pipes into the water that people drank and washed in.
Those suits were filed against the state, city, and various state employees by a group of Michigan lawyers who are pushing relatively novel theories designed to circumvent immunity. The financially troubled city was governed by a state-appointed emergency manager at the time of the change to the river water.
A spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to comment on the lawsuits. The Flint City Attorney's Office did not return calls seeking comment.
The legal scene couldn't be more different in Southern California, where several big, national law firms are behind some of more than 25 suits filed over a disastrous natural gas leak near Los Angeles that has forced thousands of residents from their homes since October.
The targets of those suits are the utility Southern California Gas Co and its parent company Sempra Energy, the non-government operators of the leaking gas storage facility. A state court in Los Angeles is currently considering a motion to coordinate the cases.
"THEY POISONED KIDS"
Frank Petosa, head of complex environmental litigation at Florida's Morgan & Morgan, which is representing residents in the California case in multiple lawsuits, said the firm decided against litigating in Flint for now.
"The concern is the sovereign immunity," Petosa said.
Robin Greenwald of New York plaintiffs’ firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is also representing plaintiffs in California, agreed that immunity was an obstacle in Flint. But she did not rule out getting involved in some way.
“I really believe there must be something to do here,” she said. “There must be an opportunity for that community to be compensated. They poisoned kids.”
Tests have shown an alarming rise in the levels of lead in the blood of children from the city.
The crisis has led to the resignations of several officials, federal and state investigations, and widespread concerns that a potential health crisis in a largely poor, majority African-American city had been ignored. Officials had insisted the water was safe for many months despite concerns expressed by residents and activists after the change in the source of the supply.
Sovereign immunity does not apply if the government or an employee infringes on the U.S. constitution, as in, for example, cases where police have allegedly violated someone’s civil rights. It also may not apply if the plaintiff can show there was gross negligence. Michigan law, however, shields the state's topmost officials - including the governor, agency heads and Flint's emergency manager - even in cases of gross negligence.
There are other exceptions to immunity, such as injuries involving government-owned vehicles or buildings, but they are typically spelled out in state and federal laws and not applicable to the water crisis, lawyers said.
Undaunted by the high bar, a coalition of Michigan lawyers is pursuing creative arguments on behalf of what one of them, William Goodman of Detroit's Goodman & Hurwitz, said could be as many as 30,000 to 90,000 residents.
"We're zigging and zagging around government immunity," said another of the lawyers, Michael Pitt, of Royal Oak, Michigan's Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers.
STATE-CREATED DANGER
One of the Flint lawsuits, filed in November against the state and local governments and various officials in U.S. district court in Ann Arbor, makes a federal constitutional argument. It contends that the decision to switch the water source denied residents their civil rights to bodily integrity and to be free from state-created danger. The state's response is due next month.
Pitt said he was aware of no federal appeals court that had addressed such claims in a comparable situation, but a similar suit over asbestos in public housing is currently pending in a Philadelphia trial court.
The Flint lawyers announced two other lawsuits this month. One, filed in the Michigan Court of Claims against the governor and state agencies, alleges state constitutional violations. The other, filed in Genesee County Circuit Court, targets lower-level officials who are not protected by Michigan's immunity laws if they are shown to have acted with gross negligence.
In all three cases, the plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged health problems from the water. In the federal case, they also are seeking punitive damages, which are barred in Michigan state courts.
"We're going to continue to fight until we get what we need," said former Flint City Attorney Trachelle Young, one of the lawyers in the group.
Jean Eggen, a professor at Delaware Law School specializing in environmental law, said all the Flint lawyers' legal arguments would be challenging but maybe not impossible. In her view a "forward-thinking" judge might be open to the constitutional arguments.
But Peter Hsiao, the Los Angeles-based head of the environment practice at global law firm Morrison & Foerster, who has represented California agencies and municipalities against environmental lawsuits seeking to circumvent sovereign immunity, said those cases were all dismissed by judges before trial.
"I think in Flint they’ll have the same difficulties," Hsiao said.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Anthony Lin,Amy Stevensand Lisa Girion)
. You sick cac how can a normal human joke about this. Don't bring that filth talking about your religion into this.
#Firstworldproblems
I'm reading they going to go after the residents children on some "neglect" backdoor" shit if the residents refuse to pay their water bills.
Smh
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