EPA official resigns amid Flint water crisis

[flowers]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/19/obama-appoints-czar-for-flint-water-response-mayor-visits-white-house.html?intcmp=hpbt2

he Obama administration is naming a "czar" to serve as point person for the toxic water crisis in Flint., Mich., elevating the issue after the city's mayor visited the White House Tuesday afternoon.

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to designate Dr. Nicole Lurie, an agency assistant secretary, to lead the federal government’s coordinated response -- as officials at the state and local levels scramble to deal with the dangerous lead levels in city water.

The Lurie announcement by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was made shortly after Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, a Democrat, met with Valerie Jarrett, a top aide to President Obama.

Weaver, in Washington for an annual U.S. mayors’ conference, said earlier in the day that Obama "needs to hear first-hand what's going on in Flint."

The water crisis has in recent days become somewhat of a political football, as the Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday slammed Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for the state's response -- and Snyder accused Democrats of

[EdinVA]

Why aren't the mayor and his cohorts in jail?
If I had poisoned the water for an entire town, that is where I would be.

[mystery-ak]

Why aren't the mayor and his cohorts in jail?
If I had poisoned the water for an entire town, that is where I would be.

No kidding..notice how the Dem Mayor isn't at fault but the Repub Gov is....

[Scottftlc]

No kidding..notice how the Dem Mayor isn't at fault but the Repub Gov is....

Municipal utilities are not run by the state, most often (depending on the municipality's governing structure) they are operated under the direction of a Mayor or City Manager (with a utility director under that person) with policy (such as switching water sources to save money - as was done here to disastrous results) established by vote of a City Council.  But just like with hurricanes, the first response is to begin finger pointing at the first office held by one of the opposition party.  Such a fun game.

[Carling]

Speaking of Eco-disasters, whatever happened with that mine leak that the EPA was responsible for in Colorado?  There must not have been any Republicans to blame so the story went away?

[flowers]

Speaking of Eco-disasters, whatever happened with that mine leak that the EPA was responsible for in Colorado?  There must not have been any Republicans to blame so the story went away?

  http://www.mining.com/epa-faces-first-lawsuit-over-colorado-mine-spill/

[Meshuge Mikey]

Speaking of Eco-disasters, whatever happened with that mine leak that the EPA was responsible for in Colorado?  There must not have been any Republicans to blame so the story went away?

I read somewhere on the internet....that it was Bushes fault...but there was no substantive   follow up....../

[Carling]

  http://www.mining.com/epa-faces-first-lawsuit-over-colorado-mine-spill/

So the EPA investigated its own accident, and what a surprise everything is perfect.

T

he agency has said it does not expect any negative health effects from exposure to the water and that the risk of adverse impacts to livestock is low. EPA has also said that it has not uncovered any food-safety concerns related to agricultural contamination

.

[Meshuge Mikey]

Municipal utilities are not run by the state, most often (depending on the municipality's governing structure) they are operated under the direction of a Mayor or City Manager (with a utility director under that person) with policy (such as switching water sources to save money - as was done here to disastrous results) established by vote of a City Council.  But just like with hurricanes, the first response is to begin finger pointing at the first office held by one of the opposition party.  Such a fun game.

There was a state Project.....going on....the geniuses in charge thought that an interim solution to Flints need for water would be to take it from the river......without properly treating it...  the lack of treatment caused the lead to be leeched from aged plumbing 


bushes fault

[GourmetDan]

No kidding..notice how the Dem Mayor isn't at fault but the Repub Gov is....

Any questions?

[mountaineer]

Thursday, January 21, 2016
In His Final Year, Obama Proves He Knows Sh** From Shinola
Michelle's Mirror

Big Guy visited Detroit yesterday to take another victory lap for having saved GM (and whacking bin Laden).

BO visits a Detroit-based Shinola store proving he knows…well, you know.

While he was in Motown BHO addressed the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan which is 70 miles northwest of Detroit (not that it matters butt Flint is ranked the 10th most liberal city in America, just behind San Francisco).

 

  President Barack Obama, in Detroit on Wednesday for his first visit to the North American International Auto Show, weighed in on the Flint water crisis at the top of his speech to autoworkers and their families at a UAW education and training center, saying of Mayor Karen Weaver and the residents of Flint, "we're going to have her back and all the people of Flint's back."

  ...   Both Detroit and Flint are “chocolate” cities (h/t  Ray Nagin, ex-mayor of New Orleans and convicted felon) who haven’t embraced a Republican in any capacity including dog catcher since sometime in the 60’s. I bring this up only because some people believe this is just another racist plot. Like Detroit, Flint has been mishandling its finances and operating in deficit spending for decades. It caught up to them in 2002 when the State was required to appoint an emergency manager to straighten out the mess, which worked until 2011 when the city again fell into serious financial distress requiring the appointment of a second emergency financial manager. Detroit also had an emergency financial manager appointed in 2013, butt they just went full-bore and filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

During its second financial emergency Flint decided to save money by switching it’s water source from the Detroit system - which delivers Lake Huron water to Detroit and most of southeast Michigan - to its own system getting water from the Flint River. You may recall that most people in Detroit think that water is a human right and as such don’t pay their water bills. Since somebody has to pay for all the water plant facilities and pipelines this caused the Detroit system to raise rates for suburban and exurban users who now pay some of the highest water rates in the country despite being surrounded by an embarrassment of clean, fresh water supply.  ...

Butt back to Flint’s water disaster: switching from the Detroit water system to the Flint river supply turned out to be a bad call in that a) the river water is polluted and corrosive,

 

  Although the state assisted Flint in switching its drinking water supply back to Lake Huron water from Flint River water in October, there are concerns that lead problems persist due to damage the corrosive river water caused to the water distribution system.

and b) apparently nobody in charge knew what they were doing, from the processing plant operators to the EPA.

So while BHO declared the water situation a Federal Emergency, freeing up $5 million in federal aid to immediately assist with the public health crisis, he denied Gov. Rick Snyder's request for a disaster declaration as the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water is a man-caused disaster. Try using that excuse in New York after Iran lobs one of their nukes into the middle of Manhattan.  ...

Click on link for more, plus more photos.

[flowers]

http://wgntv.com/2016/01/21/epa-official-resigns-amid-flint-water-crisis/

CHICAGO (AP) — A regional director with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is resigning in connection with the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

EPA chief Gina McCarthy says Thursday that Susan Hedman is stepping down effective Feb. 1. Hedman is administrator of EPA’s Region 5, which is based in Chicago and includes Michigan.

McCarthy says she accepted Hedman’s resignation to ensure the regional office remains solely focused on the restoration of Flint’s drinking water.

McCarthy also says she has issued an emergency order to “ensure the state and city immediately take actions necessary to protect public health.”

Yikes........this is huge, they never resign.

[Meshuge Mikey]

One small step for EPA-kind .....One Giant Leap for America

[jmyrlefuller]

Seen on a Facebook post:

Michigan: the only place where gas is cheaper than bottled water and safer to drink than tap water.

[rangerrebew]

EPA chief loses job over Flint water crisis
Chicago administrator resigns amid charges of turning blind eye
Published: 33 mins ago
 
A regional Environmental Protection Agency administrator has lost her job over the rising Flint, Michigan, water crisis, over accusations she didn’t take strong enough action about the lead contamination claims she received.

Susan Hedman, who serves as regional administrator for Chicago’s region 5, turned in her resignation and is set to leave her office on February 1, the Hill reported.

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“EPA administrator Gina McCarthy has accepted, given Susan’s strong interest in ensuring that EPA region 5’s focus remains on the restoration of Flint’s drinking water,” one EPA spokeswoman said.

The resignation comes after Hedman was quoted in the Detroit News saying her office was informed in April 2015 that the switch of drinking water for residents from Lake Huron to Flint River could bring contamination.

 

But after receiving that warning, she did not let the public know, the Hill reported. Rather, Hedman only told Michigan government officials to fix the contamination problem.

The Flint water problem has led to elevated lead levels in several children, leading residents to protest, demand the resignation and arrest of Gov. Rick Snyder, and launch a class action law suit, as WND previously reported.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/epa-chief-loses-job-over-flint-water-crisis/#F1wD5OU2H7XkcWA9.99

[EC]

Just a tiny addition to the Flint water saga -

The river water is highly corrosive, which means most of the toxins are coming from it's action on the pipes themselves (older city, lots of lead pipe). Other places have corrosive water, which they treat by adding an anti-corrosion agent to, to protect the pipework and, you know, not kill people.

That sort of treatment, for a city of Flint's size, costs money - $100 per week, to be precise. 

[rangerrebew]

Just a tiny addition to the Flint water saga -

The river water is highly corrosive, which means most of the toxins are coming from it's action on the pipes themselves (older city, lots of lead pipe). Other places have corrosive water, which they treat by adding an anti-corrosion agent to, to protect the pipework and, you know, not kill people.

That sort of treatment, for a city of Flint's size, costs money - $100 per week, to be precise. 

I hope the piggyback isn't too much for you, E.C., but anyone who knows anything about Flint knows it is a skuzzy factory city and the river probably as toxic as the Chicago River and just as unlikely to be cleaned to the point it is drinkable.  What the city council was thinking is anyone's guess but the most likely reason they chose to do it is to reduce  the massive debt from city pensions.  The council chose to risk the health of it's citizens because for decades it has been financially irresponsible.