Flint water-contamination scandal is blamed on ‘failures and inaction’ of officials

A task force appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to investigate the water-contamination crisis in Flint has issued a blistering report, laying blame squarely on state officials in what it called “a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice.”

The 116-page report, released on Wednesday, details a widespread lack of responsibility and leadership that contributed to the catastrophe, which potentially exposed more than 95,000 residents in the beleaguered city- including some 9,000 children under age six - to water tainted with lead.

The task force said the state’s Department of Environmental Quality “failed in its fundamental responsibility” to enforce drinking-water regulations and assured the governor’s office that Flint’s water was safe when it wasn’t. The independent group faulted Snyder and his administration for failing to act even after “suggestions to do so by senior staff members in the Governor’s office.”

The group said the state’s Department of Health and Human Services failed to quickly recognise the crisis and protect public health. It said the Flint Water Department “rushed unprepared” into switching to a new water source in spring 2014 - the Flint River - without proper use of corrosion controls on pipes.

Finally, the task force blamed the US Environmental Protection Agency’s delayed enforcement of federal drinking water standards for “prolonging the calamity.”

Its report makes clear that Michigan’s emergency-manager law, which gives a state-appointed manager authority over locally elected officials, also played a central role in the debacle. In the case of Flint, the emergency manager named by the Republican governor pushed to switch the city’s water source in a budget-cutting move.