Dr Eden Wells And Flint's Poisoned Water

[Restorium2]

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153--372399--,00.html

 

snyder appoints DNR head to be DEQ head.

Maybe he should have picked someone with a little better science background? In comparison, Snyder's pick guy has a BS in forestry and Ohio's head has a Master's in Environmental Science.

[beourbud]

The rest of those dubious kochhead republican miscreants must be elated the spot light is finally off them and squarely on the boss for a change.

Edited January 19, 2016 by beourbud

[t-pain]

Maybe he should have picked someone with a little better science background? In comparison, Snyder's pick guy has a BS in forestry and Ohio's head has a Master's in Environmental Science.[/size]

sniff sniff, i smell something rotten.

http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/not-about-chickens/ag-everywhere-schuette-wyant-creagh

[medmanmike]

It's time for President Obama to appoint an Emergency Manager for the State of Michigan.

The NERD is a Turd!

Like! Like! Like! Like! .. You get the idea

[knucklehead bob]

Hey hey , ho ho , the NERD TURD Rick Snyder's got to go 

[Wild Bill]

Maybe he should have picked someone with a little better science background? In comparison, Snyder's pick guy has a BS in forestry and Ohio's head has a Master's in Environmental Science.

 

It's better than the last guy. He was an Engler appointee with a degree in food service.

[solabeirtan]

sniff sniff, i smell something rotten.

http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/not-about-chickens/ag-everywhere-schuette-wyant-creagh

Great sniffer T!  Made a kinda quick sketch of the various players mentioned, maybe it's helpful.  

Discovered  a few things the guy Larry deVuryst from Englers admin was also appointed by Ronny Reagun to the Farm Credit Bureau. As you can see from the chart he is also a member of MI Pork Producers as in commercial style... extra stinky. Also most likely to have an interest in the genocide of Heritage pigs, as shown here happening during Rotten Ricks admin...

[trichcycler]

^+1

[Greg Rx]

Feel the Bern! Man I hope he wins the nomination. 

You and 75% of all voters.

[Greg Rx]

Bernie Sanders is doing what Bernie Sanders does best, Standing up for We the People!

 

Bernie is Earning that Bern your Feeling!

 

Bernie Sanders / Abrogate 2016

Go Bernie, go.

[t-pain]

snyder released his emails

 

http://somcsprod2govm001.usgovcloudapp.net/files/snyder%20emails.pdf

 

although we think the deal was talked about in 2013, these emails only cover 2014-2015...

[Restorium2]

[Restorium2]

Scott Pelley did a great job ......... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Edited January 21, 2016 by Restorium2

[solabeirtan]

Bankruptcy, etymology:  The word bankruptcy is derived from Italian banca rotta, meaning "broken bank", which may stem from a custom of breaking a moneychanger's bench or counter to signify his insolvency, or which may be only a figure of speech. 
 
In 2008 the banks (corporate institutions) were overextended because of their own mismanagement. They were bailed out by our Fed govt. Funny(?) thing is that 'We the Peeps' were the ones to foot the bill. How were they entitled to this type of protectionism? Why didn't they go bankrupt?
 
On the other hand a city is a large and permanent human settlement with a population of 350 or more. It is a community where people live. As such it should be entitled to better treatment and given greater respect than a bank. imho

 

Today the banks are fatter than ever and what have they done for the people responsible for 'bailing' them out? How do they show their gratitude? Certainly not by paying more interest on our savings accounts....

 

Bankruptcy and EMs are nothing more than  mechanisms to feed the Vultures of Capitalism. And to deny the citizens any respect or recognition for making them some of the worlds wealthiest and most ravenous scum in the universe.

 

Edited January 21, 2016 by solabeirtan

[outsideinthecold]

Flint's situation started with an inability to meet its financial obligations. Whose fault was that?

 

Apparently some folks in government can't count. Counting, a skill some here might also benefit from developing.

 

The Flint situation is errily parallel to a similar situation between the City of Benton Harbor and Benton Township, lead pipes, bankrupt city, Emergency Manager and billing practices.

 

Lead pipes? When were they installed and why hadn't they been replaced years ago?

 

Who didn't know about mineral scale in pipes and the effect of higher pH on scale? It was the higher pH that ate the scale and exposed the lead.

 

Who was that fool mayor and the Flint state rep?

 

Looks like the State Treasurer at the time, Andy Dillon was the ultimate decision maker. His salary before benefits was $175,000/year.

 

The whole KWA project smacks of typical bipartisan political cronyism. A government that just can't help itself from being too big and too expensive.

Edited January 21, 2016 by outsideinthecold

[outsideinthecold]

There are quite a few other elements here some care to ignore. Take the EPA, for instance. What was their role? And the DEQ, weren't they involved? Saw one analysis that suggested a hundred bucks a day of pH adjust could have prevented the problem. Who here doesn't know about pH?

 

So what's the complaint about Snyder? Like Hillary for Bengahzi, he's taking full responsibility. And like Hillary, at this point whatdifference does it make?

 

But if one wants to prevent future iterations, better start at the beginning. Let the City, County or even State go bankrupt. No EM. No bailout. No money printing. This country, across every village, city, farm and meadow, is drowning in debt.

 

Once the State stepped in to save the City, when one government deigned to save another, the results are a foregone conclusion. It is the old 'destroy it to save it' syndrome. Lovely.

Edited January 21, 2016 by outsideinthecold

[Restorium2]

Put yourself in the shoes of a Flint resident. Try that perspective. You can fault them for 'voting wrong' maybe. Or were they the victims of how others' voted?

What would you want now?

[cristinew]

Not only were they fully aware of the dangers presented by the water, the Snyder administration attempted to cover up the scandal by misrepresenting the data. 

All of this simply confirms what we already knew – that Governor Rick Snyder and his administration purposefully sold water that they knew was contaminated to a majority African-American city of a hundred thousands souls, dismissed the concerns of the residents they were poisoning, and then attempted to hide the evidence until it was too late. Resignation is not enough for these men. After these explosive revelations, justice demands criminal prosecution and harsh punishments for this kind of heartless mismanagement.

But that, ladies and gentlemen, is just how a Republican governs.

[t-pain]

EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman to resign in wake of the Flint water crisis

 

http://michiganradio.org/post/epa-region-5-administrator-susan-hedman-resign-wake-flint-water-crisis

 

 

big news.

[cristinew]

There are quite a few other elements here some care to ignore. Take the EPA, for instance. What was their role? And the DEQ, weren't they involved? Saw one analysis that suggested a hundred bucks a day of pH adjust could have prevented the problem. Who here doesn't know about pH?

 

So what's the complaint about Snyder? Like Hillary for Bengahzi, he's taking full responsibility. And like Hillary, at this point whatdifference does it make?

 

But if one wants to prevent future iterations, better start at the beginning. Let the City, County or even State go bankrupt. No EM. No bailout. No money printing. This country, across every village, city, farm and meadow, is drowning in debt.

 

Once the State stepped in to save the City, when one government deigned to save another, the results are a foregone conclusion. It is the old 'destroy it to save it' syndrome. Lovely.

CLASS WAR

EPA Accuses Michigan Officials of Obstructing Clean Water RegulationsBriana Madden | January 20, 2016

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The federal government is accusing Rick Snyder’s Department of Environmental Quality of blocking efforts to make Flint’s drinking water safe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed blame on Michigan state officials Tuesday for “failures” and “resistance” to make drinking water in Flint safe for residents again, according to NBC News. Hours ahead of an expected statement by Gov. Rick Snyder on the crisis, the EPA pointed its finger at state and local officials.

“EPA’s ability to oversee [state] management of that situation was impacted by failures and resistance at the state and local levels to work with us in a forthright, transparent and proactive manner consistent with the seriousness of the risks to public health,” the agency said. “Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the state of Michigan was responsible for implementing the regulations to protect their residents’ drinking water. While EPA worked within the framework of the law to repeatedly and urgently communicate the steps the state needed to take to properly treat its water, those necessary actions were not taken as quickly as they should have been.”

While finally declaring the state of emergency in early January, Gov. Snyder wouldn’t say when he became aware of the lead problem in Flint. The Detroit Free Press reported last week that the governor’s then-chief of staff wrote an email to a health department official in July 2015 stating that the state was “blowing off” residents’ concerns about the water.

“I’m frustrated by the water issue in Flint,” Muchmore wrote last summer. “I really don’t think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state we’re just not sympathizing with their plight).”

The EPA tried to clean Flint’s water nearly one year ago

Secret emails revealed EPA officials knew as early as February 2015 that people in Flint could be drinking poisoned water due to exceptionally high lead levels found in a home. Emails made public by FOIA request show evidence that the EPA learned in April 2015 that the state was not treating its water for corrosion control, which upped the risk for contamination by lead and copper leaching from pipes. A July 2015 email shows that the EPA and the state engaged in a secret conflict over whether or not corrosion control was necessary in Flint, despite it being a federal requirement.

 

EPA water expert Miguel Del Toral penned an internal memo in June 2015 that the situation was a major concern and also addressed the state’s testing methods, saying they could be skewing the results. After the memo was leaked by the ACLU, Del Toral was attacked by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), called a rogue employee and his test result, showing the phenomenal levels of lead in a woman’s home that poisoned her child, called an “outlier.”

“Let me start here – anyone who is concerned about lead in the drinking water in Flint can relax,” said Brad Wurfel, spokesman for the DEQ, in July 2015.

Flint’s water contained corrosion-control chemicals until 2014, when the city’s emergency financial manager switched water sources from Detroit’s treated water to the Flint River’s untreated water. The move was hailed for it’s cost-effectiveness, but discontinuing the use of corrosion-control chemicals allowed toxins into the water supply. Using these chemicals is a federal requirement.

EPA: Michigan officials rigged test results to hide toxic chemicals

To add on to this colossal mistreatment of human safety and violation of federal law, the state’s testing methods in Flint were highly unusual and caused the results from water testing to be downplayed. Residents were being instructed to pre-flush their water lines before collecting samples, which resulted in less lead capture and an unrealistic idea of the actual lead contact.

Curt Guyette, an investigative reporter for the Michigan ACLU interviewed Del Toral about the chain of events and wrote, “In other words, at the same time the city is exacerbating the problem, it’s conducting tests that will probably fail to identify the true extent of the threat.”

A June 24 internal memo from Del Toral read, “The practice of pre-flushing before collecting compliance samples has been shown to result in the minimization of lead capture and significant underestimation of lead levels in drinking water.”

Marc Edwards, one of Virginia Tech’s experts and professors, agrees. “The net effect of a ‘pre-flush’ is to greatly reduce the likelihood of detecting lead in samples collected…that would normally be present in the consumers drinking water,” he wrote in an email. “I have long maintained that the practice should be banned, as it artificially lowers the amount of lead detected in samples versus typical consumer exposure.”

In this case, it severely affected the initial result from LeeAnn Walters’ house, the one that alerted the EPA last February. The city’s initial samples in March 2015, after pre-flushing, were 104 parts per billion (ppb) and 397 ppb. The Virginia Tech researchers did a proper test and discovered lead levels in Walters’ house at an unbelievable 13,200 ppb, which is twice the amount at which the EPA classifies water as hazardous waste.

 

 

Despite repeated reassurances that there were no problems with the water in Flint, thousands were exposed to toxic levels of lead, Legionella bacteria (which caused ten cases of death from Legionnaire’s disease), and other unsafe chemicals and bacteria. Federal and state investigations and been launched and class-action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Flint citizens.

[solabeirtan]

Rachels Update Tonight: Obama pledges 80mil by next week. Rotten asked to testify. Legionnaires update... more  ( - 9:24 min + commercial probably)

[Restorium2]

[knucklehead bob]

Anonymous Launches #OpFlint, Calls for Michigan Governor to Face Criminal Charges Over Toxic Water Crisis

Flint's ongoing "toxic waste" water crisis, as previously reported, has only grown more unfathomable with each passing day. With as many as 90,000 people exposed to potential lead poisoning and other dangerous elements simply by turning on the faucet, a state of emergency was declared by President Barack Obama earlier this week. However, citizens and fellow Americans alike are still calling for concrete answers as to how such an egregious mistake could have been allowed to persist.

 

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2016/01/anonymous-op-flint-michigan-water-crisis-governor-rick-snyder-criminal-charges?utm_campaign=complexmag&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&sr_share=facebook

[Restorium2]

Either Snyder directed the DEQ and EPA (governor appointed) heads that resigned and he needs to go, OR, he didn't and he needs to go. Take your pick.

Either Snyder helped create the disaster or he was not doing the most important job he ever had (or will have). He's not fit to govern a state. Many governors are not fit to govern but none have been shown so clearly a failure as Snyder. What governor can be shown to have damaged over a hundred children for life? Caused their state to have a billion dollar loss?

 

If you can't get on board with the Flint people, can you at least see the fiscal damage he did? He needs to go.

[Restorium2]

At this point we need to start thinking about who will replace Snyder.