Judges dismiss all remaining criminal charges against officials responsible for the Flint water crisis based on a procedural technicality, ensuring that no one is ever held criminally accountable for poisoning thousands of children. In October 2022, Judge Elizabeth Kelly throws out felony charges …
Elizabeth KellyF. Kay BehmRick SnyderMichigan Supreme Courtflint-water-crisisaccountabilitycriminal-justiceimpunityenvironmental-racism
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is indicted on two misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty in connection to the Flint water crisis, becoming the first governor or former governor in Michigan’s 184-year history to be charged with crimes related to their time in office. Eight other …
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office dismisses every pending criminal case related to the Flint water crisis, dropping charges against eight people including former state health department director Nick Lyon, former Chief Medical Executive Eden Wells, and former Flint Emergency …
Dana NesselNick LyonEden WellsDarnell Earleyflint-water-crisisaccountabilitycriminal-justiceimpunity
Governor Rick Snyder declares a state of emergency for Genesee County due to the ongoing health and safety crisis caused by lead in Flint’s drinking water—21 months after the initial water switch and three months after independent researchers forced the state to acknowledge the lead poisoning. …
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Flint reconnects to the Detroit water system 18 months after the catastrophic switch to Flint River water, following Governor Rick Snyder’s approval of $9.35 million to restore the connection and provide relief. The switch comes only after independent researchers proved beyond doubt that the …
Rick SnyderDayne WallingFlint City Governmentflint-water-crisispublic-healthlead-poisoningchildren
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reviews data from Hurley Medical Center and finally verifies what residents have been saying for 18 months: Flint’s water is poisoning children with lead. The state begins testing drinking water in schools and distributing free water …
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Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Flint’s Hurley Medical Center, publicly releases research proving that children’s blood lead levels have doubled since the water switch, nearly tripling in the inner city. Her analysis compares blood lead data for children under 5 from …
Mona Hanna-AttishaMichigan Department of Health and Human Servicesflint-water-crisiswhistleblowerpublic-healthlead-poisoningchildren
The City of Flint tests water at the home of LeeAnne Walters, a mother of four who has been complaining about health problems since the water switch, and finds lead levels at 104 parts per billion (ppb)—nearly seven times greater than the EPA action level of 15 ppb. Walters had first informed the …
LeeAnne WaltersMarc EdwardsCity of FlintEPAflint-water-crisiswhistleblowerlead-poisoningpublic-health
General Motors’ engine plant in Flint stops using city water after discovering it is corroding engine parts, switching to Lake Huron water from a neighboring township at an anticipated cost to the city of $400,000. GM reports that the super-high levels of chloride in Flint River water are …
General MotorsDarnell EarleyFlint City Governmentflint-water-crisisenvironmental-racismcorporate-accountabilityGeneral-Motors
Officials in Flint, Michigan switch the city’s water supply from treated Detroit water (sourced from Lake Huron) to the polluted Flint River as a cost-cutting measure, beginning one of the worst public health disasters in modern American history. The decision, made by state-appointed emergency …
Darnell EarleyFlint Department of Public WorksMichigan Department of Environmental Qualityflint-water-crisisemergency-managerenvironmental-racismpublic-healthcost-cutting
The Flint water crisis (2014-2024) stands as one of the most egregious examples of environmental racism and governmental failure in modern American history: a decade-long catastrophe in which state officials poisoned thousands of children to save money, lied about it for 18 months, and ultimately …
Rick SnyderDarnell EarleyMona Hanna-AttishaLeeAnne WaltersMarc Edwardsflint-water-crisisenvironmental-racismemergency-manageraccountabilitylead-poisoning+1 more
Governor Rick Snyder appoints Darnell Earley as emergency manager of Flint, Michigan, the third of four unelected managers who would control the predominantly Black city during its financial crisis. Earley takes control of a city of 100,000 residents where more than 40% of the population lives below …
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appoints Michael Brown as emergency manager of Flint, effectively stripping all power from the city’s democratically elected mayor and city council under Public Act 4 of 2011. The law, signed by Snyder on March 16, 2011, granted appointed emergency managers …
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