Race Jones
gangster. grace. alchemy
The State of Michigan has agreed to spend $87 million in a proposed settlement to replace thousands of lead pipes throughout Flint over the next three years, the latest effort by state and city officials to fix the contaminated water system.
The state may use a combination of federal and state funds for the project, which, if approved, would settle a lawsuit brought last year by a coalition of Flint residents and national groups. The suit blamed city and state officials for failing to protect residents from drinking lead-tainted water for more than a year.
A federal judge is expected to review the agreement during a hearing in Detroit on Tuesday. The proposed deal also calls for the state to provide free bottled water and to conduct extensive testing of Flint’s tap water for lead in the coming months. By January 2020, the agreement says, the city will have replaced pipes in and around thousands of homes — perhaps 18,000 of them — speeding up a project that began last year to replace corroded lead pipes. Pipes made of lead or galvanized steel are expected to be replaced with copper.
“This proposed agreement is a win for the people of Flint,” said Dimple Chaudhary, a lawyer for the National Resources Defense Council. “It provides a comprehensive framework to address lead contamination in Flint’s tap water. The agreement is a significant step forward for the Flint community, covering a number of critical issues related to water safety.”
The lawsuit was filed against Michigan and Flint officials in January 2016 by a group including the Natural Resources Defense Council; the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan; Concerned Pastors for Social Action; and Melissa Mays, a Flint resident. The group asserted that the state and the city were in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said he could not comment because the agreement was still under mediation.
Under the terms of the deal, residents are entitled to lead testing of their water four times a year. Residents who are home-bound may receive deliveries of bottled water, and nine distribution centers will offer free bottled water, filters and replacement cartridges for filters.
Teams dispatched by the city will inspect water filters on faucets, ensure that they are installed correctly and explain proper use to residents, a step to further educate people in Flint about lead contamination.
In April 2014, Flint officials switched the city’s water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River, and residents immediately began to report health problems, water discoloration and foul smells from their faucets. It took more than a year before state officials publicly acknowledged the problem. Experts said that water from the Flint River had corroded the pipes and caused lead to leach into the water.
Jacob D. Abernethy, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, collaborated with Flint officials on a study last year that analyzed the water system and the undertaking to replace lead pipes in homes. He said that finishing the replacement in three years seemed possible with enough money and resources.
The pipe replacement in Flint did not begin as quickly as officials had initially hoped. “It’s been a slow project for a lot of reasons,” Mr. Abernethy said. “There’s a lot of hurdles in the way: The City Council has to approve the locations. Every time you want to go to a home, you have to get approval from the homeowner. Contractors encounter problems they didn’t expect to find.”
But after months of construction, he said, officials in Flint “have figured out how to make this thing go fast.”
The state may use a combination of federal and state funds for the project, which, if approved, would settle a lawsuit brought last year by a coalition of Flint residents and national groups. The suit blamed city and state officials for failing to protect residents from drinking lead-tainted water for more than a year.
A federal judge is expected to review the agreement during a hearing in Detroit on Tuesday. The proposed deal also calls for the state to provide free bottled water and to conduct extensive testing of Flint’s tap water for lead in the coming months. By January 2020, the agreement says, the city will have replaced pipes in and around thousands of homes — perhaps 18,000 of them — speeding up a project that began last year to replace corroded lead pipes. Pipes made of lead or galvanized steel are expected to be replaced with copper.
“This proposed agreement is a win for the people of Flint,” said Dimple Chaudhary, a lawyer for the National Resources Defense Council. “It provides a comprehensive framework to address lead contamination in Flint’s tap water. The agreement is a significant step forward for the Flint community, covering a number of critical issues related to water safety.”
The lawsuit was filed against Michigan and Flint officials in January 2016 by a group including the Natural Resources Defense Council; the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan; Concerned Pastors for Social Action; and Melissa Mays, a Flint resident. The group asserted that the state and the city were in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said he could not comment because the agreement was still under mediation.
Under the terms of the deal, residents are entitled to lead testing of their water four times a year. Residents who are home-bound may receive deliveries of bottled water, and nine distribution centers will offer free bottled water, filters and replacement cartridges for filters.
Teams dispatched by the city will inspect water filters on faucets, ensure that they are installed correctly and explain proper use to residents, a step to further educate people in Flint about lead contamination.
In April 2014, Flint officials switched the city’s water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River, and residents immediately began to report health problems, water discoloration and foul smells from their faucets. It took more than a year before state officials publicly acknowledged the problem. Experts said that water from the Flint River had corroded the pipes and caused lead to leach into the water.
Jacob D. Abernethy, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, collaborated with Flint officials on a study last year that analyzed the water system and the undertaking to replace lead pipes in homes. He said that finishing the replacement in three years seemed possible with enough money and resources.
The pipe replacement in Flint did not begin as quickly as officials had initially hoped. “It’s been a slow project for a lot of reasons,” Mr. Abernethy said. “There’s a lot of hurdles in the way: The City Council has to approve the locations. Every time you want to go to a home, you have to get approval from the homeowner. Contractors encounter problems they didn’t expect to find.”
But after months of construction, he said, officials in Flint “have figured out how to make this thing go fast.”
