Michigan Report Finds EPA Failed To Exercise SDWA Authority In Flint

摘要

EPA failed to use its authorities under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to mitigate the harm from high lead levels in Flint, MI, drinking water and should clarify provisions in the lead and copper rule (LCR) that contributed to the state's misinterpretation of the rule's requirements, a state task force investigating the water crisis finds in a new report. The March 21 report from the governor-appointed Flint Water Advisory Task Force (FWATF) says that while "the causes of the crisis lie primarily at the feet of the state by virtue of its agencies' failures and its appointed emergency managers' misjudgments," EPA also failed in its role as the overseer of state and local regulatory actions under SDWA. The report is available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc. ID: 189890) "Only after broad public revelation of the magnitude of the crisis and of [Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ)] multiple failures - and, not coincidentally, the opportunity to garner positive recognition - did EPA exercise its authority under SDWA and issue its Emergency Order on January 21, 2016," the report states.