LANSING — An MLive article published today revealed officials within the Department of Health and Human Services knew of a PFAS contamination in the Flint River before Flint switched its water source four years ago and did not alert city officials. In response, state Rep. Sheldon A. Neeley (D-Flint) issued the following statement:
“For state officials to knowingly allow Flint families to consume water that was dangerous to their health is not only grossly irresponsible, it is downright reprehensible. Officials in the Snyder administration were too concerned with the political ramifications of revealing this information, all the while our state-mandated emergency manager Ed Kurtz drove our community head-first into this humanitarian crisis. The emergency manager law is already designed to keep municipal elected leaders blind and prevents them from protecting the people they serve. Withholding this vital information and allowing a city to consume toxic chemicals is yet another example of the Snyder administration keeping Michigan communities in the dark and putting them at risk. Once again, I am urging Attorney General Bill Schuette to defend the people of Flint in light of yet another disgraceful failure by this administration. It is time Schuette be a champion for the city of Flint before even more damage is done.”
###