THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS / SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2016 / D19
The mistakes made
5 questions: Governor’s office responds
M MLive.com
Live submitted five questions to Gov. Rick Snyder after he declined our request for an interview. Following are the answers provided by Ari Adler, Snyder’s director of communications, on the governor’s behalf (the direct quotes from Snyder were noted by Adler):
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MLive: Between October 2014 and October 2015, your office was aware of numerous issues with Flint’s water quality long before lead was an issue — two boil water advisories, GM’s decision to stop using city water, TTHM, as well as ongoing issues with the color, odor and taste of the water and complaints it was causing rashes. Why did you take so long to take action? Adler: It is inaccurate to say that no action was being taken so this question isn’t valid. With each turn of events, executive office staff were working with staff at state departments involved in each of the issues to determine what was happening, actions that were being taken, treatments being applied and expected outcomes. MLive: Starting in July 2015, numerous outsiders raised concerns about lead in Flint water, including the EPA via the Del Toral memo, Flint residents who met with Muchmore and Hollins on July 22, Marc Edwards and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Since these contradicted state officials’ assertions the water was safe, why didn’t you seek an outside opinion on whether Flint had a lead problem? Adler: In regard to lead in the water, up until the very last moment, Gov. Snyder was being told that the outside experts were wrong by officials at the DEQ. When the governor was finally told the outside experts may be right — which we now know they were — and that the DEQ experts had provided inaccurate information to the governor, he was very upset. Gov. Snyder: “They were telling me that there really isn’t a problem. That the outside experts aren’t correct. The next day I have a call (with DEQ officials) and when I push them, they tell me ‘It looks like there is a problem.’” MLive: You recently said that you realized on Monday, Sept. 28, that state officials might be wrong in saying Flint water was safe. What specifically made you realize that the outsiders were right and your experts were wrong? Adler: Sept. 28 is when the Governor has a call with department officials to update him on the Flint water situation. This was a day after he was given a written briefing telling him even then that the outside experts were wrong. No matter when experts change their opinion, there is always that last-minute change when they suddenly switch from “they are wrong” to, “wait, they may be right.” But in this case, Gov. Snyder was upset that not only had he been given bad information but also the way in which the department had dismissed the local concerns and those of outside experts. Gov. Snyder on the crisis and how it developed: “Not a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn’t weigh on my mind. What are the questions I should have asked? What are the answers I should have demanded? How I could have prevented this?” Gov. Snyder on the moment when the DEQ told him the outside experts were probably right: “That’s the kind of thing you never want to hear. And talk about being upset, I was upset.” MLive: People who reported to you — including Nick Lyon, Dan Wyant and Harvey Hollins — knew about the Legionnaire’s disease outbreak and its possible link to Flint River water in early 2015. Did they fail you by not informing you earlier about the possible link? Adler: The governor isn’t going to get into playing whatifs on what staff could have or should have told him. His focus is on fixing the problems in Flint and on changing direction on how we are doing things in state government, all the way up to the executive office. Note that to this day, however, it is still undetermined whether the uptick in Legionnaire’s cases is a result of anything to do with the Flint water switch. MLive: Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently in handling the crisis? Gov. Snyder: “This was a failure of government at all levels. Local, state and federal officials — we all failed the families of Flint. I said I was sorry and I’m going to fix it. Flint is an illustration of a growing crisis nationwide. We can be smart enough to learn from it and help lead the nation in terms of smart policies to address what’s been ignored for decades. We need to move forward with reforms to the federal Lead and Copper Rule at the state level. We can better protect the health and safety of all Michiganders and these new standards could be used as a model for other states to follow.”
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12. Gov. Rick Snyder addresses the media on the Flint Water Advisory Task Force’s final report March 23, 2016. 13. Flint resident Tony Palladeno Jr.’s sign, pictured Jan. 8, 2016, calls the city a “death zone.” 14. Residents raise their arms during a town hall meeting about the Flint water crisis Feb. 1, 2016, in Flint. 15. Ahmirah Porter, 9, stands with a sign that reads “I’ve been poisoned by policy,” Jan. 8, 2016, as she joins more than 150 protesters outside of Flint City Hall. 16. Veterinary technician Monica Reinke, of East Lansing, labels blood samples from a free lead testing event for animals March 19, 2016. Humans were not the only one affected by lead in Flint’s water. 17. Hundreds of cases of bottled water are stored at a church in Flint on Feb. 5, 2016. 18. Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Wade Garvins fill the bed of a pickup with water for a Flint
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resident in need April 25, 2016, as people protest in front of Flint City Hall. 19. U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, directs a question at Gov. Rick Snyder as he lambasts the Michigan state government’s involvement in the Flint water crisis as two aides behind him hold more than 8,000 documents March 17, 2016, during a hearing in front of the U.S. House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. 20. Brandon Strong, of Clio, joins demonstrators as they chant and march to the Diag on Feb. 9, 2016, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in protest of the water situation in Flint. (MLive.com files)
Plumber Harold Harrington, business manager for United Association local 370, collects water samples for testing from the Flint home of Mareeda White on April 23, 2016. (Conor Ralph | MLive.com)