DETROIT (AP) – Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, his health director and other former officials have been told they are being charged after a new investigation into the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority of the black city with lead-contaminated water and is to blame for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-’15, The Associated Press has learned.
Two people with knowledge of the planned prosecution told the AP on Tuesday that the attorney general’s office had briefed defense attorneys on charges in Flint and told them to expect initial court appearances soon. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak in public.
The AP could not determine the nature of the charges against Snyder, the former director of the health department, Nick Lyon, and others who were in the Snyder government. Courtney Covington Watkins, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said only that investigators “work diligently” and “will share more once we are able to do so.”
Snyder’s attorney did not return for comment.
Snyder, a Republican who has not held office for two years, was governor when state officials in Flint switched the city’s water to the Flint River in 2014 as a cost-saving move while building a pipeline to Lake Huron. However, the water was not treated to reduce corrosion – a disastrous decision upheld by state regulators leading to leaching of old pipes and spoiling the distribution system used by nearly 100,000 residents.
The disaster made Flint a nationwide symbol of government mismanagement, with residents queuing up for bottled water and parents fearing their children would suffer permanent damage. The crisis was highlighted as an example of environmental injustice and racism.
At the same time, the bacteria in the water are blamed for the outbreak of legions. Legionella bacteria can be caused by feces and cooling systems, which cause a serious form of pneumonia, especially in people with weakened immune systems. Authorities counted at least 90 cases in Genesee County, including 12 deaths.
The outbreak was announced in January 2016 by Snyder and Lyon, although Lyon admitted he knew cases had been reported many months earlier.
In 2018, Lyon is ordered to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter after a special prosecutor accused him of not notifying the public in time about the outbreak. His lawyers argued that there was not enough solid information to share with the public earlier.
By June 2019, the entire Flint water investigation was upside down after more than three years and millions of dollars. Prosecutors working under a new attorney general, Dana Nessel, have dismissed the case against Lyon, as well as charges against seven more people, saying the investigation will start anew.
The decision did not affect seven people who had already disputed disputes. They collaborated with investigators and their records were eventually scrubbed clean.
Evidence during court hearings raised questions about when Snyder knew of the outbreak of the legions. His urban affairs adviser, Harvey Hollins, told a judge that the governor was notified on Christmas Eve 2015. But three weeks later, in January 2016, Snyder told reporters he had just learned about it.
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Eggert reports from Lansing.
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