Two Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees and one city employee were charged Wednesday with crimes related to the Flint, Mich., lead water crisis.
Mike Prysby, Stephen Busch and Mike Glasgow were charged with multiple felonies related to the crisis, according to court documents. Busch was the department’s district supervisor for Flint’s water system, Prysby is an engineer at the agency and Glasgow is Flint’s water quality supervisor.
Busch and Prysby are charged with two counts each of tampering with evidence and misconduct in office. They also face a charge of violating the Safe Water Drinking Act, court records show.
Glasgow faces one charge of tampering with evidence and one charge of being a public officer and willfully neglecting his duty.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a press conference that the officials altered test results to show that the water was safe to drink. Busch, Prsyby and Glasgow all worked to mislead federal authorities to skirt the Lead and Copper Rule and broke the Safe Water Drinking Act.
The maximum time the men can spend in prison is four years based on the most serious charges.
“They failed to discharge their duties,” Schuettes aid. “They failed to do their duty to protect the health and safety of the families of Flint.”
Prysby was also charged with misconduct in office for authorizing a permit for the Flint Water Treatment Plant when he knew that the plant would not be able to provide safe water for Flint, Schuette said.
Schuette promised to do an exhaustive and complete investigation into the roles of the three men charged Wednesday. However, he’s not done yet.
“These charges are only the beginning, and there will be more to come,” Schuette said. “That I can guarantee you.”
In April 2014, a state emergency manager appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on a symbolic vote from the Flint City Council to change the city’s water source. The move aimed to cut costs by requiring the city to take its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department while a new pipeline was built to connect the city to Lake Huron.
The Flint River water, however, was so acidic that it caused the lead pipes bringing water from the city’s cast iron mains into homes to corrode. Lead leached off the pipes and into the drinking water throughout the city.
The state and the federal government have declared a state of emergency, and Flint residents are not able to drink the water coming out of their taps.
State officials have been accused of improperly testing the water at Flint homes and skirting federal regulations to make sure the water complied with the federal Lead and Copper Rule. Independent researchers determined that bureaucrats avoided testing the water at the most affected in homes.
Flint’s congressman, Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee, said the charges were the first step in getting justice for Flint, but the next one must be more resources coming from the state Capitol and Washington.
“Justice in the Flint water crisis is important and I support any investigation, including at the state and federal level, that are led by the facts and seek to hold those responsible accountable. Today’s criminal charges are one step to bringing justice to Flint families who are the victims of this terrible tragedy,” Kildee said.
“There are many forms of justice, and one of them is making it right for the people of Flint. More resources are needed right now for Flint families who continue to face this public health emergency.”
