Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder called the charges against state employees involved in Flint’s lead water crisis “disturbing and deeply troubling” Wednesday and noted he has not been interviewed in the criminal investigation.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Wednesday that three men, two in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and one with the city of Flint, will face 13 combined charges for the lead contamination in the eastern Michigan city’s drinking water.
A solemn Snyder held a press conference after the charges were announced, and told reporters he has not been asked for an interview by Schuette or other investigators.
“With respect to this investigation, I have not been questioned or interviewed at this point,” Snyder said. “Our office has been cooperating with this investigation.”
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.
The charges stem from the lead water crisis that has enveloped Flint since the fall.
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 to a new local authority. While a new pipeline was built, the city took its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
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.
Schuette deflected reporters’ questions about whether Snyder is a target of his investigation, but he wouldn’t rule it out. He repeatedly guaranteed that the charges handed down on Wednesday were the first, but certainly would not be the last.
“No one is off limits,” he said.
