Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R), his health director Nick Lyons, and other officials have been told they are being charged following a new investigation of the Flint water crisis led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The attorney general’s office has informed defense teams about indictments, and initial court appearances are expected soon.
The majority Black city was devasted by lead-contaminated water that was also found to instigate an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in 2014-15.
The disaster made Flint a nationwide symbol of governmental mismanagement, with residents lining up for bottled water and parents fearing that their children had suffered permanent harm. The crisis was highlighted by some as an example of environmental injustice and racism.
Snyder, a Republican who has been out of office for two years, was governor when state-appointed managers in Flint switched the city’s water to the Flint River in 2014 as a cost-saving step while a pipeline was being built to Lake Huron.
The water, however, was not treated to reduce corrosion — a disastrous decision affirmed by state regulators that caused lead to leach from old pipes and spoil the distribution system used by nearly 100,000 residents.
See more at Detroit News.