NEW YORK — An independent panel investigating the Flint, Mich., water crisis laid blame directly on Governor Rick Snyder’s office, concluding that inept state employees in charge of supervising water quality and state-appointed emergency managers ignored mounting problems with the city’s water supply and stubbornly disregarded signs of widespread contamination.
The task force, which described the effects of the crisis as “long-lasting,’’ also concluded that environmental injustice had contributed to the government’s slow-footed response to complaints from residents about foul and discolored water that was making them sick.
“Flint residents, who are majority black or African-American and among the most impoverished of any metropolitan area in the United States, did not enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards as that provided to other communities,’’ the report concluded.
The task force was appointed by the governor, and its report, released in Flint Wednesday, set off a discussion at a news conference about whether race was a factor in the government missteps that caused and then prolonged exposure to the contaminated water.
“Environmental injustice is not about overt acts of racism,’’ said Ken Sikkema, a panel member and former state senator. “It’s not about motivation. It’s not about deliberate attacks on a certain population group. It’s not about overt violations, attacks on civil rights. It’s about equal treatment.
“Clearly what happened here is a case of environmental injustice,’’ he said.
The 116-page report said blame spread across every level of government, from local officials to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but concluded the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had “primary responsibility for the water contamination in Flint.’’
“They missed the boat completely,’’ said Chris Kolb, a task force member and president of the Michigan Environmental Council. “They never backed off on those decisions no matter how many red flags they saw.’’
As for staff members in the governor’s office, they were playing “whack-a-mole,’’ Kolb said. “Every time an issue came up, they asked about it, they were told it’s being taken care of, it’s solved, and then another issue would come up. At some point, though, you have to say: ‘Wait a second. My gut’s telling me something’s wrong.’’’
The task force found:
¦ A lack of coordination and communication between government agencies.
¦ The decision to switch the source of Flint’s water to the Flint River was made by a state-appointed emergency manager.
¦ The Flint water plant was not equipped properly.
¦ Crucial data related to the presence of lead in tap water were not analyzed correctly.
“The Flint water crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental injustice,’’ the report said.
The panel made 44 recommendations, including that the governor’s office review the state’s controversial emergency manager law, and that the governor’s office improve its method of assessing information.
And it chastised officials for inadequate funding of services, urging that all levels of government establish “budgets for public health activities at federal, state, and local levels to ensure that highly skilled personnel and adequate resources are available.’’
“The consequences of underfunding,’’ it said, “include insufficient and inefficient responses to public health concerns.’’
Snyder accepted the report at the news conference in Flint. “There are a lot of excellent recommendations here,’’ Snyder said, adding that the state was already putting some of them in place.
The task force in December released an initial report that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had failed to adequately respond to complaints from Flint residents that their water supply was tainted. The task force called the department’s actions “completely unacceptable.’’
Two resignations from that department followed: Dan Wyant, director of the Department of Environmental Quality since 2011, and Brad Wurfel, communications director.
The drinking water in Flint became tainted in 2014 when the city switched its water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to water from the Flint River.
State officials failed to use anti-corrosives to treat the water, which caused lead to leach from pipes.
