FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLINT, MI – A decade after the Flint water crisis began, the State of Michigan plans to take over the remaining work on Flint’s lead pipe replacement program and will commit additional funding to complete the job, according to a motion filed in federal court earlier this week. The decision by Michigan state officials marks a major development in resolving Flint’s water crisis and completing the city’s lead pipe replacement program, which the city government has managed under a 2017 Settlement.
There remain about 1,900 homes that require repairs to fix damaged lawns, sidewalks, driveways, and curbs. Some residents have been waiting for years for Flint to fix their properties. With the work years overdue under the requirements of the settlement, state officials are now asking to take over the lead pipe replacement program, pledging to finish the repairs by August 1, 2025.
“After years of urging the State of Michigan to provide more help to restore safe drinking water to Flint, that day is finally here. Enough is enough. Let’s finish the work quickly so Flint residents can begin to heal from a water crisis and government failures that have lasted a decade,” said Melissa Mays, one of the plaintiffs in the case and Operations Manager of Flint Rising.
“All levels of government have failed Flint residents at some point over the last ten years. With the state now stepping in to complete the job, we can be hopeful the end of the water crisis is near,” said Pastor Allen C. Overton with the Concerned Pastors for Social Action. “But we know injustice persists and the system that poisoned Flint’s water and left us to fend with incompetence and contempt remains in place, so we must and will stay vigilant,”
“Every Flint resident with a broken sidewalk or driveway from the city’s pipe replacement program must finally get their properties restored, as this case guarantees them. Michigan’s commitment to finish the job in Flint is a hopeful development, particularly given the city’s years-long failure to deliver on its promises,” said Sarah Tallman, a senior attorney with NRDC.
The State of Michigan has asked the court to put Flint’s obligations to finish the property restoration work on hold while state officials finish the job. Michigan estimates that the work will cost more than $4.75 million, and has committed to funding that work. The state has also committed to providing bi-monthly reporting on its progress.
“While the State agreeing to step in and finish what the city failed to do is a positive turn of events, Flint residents should not have had to wait 10 plus years to have their lead pipes replaced and properties repaired,” said Bonsitu Kitaba, ACLU of Michigan Deputy Legal Director. “Everyone is entitled to clean, safe water, and having to go without it for a day, let alone a decade, is more than anyone should have to endure. We are committed to keeping the State on track until every pipe is replaced and property is repaired.”
Plaintiffs Concerned Pastors for Social Action, Melissa Mays, American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, and the Natural Resources Defense Council – who secured the $97 million settlement in the Concerned Pastors for Social Action v. Khouri case in 2017 – will not oppose the state’s motion.
Beyond the state’s agreement to take on the remaining work to fix residents’ properties, there remain hundreds of homes where the city has not checked the water service line (or replaced the line if it is discovered to be made of lead or galvanized steel). More than 300 of these addresses have known lead service lines. The city and state must work together to get all of the lead lines out of Flint, as is required under Michigan’s lead and copper regulations.
For more information, see this NRDC guide, Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know.
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The ACLU of Michigan is a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to protect and expand the civil rights and civil liberties of all people.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.