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Two years later, congressional leaders ask for status of EPA report on Flint water crisis

steve carmody
/
Michigan Radio

Michigan congressional leaders are asking the EPA about the status of an investigation into the causes of the Flint water crisis.

The EPA Office of Inspector General launched its investigation in January 2016 into the causes of the crisis that exposed the people of Flint to lead-tainted tap water and other health threats.

However more than two years later, the full report has still not been released.

Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, along with Flint Congressman Dan Kildee, have sent a letter to the EPA Inspector General’s office asking for an update on the investigation and when the full report will be released to the public.  

This information will be very helpful in ensuring that a similar crisis never happens again, either in Flint or any other community across America. Equally important, it will also help to bring justice to the thousands of families in Flint who are still living with the effects of this ongoing crisis.

The letter asks for a reply from the Inspector General’s office by March 9.

An EPA spokeswoman expects the final report will be released late this summer.  

"The EPA Office of Inspector General’s work regarding the Flint water crisis is actually a program evaluation, not an investigation," says EPA spokeswoman Kentia Elbaum, "The EPA OIG’s objective for this assignment is to examine the circumstances of, and the EPA’s response to, the contamination in the city of Flint’s community water system, including the EPA’s exercise of its oversight authority."

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.