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Written by: Daniel Larrimer<\/p>\n
Eight years after the story of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan became front-page news, the legal battles concerning the crisis persist.\u00a0 Civil rights and environmental groups allege that the city of Flint has failed to keep accurate records in compliance with a settlement agreement to replace lead service lines and that the city missed its deadline to investigate water lines to thousands of Flint residents\u2019 homes.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 On November 1, 2022, the plaintiffs filed their fifth motion to enforce the settlement agreement, in which they ask the U.S. District Court to order the city of Flint to correct the mistakes in the records by May 2023 and complete the required water service line replacements for 2,000 homes by August 2023.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n Brief History of the Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n The water crisis in Flint started from a money-saving venture in which city officials determined it would be more cost effective for the city to build its own pipeline connected to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) instead of continuing with its provider, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 While the pipeline connected to the KWA was being constructed, the city needed an interim water source and began sourcing its water from the Flint River on April 25, 2014.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 By May, Flint residents were already complaining about the smell and color of the water from the new source.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 On February 25 of the following year, a city test of the water in a Flint resident\u2019s home showed a lead content of 104 parts per billion, far above the fifteen parts per billion limit for lead in drinking water prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Over the following year, the problems surrounding the lead in the city\u2019s water led to first, Flint\u2019s mayor, and then President Obama declaring states of emergency in Flint.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n Nearly three years after the water supply was contaminated, the aforementioned settlement agreement between the city, the plaintiff groups, and the state of Michigan to investigate water lines for over 31,000 households was approved.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 The initial settlement agreement put a January 2020 deadline on the work, which has since been pushed back twice.[9]<\/a>\u00a0 The agreement provided that households affected by the lead contamination would be eligible to have the lines replaced for free and that the city was required to maintain records of work completed and give monthly status reports to the plaintiff groups.[10]<\/a>\u00a0 At the time the city paused its work due to the pandemic in early 2020, nearly 25,000 homes\u2019 service lines had been excavated.[11]<\/a>\u00a0 The court ordered the city to complete the work by November 2020.\u00a0 However, since then the city\u2019s progress in replacing water lines slowed dramatically, with the plaintiffs alleging that the city has only averaged about 23 excavations per week since September of this year.[12]<\/a>\u00a0 That is down from 200 excavations per week in 2018.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n The Plaintiff\u2019s Latest Motion<\/strong><\/p>\n The plaintiffs allege in their latest motion that the city has failed to track the addresses of homes at which it previously conducted restoration, so the city does not know which homes still require restoration.[14]<\/a>\u00a0 The plaintiff\u2019s relief sought, in part, is that all service line replacements be completed no later than August 1 of next year and that the city compile a list of all previously excavated addresses and propose a revised deadline to complete all restoration work that is \u201cas soon as practicable.\u201d[15]<\/a>\u00a0 This comes after Judge Lawson ordered the city in April to complete all work by September.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n This fifth motion is illustrative of the plaintiffs\u2019 urgency to complete the restoration work, which is not unfounded.\u00a0 A resolution of this public health crisis is long overdue for the people of Flint whose homes have lacked safe water for nearly eight years.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Danielle Ferguson, Flint Still Violating Deal To Replace Water Pipes, Group Says<\/em>, Law360 (Nov. 2, 2022), https:\/\/www.law360.com\/environmental\/articles\/1545921\/flint-still-violating-deal-to-replace-water-pipes-groups-say.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Merrit Kennedy, Lead-Laced Water in Flint: A Step-By-Step Look At The Makings Of A Crisis<\/em>, NPR (Apr. 20, 2016), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2016\/04\/20\/465545378\/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Ferguson, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [12]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [13]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [14]<\/a> Plaintiff\u2019s Fifth Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement at 16, Concerned Pastors for Soc. Action v. Khouri<\/em>, 217 F. Supp. 3d 960 (E.D. Mich. 2016) (No. 16-10277).<\/p>\n