Six Michigan government employees were criminally charged today in connection with the Flint water crisis, reports the Detroit Free Press. Charged are Michigan Department of Health and Human Services workers Nancy Peeler, Corinne Miller and Robert Scott, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees Leanne Smith; Adam Rosenthal and Patrick Cook.
In April, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced felony charges against two state officials and one city employee. City worker Mike Glasgow pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and is cooperating with the investigation as other charges were dropped. Flint’s drinking water became contaminated in lead in April 2014 after the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched from treated water supplied from Detroit to raw water from the Flint River, which was treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. Officials have acknowledged a mistake in failing to require corrosion control chemicals to be added to the water.