Smells Like Leadership

It’s been a long time since Flint Michigan was a prosperous city. At it’s most populous, nearly 200,000 people lived in Flint and 80,000 of them worked for GM. Fifty or sixty years of disinvestment, outsourcing and globalization means that the city barely has 100,000 people of whom only 8,000 are working for GM. That’s why there was a financial crisis in the first place. It’s like Detroit but worse, they are trying to maintain services originally designed for a city twice as large, on a tax base that has been shattered by white flight, disinvestment and relentless hostility towards the well paid union jobs that built the city in the first place. Enter Rick Snyder. Republican governor of the state of Michigan. His signature piece of legislation was a “Emergency Financial Manager” law that allowed him to dismiss the democratically elected municipal government of any local government unit when “probable financial stress” was found and appoint an Emergency Manager. This law was fully and completely rejected by a referendum of the voters in Michigan. Subsequently the bill was re-introduced and passed in a form that was not subject to voter referendum. In practice what this has been is a usurpation of local control, and a disaster for local residents. For a more in depth breakdown I recommend this article: Republicans Trashed Democracy in Michigan. Now They Want To Trash It in Your State, Too. Remember the Detroit water crisis? Where the city of Detroit had almost two hundred million dollars of unpaid water bills outstanding? The reason that suddenly became an emergency instead of an ongoing crisis, is that the Emergency Manager thought it would be a good idea to privatize the water utility and they couldn’t even think about selling an asset with a 175 million dollars of uncollected and frankly uncollectable bills. Detroit Shuts Off Water To Thousands Of Broke Residents The city of Flint got their water from Detroit. The city of Detroit has been raising their water prices in an effort to balance their books. The City of Flint was building a pipeline of their to draw water from Lake Huron in order to not have to buy the suddenly more expensive Detroit water. Until the pipeline was complete, the city of Flint had the option to pay more for water from Detroit, or use the water from the Flint River. The same Flint River that was too corrosive for GM to use for washing auto parts: General Motors shutting off Flint River water at engine plant over corrosion worries. That’s what the Emergency Manager of the city of Flint and Governor Rick Snyder thought was a better choice as revealed in the FOIA requests quoted in this article from the Michigan ACLU Flint Water and the No-Blame Game .

From what I understand, the river water in Flint isn’t particularly clean, but it isn’t contaminated with lead. The lead comes from the ancient waterworks that delivers water to the city’s 100,000+ residents and the ancient plumbing of their housing. Clean treated water doesn’t pull (much) lead out of lead pipes and lead based solder. The witches brew that flows in the Flint river has been contaminated by flowing through what amounts to a 150 year old industrial dump. Flint’s been a manufacturing hub for almost 150 years. The EPA and the clean water act were passed in the early 1970s just when GM was reeling from the energy crisis and foreign competition. They thought it would be easier to shut down Buick city than clean it up and keep operating with union workers, and I’m sure on some balance sheet somewhere it looked great. But by shutting down their factories in Flint, by sourcing their parts from abroad, GM sidestepped their tax obligations to the city that was the cradle of both Buick and Chevrolet. Now of course in addition to lead contamination, the water in the city of Flint is suspected of contributing to an outbreak of Legionnaires disease: Snyder: Flint has seen spike in Legionnaires’ disease

So what does this ongoing train wreck look like to the best minds in journalism today? I couldn’t say. but to Ron Fournier who will never be counted among those ranks, it looks like leadership. A Refreshing Approach to Politics in Michigan in this revolting tongue bath, he paints Rick Snyder as a data driven visionary. A bold leader who can create simple order out of bureaucratic chaos. I see it as something different. I see it as a revolting disregard for human life. I see it as outright hostility to the well being of the residents of Michigan and an all too cozy relationship with the privatize the profits and socialize the costs model of disaster capitalism. It looks pretty similar to outright sabotage of public utilities and schools so that he can sell privatization to the citizens of Michigan as the cure to the ineffectiveness of deliberately mismanaged public institutions.

So that’s what leadership is. Selling out the welfare of the most vulnerable, poisoning an entire city, to create the appearance of fiscal prudence.

 

Comments: 23

 
 
 

If he likes the smell of Snyder’s leadership so much, Ron Fournier should get a taste of it, too, in the form of bottled Flint water and nothing else to drink for the rest of his life.

 
 

” So that’s what leadership is. Selling out the welfare of the most vulnerable, poisoning an entire city, to create the appearance of fiscal prudence”

That’s what Republicans think leadership is, by design.
Great post, thanks.

 
 

Helmut,

Please, don’t hold back so much on these issues of health and protecting the environment.

I think the governor and his emergency manager of Flint, along with any minion who got anywhere close to this set of decisions,
should be welded into metal boxes, and fed Flint River water until the city of Flint has clean water, and all the little children are shown to be healthy. Which will be never.

They have eliminated any chance for these little children to ever have a successful life in our work-or-die nation. Deliberately.

Days after their decision, they should have known how Flint’s water was changing. They had an obligation to track the quality of that water they chose to supply to the citizens of the city, and if they didn’t bother, they should pay the price. Negligent homicide is the minimum charge they should face. And it should go to the very top!

 
 

The first half of the Ron Fournier article is devoted to praising Rick Snyder for noticing that poor people often receive benefits from more than one government program. I was expecting the the article to go on to explain how Rick Snyder used this apparently banal insight to do a better job of delivering benefits, but the article never does.

The charitable way of looking at this would be to say that Fournier talked to Rick Snyder and decided to write about his impressions of the man even though he hadn’t done the sort of reporting which would give him some idea of whether Snyder’s words matched his actions.

Why am I at least considering being charitable to Fournier? He wrote a more recent column titled, “How Government—and This Columnist—Failed Flint,” which includes an acknowledgement of failure on his part:

“…why did I write a column about Snyder’s leadership that didn’t even mention Flint? There’s no good answer, no excuse. I took my eye off the ball. I blew it.”

I’m not sure Fournier understands why he went wrong, but he forthrightly acknowledges that he did go wrong, and that has to count for something.

 
 

I am a little confused about the timeline for the water crisis. I thought I had pieced it together, but someone actually from Flint told me I had some key details wrong. In particular, if I were a prosecutor (which I am not … I’m not even a lawyer) trying to get criminal charges to stick, there is a lot I’d need to know before I could go after the people who ultimately are responsible:

* Who actually made the call to use water from the Flint River? The actual switch to Flint River water happened under Earley’s watch, but he says that the decision was made earlier. The city council did indeed vote to switch away from using Detroit water, but they claim the plan they voted on did not include any decision to use Flint River water. My understanding was that when the city council made their decision, Flint had Ed Kurtz as the emergency manager, but I have been told that my understanding was wrong and that Earley was the first Emergency Manager in Flint after Snyder re-instituted the emergency manager law. So who made the call to use Flint water: the Flint city government? Earley? Kurtz? It seems to me Earley is being set up (hmmm … I wonder why they chose him? … of course no doubt he is being well compensated to be the fall guy).

* As the decision was made to use Flint river water, did anyone actually consult the people who run the water system for the city? Did anyone consult with outside (state or federal) experts? If so, why didn’t anyone point out the need to use corrosion inhibitors in the water or suggest that the Flint river was a problematic source of water. If not, why was no-one who actually understood water systems consulted?

* Similarly, when the switch actually occurred, did anyone actually responsible for the water system (e.g. the engineer(s) involved) raise objections? If so, who ignored them? If not, why did they not raise objections? Did they not know what would happen with the switch (in which case they were negligent because evidently the corrosive nature of potentially polluted river water is a known thing) or were they intimidated by their higher ups?

It seems to me that with shuffling of emergency managers, etc., the state government, led by Snyder, actually was making sure that when things went wrong, there would be no one person to blame and in particular Snyder’s government could not be blamed. However, this strategy may be effective. If engineers and other experts didn’t make objections to the switch in water and if it is unclear as to who actually ordered the switch, then Snyder and his cronies can always spread the blame around leaving everyone confused.

Of course, what strikes me is that even with things being so confusing: had Michigan been a foreign country with a government we didn’t like (rather than being a state), we’d be bombing Michigan right now because “Rick Snyder was committing genocide by allowing his own people to be poisoned by lead”. But since Michigan is a state and Snyder is a Republican governor, all the confusion about who is responsible for what will ensure that Snyder isn’t even prosecuted and perhaps even will prevail if he and his cronies are sued.

 
 

If so, why didn’t anyone point out the need to use corrosion inhibitors in the water or suggest that the Flint river was a problematic source of water. If not, why was no-one who actually understood water systems consulted?

When I first heard about this, I read (I’ve forgotten where, unfortunately) that the need for a corrosion inhibitor was known, but that somebody high up (the emergency manager, Snyder, who knows?) decided it was too expensive.

The reporting from everybody on this has been pretty shitty about the details, it’s just mostly reported as “haha, stupid government can’t do anything right, as usual.” Hopefully, and especially if they can get Snyder’s emails from 2013, somebody will be able to show a proper timeline of everything that happened.

 
 

When I first heard about this, I read (I’ve forgotten where, unfortunately) that the need for a corrosion inhibitor was known, but that somebody high up (the emergency manager, Snyder, who knows?) decided it was too expensive.

I hope that someone has documented this, including who exactly said the corrosion inhibitor was too expensive and when it was said.

 
 

I hope that someone has documented this, including who exactly said the corrosion inhibitor was too expensive and when it was said.

Me too. The Guardian has a decent overview, and discusses the corrosion inhibitor briefly. Unfortunately they don’t seem to discuss why they weren’t using it, simply that the state thought it wasn’t needed. It’s a mess.

 
 

Though it saddened me to see this place empty out almost as fast as my beloved hometown, I’m grateful for the fact that it still exists.
Thank you, Helmut. Great piece.

“So who made the call to use Flint water: the Flint city government? Earley? Kurtz?”

What the city council voted is moot. They had no power. The vote was little more than symbolic self importance. Ultimately the decision was Earley’s.

“* As the decision was made to use Flint river water, did anyone actually consult the people who run the water system for the city? Did anyone consult with outside (state or federal) experts? If so, why didn’t anyone point out the need to use corrosion inhibitors in the water or suggest that the Flint river was a problematic source of water. If not, why was no-one who actually understood water systems consulted?”

The system had been out of use for decades. It had been tested occasionally for potential use as an emergency backup, but there was no one in the department who had actually been around when it was the primary source.
As for corrosion inhibitors, one Mr. Miguel DelToro of the EPA asked repeatedly if the proper buffering process was in place.
He was rebuffed, and finally shoved off into a corner somewhere.
This is a fairly accurate timeline of the process.
It isn’t the entire story, but it’s a good springboard.
(yes I’ve forgotten all the embed shit. new computer)

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1XqND4uQnHT7o2u0URWuYQOeaUnsACVQnvxz8UlXvBGs&font=Georgia-Helvetica&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

 
Big Bad Bald Bastard
 

Once again, Republicans balance the budget on the backs of the poor and African-Americans, with predictable long-term deleterious effects that will surely cost more than the short-term savings.

 
 

Case Oops …

That is indeed a useful timeline. To me one of the most interesting parts is the contract with LAN. Is the actual contract available? How much would Flint have owed LAN if ultimately they decided to continue going with Detroit water until the KWA had its own pipes ready rather than using Flint River water? Was Earley under pressure not to break this contract?

Also, wouldn’t part of LAN’s job be ensuring that the Flint River water was properly treated? I would imagine LAN would have some internal reports on this. I hope someone subpoenas them.

 
 

Thanks Case Oops, that’s a helpful link.

For a more irreverent take, see The Rude Pundit.

 
Case Oopes (I even forgot how I spelled my nom-de-sadly its been so long)
 

@DAS
LAN seems to have been forgotten amid all the squawking. Fancy that. There a few intrepid people digging hard on this, but the rocks aren’t easy to look under. That contract *better* be available, but my face isn’t gonna get any bluer, so holding my breath won’t help.
It’s pretty obvious that corrosion control would have been the primary reason the contract was signed to begin with. Funny thing though, some time over the holidays someone broke into city hall. Initial reports said only a TV was stolen.
Right.
A couple weeks later we find out that the office contained “water files”.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/01/city_hall_office_containing_wa.html
Would it be irresponsible to speculate?
It appears that Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright has managed to slip under the radar too.
That guy’s a piece of work in his own right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Wright_%28politician%29

 
 

Seems I botched Mr. Del Toral’s name also.
A recent interview:

http://michiganradio.org/post/after-blowing-whistle-flints-water-epa-rogue-employee-has-been-silent-until-now#stream/0

There’s a link to a Michigan Radio hour documentary in there.
Worth a listen.

 
 

I heard on NPR or maybe I read it somewhere, Dr. Marc Edwards the civil engineer from Virginia Tech guy that was called in – basically said MDEQ and LCR were covering up the problem. He went into some detail on the errors in the test methodology, which makes it clear that they were knowingly, deliberately, poisoning the people of Flint.

The deception timeline is covered pretty well at
http://flintwaterstudy.org/2015/09/commentary-mdeq-mistakes-deception-flint-water-crisis/

 
 

PS – fuck them all with a rusty 14 inch ion powered ice auger.

 
 

As I understand the research, the Legionella bacteria requires the presence of iron to proliferate (see wiki, e.g.) Studies have shown that warm, rusty water is more likely to promote its growth and spread. So it shouldn’t really have come as a surprise that pumping corrosive water that’s been flowing through areas where car parts were dumped or through pipes with iron fittings could have this sort of consequence. Unless your paycheck depends on ignoring the science to show a profit, of course.

 
 

Conservative sites have been oddly silent, as if the Thousand Year Governorship hit choppy waters.

 
 

I thought a previous reply had gone to moderation, but it apparently went into the ether. Let’s try again.

“To me one of the most interesting parts is the contract with LAN. Is the actual contract available? How much would Flint have owed LAN if ultimately they decided to continue going with Detroit water until the KWA had its own pipes ready”

The only thing publicly available right now is the initial authorization. http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/michigan/files/201512/water_plan_resolution.pdf?_ga=1.2902898.392165409.1450095903
They seem to have slipped under the radar. Fancy that.
Funny little coincidence though. Over the holidays someone broke into an office at city hall. Initially the report was that only a TV had been stolen. Later we found out that said office was used to store “water files”.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/flint-police-probing-if-water-documents-were-stolen-in-city-hall-break-in

“Also, wouldn’t part of LAN’s job be ensuring that the Flint River water was properly treated? I would imagine LAN would have some internal reports on this.”
That’s why I find it baffling that these guys have been ignored.
Seems to me that it was their primary job.
The only reference I have seen so far was “they refused comment” in this piece… http://michiganradio.org/post/reporter-s-notebook-some-state-officials-still-denial-or-misinformed-over-flint-river-decision#stream/0
A little further digging revealed that they are/were involved somehow in the construction of the KWA pipeline.
http://grandblancview.mihomepaper.com/news/2015-12-24/Business/Lake_Huron_water_supply_intake_project_wins_civil_.html
…and holy shit, here’s the answer to your question.
(just now found this, my hands are tired from digging)
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/11/engineer_gets_907000_contract.html
Sorry about all the messy links. This has turned into my research repository apparently. Hopefully someone is still interested.
http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2016/01/23/gov-snyder-lied-flint-water-switch-was-not-about-money-records-show/
I knew Jeff Wright had to pop up in this somewhere.
He’s in the wiki.
Cripes,…my brain is getting asplody.

 
 

this is terra incognito (think immigrants for starters).

 
 

Wow, Case oops, great investigative googling there. It appears you are right – it was never about saving money for Flint. All political shit and crony capitalism at its worst. Well done.

 
 

On the off chance that he loves the scent of Snyder’s initiative so much, Ron Fournier ought to experience it, as well, as packaged Flint water and nothing else to drink for whatever is left of his life.

 
 

I thought a previous reply had gone to moderation, but it apparently went into the ether.

Possibly too many links. (For the hamsters, not for us.)

 
 

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