Environmental Law Matters

Flint, Michigan's problems with lead in its drinking water have been well documented, and this has prompted reports of similar problems detected in other communities, even though these are apparently not as extensive as the situation in Flint. The situation has also revealed that the current procedures to identify and evaluate lead contamination may be flawed and prompted attention to the fact that many other potential contaminants of concern are currently unregulated. Lead contamination has been documented in a surprising number of communities in addition to Flint over the past ...

The problems with the quality of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, are not necessarily an isolated collection of failures. From a technical standpoint, the potential for lead leaching into drinking water systems in many places in this country is a real issue. That potential is compounded if we see a repeat of the range of bureaucratic failures that occurred in Flint. The basic conditions that exist in Flint are not unique; they are prevalent at least in the older water systems of the Northeast and Midwest. (National Geographic). As that article points out, the potential for leaching of ...

For the City of Flint, Michigan, the immediate problem is that the water it provides its citizens is not safe to drink. For many other communities across the nation, the problem may be whether they can do the things necessary to avoid a similar fate. On Thursday, October 1, local health officials in Flint declared a public health emergency warning that the City's public water supply is causing elevated lead levels in children (Water Crisis in Flint). Residents were warned not to drink the water unless it has been filtered at the tap, and the State's governor promised to provide $1 million ...