Federal Report Criticizes , EPA's Response to Lead in , Michigan City's Water Supply.
According to a new report, high levels of lead in drinking water in an impoverished Michigan city were not quickly reported to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) leadership. .
Fox News reports that the EPA said that staff monitoring the state's response failed to "elevate"
the issue of health risks to the city's residents. .
In October of 2018, the Benton Harbor water system
was notified by the state that water samples
tested for lead had exceeded 15 parts per billion.
Fox News reports that those numbers remained high
through 2021, when the issue gained national attention.
At the time, residents were told to switch to
bottled water for basic needs while state officials
worked to quickly remove the city's lead pipes.
In 2016, the EPA passed its Policy on Elevation of
Critical Public Health Issues following a similar
lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
In February of 2022, federal auditors announced
a probe into the government's response to
lead contamination in Benton Harbor. .
Because the elevation policy was not
used, the Office of the Administrator’s
senior-level team did not have an
opportunity to assess and recommend
steps for resolving elevated lead levels
in the Benton Harbor water system, Federal auditors' report on EPA response, via Fox News.
According to Cyndi Roper, the Natural Resources Defense Council's senior policy advocate, the Benton Harbor response was , "another abject failure of the EPA.".
The EPA must do better to end the
public health disaster linked to lead-
contaminated drinking water, starting
with issuing and enforcing a new federal
lead and copper rule that will finally tackle
the lead crisis, so no other community
is poisoned by leaded tap water, Federal auditors' report on EPA response, via Fox News