Michigan attorney general sues companies linked to Flint water crisis

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has named several new targets in his investigation into the Flint water crisis, opening a civil lawsuit against several companies linked to the lead contamination of the city's water system.

Schuette, who is leading the state's official investigation into the tainted water, announced the suit in a press conference on Wednesday morning, saying his office was "pulling the wagon of justice for Flint." The lawsuit targets seven companies in total, all of which are reportedly linked to work done by multi-national water company Veolia North America, international firm Leo A. Daly Co., and its American engineering subsidiary, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, all of which are named in the suit.

The attorney general said the companies "botched the job of providing safe drinking water."

Schuette filed the suit in Genesee County Circuit Court on Wednesday. According to the Detroit Free Press, the court documents allege that the corporations committed "acts and omission constitute professional negligence, fraud, and public nuisance."

The civil charges were filed more than two years after a series of decisions resulted in lead-tainted water being piped into homes across the city of 100,00 located around 75 miles north of Detroit. After decades of economic decline, the birthplace of General Motors approved a big bet on new infrastructure in 2013, deciding to join the Karegnondi Water Authority, a multi-million dollar project to build a new regional water pipeline from Lake Huron.

The deal required the city to eventually terminate a decades-long water deal with the city of Detroit. The local water authority in the Motor City decided to sever ties immediately, forcing Flint to choose between backing down or finding a different water source until the new pipeline was up and running. At the time, the city was controlled by a state-appointed emergency financial manager who decided to end negotiations with its southern counterpart, also under emergency management. Instead, in April 2014, the city began drawing water from the Flint River.

As emails, documents, and investigations have since revealed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and the city's wastewater treatment plant failed to ensure that the water running through the pipes met federal guidelines. The corrosive river water was not treated with the proper chemicals and ultimately leached metal from the city's aging pipes, causing water with toxic levels of lead to flow out of taps. Initially seen as a cost-cutting measure, the decision has instead cost the city greatly, with as many as 8,000 children potentially exposed to lead, which can cause severe developmental issues.

In January 2015, the city of Flint — run at the time by emergency manager Jerry Ambrose — contracted Veolia to commission a report to evaluate the water system and quality at a time when residents were becoming increasingly vocal about their concerns. It had been less than a year since the switch from Detroit's water to the Flint River, and the public was already complaining about discolored water and skin rashes that they believed stemmed from the new source.

Veolia, a French company that devotes a major part of its business devoted to water services in both the public and private sector in countries around the world, outlined a series of recommendations in a March 2015 report submitted to Ambrose, including infrastructure updates, chemical treatment changes, and even a possibility of switching away from river water.

Meanwhile, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN), already the subject of a lawsuit brought by residents, was initially tasked with getting the water treatment plant ready to send Flint River water out to the city's 30,000 homes when the switch was made in 2014. LAN has maintained that decisions about water use were made by the city and the MDEQ.

In a statement on Wednesday, LAN expressed disappointment over charges, refuting the attorney general's accusations against the corporations and saying the company plans to defend what it called "unfounded claims." According to the company, it was not hired to operate the plant and had no responsibility for water quality. Furthermore, LAN claimed it "regularly advised" that corrosion control should be added and full testing of the water system was required before going online.

"[The Attorney General] ignores the findings of every public investigation into this tragedy that the key decisions concerning the treatment of the water from the Flint River were made by the City of Flint and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality," the spokesperson said.

"The Flint Water Advisory Task Force found that this tragedy was 'a story of government failure' at all levels."

Following the lawsuit announcement, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a democrat representing parts of Flint and Genesee County, responded to the civil charges.

"Anyone or any organization that contributed to the poisoning of my community's water must be held accountable," Ananich said in a statement.

The civil suit announced on Wednesday is just the latest legal action related to the water crisis to come from the Attorney General's office. In April, Schuette announced several criminal charges against Mike Glasgow, a former wastewater treatment plant administrator for Flint who now serves as the city's utilities administrator, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) officials Mike Prysby and Stephen Busch. Glasgow is charged with willful neglect of duty as a public servant and is accused of changing lead water-monitoring results. Prysby and Busch also face charges of tampering with evidence as well as conspiring to tamper with evidence, misconduct in office, and violating water treatment and monitoring laws.

Forewarning that this would not be the last charges the public would hear from him, Schuette made it clear there would be future legal implications.

"These charges are only the beginning and there will be more to come. That I can guarantee you," Schuette pledged at the April 20 press conference, affirming that nobody would be ruled out or exempted from his investigation.

The attorney general's investigation has yet to zero in on any top city or state officials, including Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, who have received the majority of criticism from the public.

Around a dozen lawsuits have been filed in recent months from residents and groups like the NAACP, against a range of defendants, including the EPA and the city of Flint. In April, a federal judge threw out a $150 million case brought by Flint residents against the city for what they claimed were high water bills issued at a time when they were drinking contaminated water. US District Court Judge John Corbett O'Meara dismissed the case, saying it could interfere with criminal proceedings.

Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @rublekb