“After Flint, everyone said ‘Never again’, and yet 175 miles from Flint, it happened again, and for a longer period of time,” said Cyndi Roper, senior policy advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Benton Harbor is a community of approximately 9,000 residents, the majority of whom are Black.
With a median income of roughly $24,000, public health advocates insist that regulators have not responded quickly enough to lead contamination in drinking water lines, which may cause cardiovascular and reproductive harm as well as neurological damage, lower IQ and behavioral problems for children.
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In 2018, the water taps in Benton Harbor were tested and it was found that 30% of them exceeded the 15 parts per billion (ppb) threshold set by the federal government. Unfortunately, three years of EPA monitoring showed that these levels had grown to 889ppb – a shocking 60 times higher than the trigger threshold. Residents reported the tap water was discolored and bubbling like Alka-Seltzer, however they were not given access to clean water or advice on how to avoid potential danger until 2021.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration attempted to reduce lead contamination in drinking water back in 2018 by altering the chemicals used to prevent corrosion. However, this effort was unsuccessful and an audit conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that staff within their region five office had failed to address the issue despite it meeting four of five criteria for alerting senior leadership as recommended by the “Policy on Elevation of Critical Public Health Issues’’.
The audit also revealed that, despite being voluntary, a clear indication of highly contaminated water should have prompted EPA staff to take action.
“Because the elevation policy was not used, the senior-level team did not have an opportunity to assess and recommend steps for resolving elevated lead levels in the Benton Harbor water system,” the report continues.
Despite the city’s water department being cited by the state for insufficient revenue, failing to treat the water properly and not alerting the public of potential problems between 2018 and 2020, it was not until September 2021 that residents were offered bottled water and health advisories. This came after a petition from various public health advocacy groups asked for an intervention from the agency, leading to a potential PR crisis.
Testing conducted several weeks later found an increase in lead levels present in the blood of children, although state health officials chose to minimize the results, according to independent public health experts. It is likely that these tests did not accurately reflect the amount of lead actually contained in the blood of children. By early 2021, Benton Harbor and its state representatives had replaced a majority of the lead service lines throughout the city. The Environmental Protection Agency disagreed with most of the inspector general’s statements on this issue.
In a letter attached to the audit, water division leadership and an agency attorney implied that both staff and senior leadership were equally responsible for any issues in Benton Harbor. They noted that staff had taken steps to bring the issue to the attention of higher-ups, who then had ample opportunity to evaluate and recommend resolutions. The system was voluntary, the agency pointed out, and there was a $5.6 million grant from former EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, who held office under President Trump at the time.
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The inspector general’s report has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the EPA policy in Benton Harbor, raising questions about whether it will ever be followed. This has prompted calls from conservative commentators that the agency should make their response system mandatory in order to “enhance public health and environmental protection”. The new federal rule is expected to be proposed by the EPA soon, leaving many wondering if this recommendation will be included in order to ensure its success.
“It shouldn’t be ‘Well, we didn’t tell upper management because we aren’t required to do it, and we just chose not to,’” she added. “None of that is not appropriate.”
