Former Michigan governor Rick Snyder and several former staff will be charged for their role in the Flint water crisis. The water crisis led to a dangerous Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in 2014-2015.
Sources close to the investigation told the Associated Press that in addition to Snyder, former health department director Nick Lyon and several others on Snyder’s administration at the time are facing charges, though the nature of those charges could not be confirmed. The attorney general’s office also declined to speak on the charges, as the investigation remains ongoing.
Snyder was the governor at the time when state leaders switched the predominately Black city’s water supply to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while a pipeline to Lake Huron was being developed. The problem was the water was untreated and did not reduce corrosion. This caused lead from old pipes to spoil the distribution system used by almost 100,000 residents. Bacteria in the water led to the Legionnaires’ outbreak, which resulted in 90 cases of the disease and 12 deaths.
It wasn’t until 2018 that Lyon stood trial for involuntary manslaughter after being accused by a special prosecutor of failing to notify residents of the dangerous outbreak in a timely fashion. By June 2019, prosecutors under the direction of the new attorney general, Dana Nessel, dismissed the case against Lyon and others charged to begin a new investigation.
