Flint Mayor: City Has Met Obligations In 2016 Flint Water Lawsuit Settlement

(FLINT) – Nine years after Flint's lead-tainted water crisis prompted a landmark federal lawsuit, city officials announced Thursday they have fulfilled the settlement's central requirement: replacing the city's lead service lines.

Pastor Alfred Harris, president of Concerned Pastors for Social Action, one of the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit, said it’s “been a long road,” but great things have occurred as the city and its partners have worked together.

“Whatever comes up in the future, I’m more confident today that, with the team we have … that we can overcome and come out on top,” said Harris, as he stood next to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley at a press conference at Flint City Hall. “We still recommend the use of filters in our homes. … The best is yet to come.”

Neeley told MIRS that he feels “very grateful” the city is moving forward with hope and optimism.

“Today marks another important milestone in our long journey of recovery from the water crisis,” he said during the press conference. “We still have more to do, but we've accomplished many things, and this is one of them.

“The only direction we can go is forward, and that’s what we’ve done,” the mayor added.

Neeley said a “notice of satisfaction” was filed with the U.S. District Court today indicating  the city has met its obligation to replace all lead service lines in Flint at no cost to residents.

Concerned Pastors, American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. (NRDC) and Flint resident Melissa MAYS, who helped bring the water crisis to the public’s eye, filed their suit in U.S. District Court in January 2016 seeking relief under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

After mediation, the parties agreed the city would replace all lead and galvanized steel water service lines with copper water service lines to help reduce lead contamination in the city’s drinking water. The agreement called for the state to kick in matching funds.

The city also continues to test and monitor the drinking water, and continues to provide services, such as filters and testing, to residents.

Neeley said more than 31,000 service lines were inspected and about 30 properties remain where “a level of cooperation from property owners … was more difficult than others.”

Nearly 11,000 pipes were replaced, according to the NRDC.

Shebra Ward, the city's public health manager, said residents who remain concerned about water quality can also obtain testing resources through the city. Filters also remain available, she noted.

Neeley acknowledged that a “crisis of confidence” remains from the water crisis, in part because residents feel accountability and responsibility from a legal standpoint was missing. As a Flint resident, he said “he’s angry” that some people “walked away” from responsibility.

“It’s justified, a lot of contusions and abrasions, but we are healing together as a community and that’s what we need to do, continue to heal,” Neeley said.