LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s auditor says state officials should have required the city of Flint to treat its water for corrosion earlier but didn’t purposely mislead federal regulators.
Doug Ringler, in a letter released Monday by a legislative leader, confirmed federal and state regulators had different interpretations of a rule governing drinking water. He says when Flint switched from Detroit’s system to the Flint River, corrosion control should have been in place but wasn’t.
Ringler also says the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality should have required Flint to start treating the water after getting lead samples from six months of testing.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is under scrutiny over Flint’s drinking water crisis. The auditor concluded state officials did not “willfully misrepresent” information to federal officials on whether corrosion controls were in place.
