FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A state official is contradicting Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder about when the governor learned about a Flint area Legionnaires’ disease outbreak.
Harvey Hollins, who was coordinating the state’s response to the Flint water crisis, says he told Snyder by phone in December 2015. But the governor has repeatedly said he didn’t know until the next month when he announced the outbreak.
Snyder’s office declined to comment Friday.
The issue emerged as Hollins testified at a court hearing involving Nick Lyon, head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Lyon is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct. Prosecutors say he failed to alert the public quickly about Legionnaires’.
A judge must decide whether to send Lyon to trial. Some experts have linked Legionnaires’ to Flint’s poor water quality in 2014-15.
