Flint Water Crisis Timeline

[seemslikeadream]

Emails: State mum on Flint Legionnaires’ warning

[seemslikeadream]

Flint crisis creating bull market for water stocks
by Paul R. La Monica @lamonicabuzz
February 4, 2016: 2:24 PM ET


The PBS Democratic Debate in 90 seconds
Wall Street often looks for opportunities in the midst of a tragedy. Case in point? The water crisis in Flint, Michigan may be helping to spark a big rally in water utility stocks.
Several publicly traded water utilities are up sharply this year and are trading near their all-time highs.
This isn't the most exciting industry in the world. But like electric and gas utilities, investors can rely on the water companies for slow and steady growth and a solid dividend.
And in a market as choppy as this one, safety is more appealing than sexy. The Dow Jones Utility Average is up nearly 8% so far in 2016 while its more famous sibling, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is down 5.5%.
Related: Detroit Pistons owner to raise $10 million for Flint
But some water utility stocks have done even better. They are more than just a yield play for conservative investors.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Flint wasn't in the back of many investors' minds. Many institutions have brought it up in conversations we've had with them," said Neil Kalton, an analyst with Wells Fargo. "Flint puts a spotlight on the issue of water safety."
Here are seven water utilities that all hit new highs this week, along with their year-to-date performance.
Artesian Resources (ARTNA): 8.3%
American Water Works (AWK): 7.5%
American States Water (AWR): 8.7%
Connecticut Water Service (CTWS): 9.8%
Middlesex Water (MSEX): 7.9%
Aqua America (WTR): 6.5%
York Water (YORW): 8.3%
Analysts said the problems in Flint -- where residents have been drinking tap water with high levels of lead for years -- may make it more likely for states and cities to give up control of municipal water utilities and place them in the hands of private operators.
"For-profit companies have been talking for years about how they are better operators than municipalities," said David Parker, an analyst with Robert W. Baird.
"There are potential opportunities for these utilities to help. They have been in growth mode for well over a decade and have been upgrading their infrastructure," he said.
Related: Public editor at New York Times said paper should have done more to cover Flint
In fact, there is currently a bill in the Wisconsin state legislature that would make it easier to sell municipal water works to for-profit companies.
Ryan Connors, an analyst with Boenning & Scattergood, noted that similar bills have already passed in Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
As a result, several of the publicly traded utilities -- particularly industry leader American Water Works -- have already gone shopping for municipal water utilities in those states.
Connors said that there may be some concerns from local governments about handing over control of water utilities to public companies.
Some may worry that there could be more Flints because the for-profit firms won't have local ties to the communities they'll be serving. It doesn't help that Pennsylvania-based Aqua America has been lobbying for the bill in Wisconsin.
But he added this argument is unlikely to win out in the end. After all, it's not as if Flint had its water utility gobbled up by big, bad Corporate America.
Related: CNN: A timeline of Flint's water crisis
Flint's water woes can be traced back to when the Michigan state government took over the city's finances in 2011.
The emergency manager appointed by the state made the decision to stop paying Detroit to use water from Lake Huron and started using water from the Flint River instead.
But water in that river -- notorious for pollution -- was not treated with anti-corrosive agents. That led to damage in the lead pipes transporting water to Flint homes.
"There should be more privatization in the long-term. That is clearly the push," Connors said.

[Karmamatterz]

Slad, have you found any other references to the possibility of Mich. govt officials wanting to tie in some fracking opportunities by making their disastrous switch? I saw the Motor City Muckraker article and very curious if there is substance to that claim. It still seems like there is more to all this than just "cost cutting" or pure racism. While not suggesting racism wasn't necessarily part of the switch, hard to prove though, one has to wonder if there wasn't a bigger long term payout for some of Snyder's crony supporters.

The list of shenanigans is so long and convoluted it's hard to pinpoint the true motives. I have to wonder if the truth behind all this is tied to some plans that would have piggybacked the switch and how the infrastructure was being modified to benefit some potential fracking plans. I know it may seems a stretch, and slightly conspiratorial.

[seemslikeadream]

Slad, have you found any other references to the possibility of Mich. govt officials wanting to tie in some fracking opportunities by making their disastrous switch? I saw the Motor City Muckraker article and very curious if there is substance to that claim. It still seems like there is more to all this than just "cost cutting" or pure racism. While not suggesting racism wasn't necessarily part of the switch, hard to prove though, one has to wonder if there wasn't a bigger long term payout for some of Snyder's crony supporters.

The list of shenanigans is so long and convoluted it's hard to pinpoint the true motives. I have to wonder if the truth behind all this is tied to some plans that would have piggybacked the switch and how the infrastructure was being modified to benefit some potential fracking plans. I know it may seems a stretch, and slightly conspiratorial.

thanks for reminding me I should be posting Snyder's love for fracking..I will post more

So what was it about? Some have suggested that Snyder was motivated by a desire to break up DWSD and ultimately privatize it. In the summer of 2015, DWSD was split into two entities: the DWSD and the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Others have suggested that Snyder wanted to start fracking operations along a new pipeline.

Snyder’s office didn’t return calls for comment.

The e-mail about the proposal:

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2016/01/2 ... ords-show/
Governor Snyder pushes massive frack attack
Posted on December 6, 2012
Download PDF
In a public address last week (November 28), Governor Rick Snyder unveiled his administration’s aggressive plan for continued, massive fracking across Michigan. His intent is to make Michigan a leader in natural gas fracking and to allow the rest of the country to benefit from Michigan’s fracked natural gas.

His entire address is here.

Regarding fracking, Snyder said this, using the standard industry sales pitches:

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has received increased attention lately. This technology is being used in combination with horizontal drilling to reach some natural gas and other resources that otherwise could not be developed. This innovation is already benefitting Michigan in the form of unusually low natural gas prices and additional money from state leases that goes to our public lands and our parks. But some have expressed concerns about what these technologies mean for Michigan’s environment. Neither fracking nor horizontal drilling is a new technology—they have been used in Michigan for many decades. None of the fracking that has been done in Michigan has resulted in a single water quality problem. In fact, fracking’s deeper wells likely pose less risk to our groundwater than the shallower wells we are more used to. With our water withdrawal statute, as well as our strong regulatory history of natural gas drilling, we are better prepared – more adaptable – than most other states.

That said, it’s important that our citizens understand what fracking is really all about. That’s why the University of Michigan’s Graham Sustainability Institute is undertaking an evaluation of fracking. At their invitation, the state is participating in the steering committee for this effort alongside environmental and industry groups. At the end of the process, the public will have well-reasoned, objective explanations of what this technology is and is not. We will also have a Michigan-focused evaluation of the various implications of fracking. This is a great example of collaboration and a public university serving the needs of the state, and I am looking forward to seeing the results.

Here’s some of the press coverage:

Detroit Free Press: Gov. Rick Snyder approves of fracking, if done right
Detroit News: Snyder wants more gas drilling
Michigan.gov website: “Ensuring Michigan’s Future [sic]”


The gas industry’s trade group, Michigan Oil and Gas Association commented “We believe this project will demonstrate how Michigan is a national model when it comes to regulating hydraulic fracturing and ensuring proper safeguards for keeping water, air and land protected.”

The gas industry is sure that the “study” will back them up. We think it will, too.

Frack industry money flows heavily in Michigan

And Governor Snyder is no exception. He’s the fifth most funded politician by the gas and oil industry from 2000-2010, according to the report Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets, by Common Cause: (State treasurer Dillon is number 3, attorney general Bill Schuette is number 6, and former governor Granholm and attorney general Cox were pretty well-greased, too).

Figure 13 Michigan’s top 20 state-level recipients of fracking industry money
Rank Name Office Party Total 2000-2010

1 MI Republican Party Party R $135,130
2 Andy Dillon State Treasurer D $128,500
3 Jennifer M. Granholm Governor D $98,800
4 Mike Cox Attorney General R $76,250
5 Rick Snyder Governor R $61,900
6 Bill Schuette Attorney General R $59,418
7 Michelle McManus Senate R $51,700
8 Mike Nofs Senate R $49,650
9 Randy Richardville Senate President R $34,500
10 Jason Allen Senate R $31,800
11 Dick Posthumus Governor R $29,150
12 Dick Devos Governor R $28,750
13 Jeff Mayes State Representative D $27,100
14 Bruce Patterson Senate R $26,350
15 Howard Walker Senate R $25,525
16 Terry Lynn Land Secretary of State R $21,050
17 Tony Stamas Senate R $16,875
18 Kathy Angerer Senate D $16,250
19 Rosemary Black Hackett Judge – $16,000
20 John Moolenaar Senate R $15,175
(source: Michigan Common Cause)

- See more at: http://banmichiganfracking.org/?p=1336# ... omEme.dpuf

I read Steve Neavling every day

Stories written by Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling, who lives on the city’s east side, is an investigative journalist, a freelance reporter for Reuters and former city hall reporter for the Detroit Free Press. A journalist for 13 years, his stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations. Neavling's work currently explores Detroit’s unsung heroes and the inner-workings of an often-misunderstood city.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/author/steve/

[seemslikeadream]

Could the Flint water crisis have its origins in a desire to open up new areas of Michigan to fracking?
By Mark | January 17, 2016
In July of 2014 I interviewed Flint attorney Alec Gibbs about the state takeover of Flint, why it happened, and the damage that, by that point, was already underway. It was a great discussion. And, because Gibbs got into a lot of depth not only about what had happened in Flint, but the history of the Emergency Manager law in Michigan, I find myself revisiting our conversation often. Well, when reading through it this afternoon, I found something interesting that I had’t noticed before. Toward the end of our interview, Gibbs mentions that the decision to move Flint off of Detroit water, and instead build a pipeline from Lake Huron, was likely made in part because Snyder and the Republicans wanted to bring water west from Lake Huron in order to service fracking operations along that route… Here’s what Gibbs had to say at the time.


I’m not sure if there’s anything to it, but I think it’s an interesting thought to consider… What if Flint was taken over in part because certain powerful people wanted to have the KWA pipeline built, thereby opening up new areas to the water-intensive business of fracking? What if the entire Flint water crisis came about not just because the Snyder-appointed Emergency Manager saw an opportunity save money by transitioning away from Detroit water, but because word had been given that a pipeline had to be built? As far as conspiracy theories go, it’s a pretty compelling one… What do you think? Would it surprise you to learn that the children of Flint were ultimately poisoned because Snyder’s donors demanded that a pipeline be built to service their fracking operations?

Emjay
Posted January 19, 2016 at 5:32 pm | Permalink
I am a Flint Resident. Fracking sounds very much like the tool from the tools. If Granholm was in office, and this happened on her direction we would be saying #arrestgovgranholm and not Snyder. However, this happened on HIS watch. Unfortunately, in my opinion it is a play to have the people move out of this area. Look at the #masterplan this city becomes a desolate farm land ….easy to frack there…..everything is being built outside of city limits, with the exception of downtown. The people there are just in the way of Snyder’s big plans. They moved the schools out, poisoned the kids and elderly, closed businesses that were necessities to survive for Flint residents and raised commodities. Sounds like a #masterplan to me. Here ye, Here ye….the new Carter, Darby, Wade, Catsman

Lara
Posted January 24, 2016 at 1:10 pm | Permalink
I left this comment on FB, but I’ll leave it here, too: Sara Wurfel, who is the wife of former MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel, strangely quit the governor’s office smack dab in the middle of the water crisis (November 2015). Where does she go with the governor’s blessing? Truscott Rossman, a PR firm. Who do they represent? Energy clients. Big ones. Here’s a SUPER FUN article where Brad Wurfel, her husband, is quoted as agreeing with Truscott Rossman, saying on behalf of the MDEQ that fracking is super safe and doesn’t pollute groundwater. I have my tinfoil hat on, folks. This is a conspiracy in spades. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20 ... t-proposal

Candy
Posted January 25, 2016 at 10:56 pm | Permalink
Thanks for the article Mark. It has definitely given me something to think about these past few days. Today I was thinking of GM and the 80s and decided to brush up on my Flint history. I did a quick wikapedia scan and something kind of fishy caught my eye.
“In November 2013, American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO), a Birmingham, Alabama based company, became the first to build a production facility in Flint’s former Buick City site purchasing the property from the RACER Trust.[27]”
You might think whoopty do, until you realize what this plant makes.
“AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe Company, LLC was established as a division of AMERICAN in 1999. AMERICAN SpiralWeld, located on a 150-acre (0.61 km2) site in Columbia, South Carolina, manufactures spiral-welded steel pipe for use in WATER , WASTEWATER, HYDROPOWER, and INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS. In 2013, AMERICAN announced a new spiral-welded pipe production facility in Flint, Michigan. The facility is slated to begin operations in 2015.”
So how ironic is it that just as Flint is about to think about replumbing main lines they just miraculously have a plant making pipes. How coincidental is it that if you need fracking pipes you can get them in Flint?

[seemslikeadream]

NAACP: Replace Flint pipes or face 'mass disobedience'
Robert Allen, Detroit Free Press 4:45 p.m. EST February 15, 2016


FLINT — The NAACP will invite "disruptive civil disobedience" here if Gov. Rick Snyder in the next 30 days doesn't present a plan with a deadline to replace the city's water pipes, the organization's national leader said Monday.

"The NAACP, having seen the generosity of Americans from one end of this country to the other sending water bottles to Flint, are going to call on the people in 30 days to send bodies and conscience to Flint," engaging in a mass demonstration, said Cornell Brooks, national president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People while speaking at Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

Snyder's office later issued a statement that the project to replace lead lines "is proceeding with great urgency," and part of $28 million approved last month will go toward utilities, as well as a possible $25 million requested last week for removing lead pipelines.

"Work is under way to locate high-risk, high-priority areas so removal efforts can begin quickly," according to Snyder's office.

In Flint, there are about 5,000 known lead lines, 25,000 made of other materials and about 10,000 made of unknown materials. Further details of plans are to be announced this week, according to the statement.

Brooks on Monday said he expects a "timeline, deadline (and) price tag" for replacing the water lines. Corrosion resulting from a temporary switch in spring 2014 of the city's water source to the Flint River leached lead into the city's tap-water supply. As the crisis rose to national prominence in the past several weeks, the state has worked to restore a protective coating to the pipes using phosphate chemicals.

But Brooks said this amounts to a "bargain-basement Band-Aid" not guaranteed to keep people safe. Lead is shown to cause permanent brain damage in children.

"There's not one scholar, not one study, not one expert who can ensure, who can guarantee, who can attest that this plan will in fact work to ensure safe clean drinking water," Brooks said.

Snyder's office in the statement pointed out that Virginia Tech University professor Marc Edwards and other experts recommended the coating process.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters also spoke at the Monday afternoon church event, which was attended by about 80 people, calling the water crisis "an outrage." He, as well as Brooks, decried Michigan's emergency manager law that made it possible for a state appointee to make decisions over locally elected leaders. He said it's been difficult to find support in the U.S. Senate to help, but that Flint residents should to be treated the same as every other American.

"You deserve basic human rights, and there is nothing more basic than drinking water," Peters said.

He was wearing jeans and said he was in town to help deliver bottled water to people who were unable to go to the distribution centers set up in the city.

Brooks said his intent with civil disobedience is a responsible demonstration that, for example, doesn't disrupt schools. Asked for specifics from a woman in the audience, he said it would be a direct action, a protest "in the same way your grandparents may have engaged in civil rights movement."

[Iamwhomiam]

Petersburgh, NY is 13 miles south of Hoosick Falls and also hosted manufacturers of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). After the Hoosick Falls story hit the news, residents and town leaders of Petersburgh worried that their water supplies might also be tainted and decided to have it tested for PFOA, which indeed it did.

Petersburgh water tainted with PFOA, tests show

Bottled water available for residents at town hall beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday

Updated 3:41 pm, Saturday, February 20, 2016

PETERSBURGH — The town of Petersburgh in Rensselaer County will begin handing out water to residents Saturday afternoon after state tests have detected the presence of a toxic industrial chemical in the water supply.

These results, which came from testing by the New York State Department of Health, show that the chemical PFOA was detected in a raw water sample collected from Well #2, which supplies 74 households with water, Town Supervisor Peter Schaaphok said. That sampling showed a concentration of 93.3 parts per trillion (ppt). Several other wells that supply multiple households are nearby, he said.

The chemical was also detected in a tap water sample at a concentration of 95.9 ppt, according to a Petersburgh news release.

EPA Region 2 has said that Hoosick residents should not drink water that has PFOA in levels at or above 100 ppt, according to the release. The most recent U.S. EPA advisory level for PFOA in drinking water is 400 ppt.

These results were the first received by the town after beginning testing on Feb. 13, Schaaphok said. The Petersburgh water district superintendent also began testing Saturday, and the county began testing water last Wednesday, he said.

The man-made chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, or "PFOA," was used since the 1940s to manufacture industrial and household products such as non-stick coatings and heat-resistant wiring. PFOA has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, as well as thyroid diseases and other serious health problems.

Taconic Plastics is the closest potential source of PFOA, according to the town.

The company said in a statement that it is conducting a site evaluation and has asked the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Department of Health for guidance.

"The company is fully cooperating with both agencies and will take whatever steps these agencies deem appropriate regarding this matter," the statement reads.

Taconic said it will provide bottled water to residents of the Petersburgh Water District, even though testing levels are below 100 ppt. Distribution will begin on Monday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will continue on Wednesday and Friday at those hours. Next Saturday, distribution will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. This schedule will continue until further notice. Rensselaer County will also distribute water at the Petersburgh Town Hall from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, and from noon-4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Additional testing of private wells will aim to determine how far from Taconic Plastics the contaminants have spread, Schaaphok said. Water in Berlin, which is about six miles south of Petersburgh, tested negative for PFOA, Schaaphok said.

"We've been handling it the best we can – we're forthright with everything we're finding out and trying to come up with solutions," he said.

The results of this testing and any possible mitigation plans will be made public as soon as they are available, he said.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Petersburgh-water-tainted-with-PFOA-tests-show-6844326.php

This is a very dangerous chemical. Parts per trillion is a rarely used as a measure of sensitivity to exposure level.

[backtoiam]

[Iamwhomiam]

Federal, State and local taxes support, protect, and purify public water supplies and they pay for emergency situations like those reported in this thread. That you dislike our first black President, no matter his policies, is no surprise.

I'd like to read the entire piece that was excerpted from. Do you have a link to the article that the image was posted to by one of their members on the What Really Happened blog? I find it difficult to believe the quote is factual.

Sounds like something written into the congressional record in 2003 by someone other than President Obama, complaining about Bush's proposed budget.

Here are a few sources on the proposed 2017 federal budget:

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/blog/2016/02/09/national-priorities-project-statement-president-obamas-last-budget-proposal/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/budget-breakdown-what-the-white-house-wants-to-spend-money-on/2016/02/09/2d6598fc-cf44-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html

[backtoiam]

iamwhomiam wrote:

That you dislike our first black President, no matter his policies, is no surprise.

Oh My God, when bankrupt intellectually, play the race card! Good move!

Ok, so I don't agree with the policies of our president bombing an entire planet into the stone age, so that means...of course...."i hate niggas"....

You have become nothing more than a fiction of your own self. Give it up. "obama is black, a minority, he can bomb anybody he wants."

Or we can do this Iamwhomaim/AD style....like this...

"oh, so you support and advocate bombing people out of their homes and stealing their resources, because we have a black president"?

You are out of your god damned mind and I hope soon you find it. I'm a racist because I don't like the thought of burning innocent children? Right?

[DrEvil]

Federal, State and local taxes support, protect, and purify public water supplies and they pay for emergency situations like those reported in this thread. That you dislike our first black President, no matter his policies, is no surprise.

I'd like to read the entire piece that was excerpted from. Do you have a link to the article that the image was posted to by one of their members on the What Really Happened blog? I find it difficult to believe the quote is factual.

The quote is bs, made up by someone who thought it was funny.

Whatreallyhappened[dot]com is a cesspool of stupidity - you don't want to go there.
It's on par with Natural News and Alex Jones.

Quality sourcing as always from backtoiam.

[Iamwhomiam]

It's sad you believe Obama's been flying those drones. It's sad you reacted so poorly to the mention of our President being a black man and nothing else I wrote.

All I asked for was a link to your source.

Considering all we do discuss constructively, it's rather silly to believe Obama or any other President has any real power over our military operations.

It is quite odd that your posts follow mine. I just asked you a simple question, but instead of answering, you once again stoop to insult me.

I must be crazy.

[backtoiam]

Whatreallyhappened[dot]com is a cesspool of stupidity - you don't want to go there.
It's on par with Natural News and Alex Jones.

I was waiting on that to happen. Actually it was wayyyy to easy. Like leaving honey out for flies. Our very slad uses whatreallyhappened pretty much every day. It is called a news "aggregator" and maybe you are not familiar with that.

It compiles articles from the left, the right, the down, the up, the sideways, the cross ways, and every other ways...and then you pluck out a little morsel that is relevant to the situation.....maybe you need to catch up......your problem is that you are trying to change the world with your thoughts. I'm not trying to do that. I'm just talking to the world about whats happening. Get that through your head....

[DrEvil]

Whatreallyhappened[dot]com is a cesspool of stupidity - you don't want to go there.
It's on par with Natural News and Alex Jones.

I was waiting on that to happen. Actually it was wayyyy to easy. Like leaving honey out for flies.

Oh no! The noose has been sprung!

Our very slad uses whatreallyhappened pretty much every day. It is called a news "aggregator" and maybe you are not familiar with that.

Yes. I know what a news "aggregator" is, just like I know what a "laser" is. And "hip-hop".
Problem is it's not a news aggregator, it's a bullshit aggregator.

It compiles articles from the left, the right, the down, the up, the sideways, the cross ways, and every other ways...and then you pluck out a little morsel that is relevant to the situation.....maybe you need to catch up......your problem is that you are trying to change the world with your thoughts. I'm not trying to do that. I'm just talking to the world about whats happening. Get that through your head....

You're not talking to the world about what's happening. You're posting right-wing propaganda and various other forms of lowest-common denominator garbage. You may show the right time once or twice a day, but your signal-to-noise ratio is abysmal (mine too, but never mind that).

Just to illustrate what kind of website it is - here's a picture from one of their Israel stories:


Not to mention the Holocaust denial (Google: site: whatreallyhappened.com holocaust), the global warming denial and the various miraculous cancer cures. You sure know how to pick them.

[seemslikeadream]

Our very slad uses whatreallyhappened pretty much every day. It is called a news "aggregator" and maybe you are not familiar with that.

I just need to correct the record here....I do NOT use that link pretty much every day.....maybe a few times in my whole life here......that's because it is a site that is not banned and is occasionally of some use. I just checked ....3 times EVER....one of those times it was in a link by my friend leveymg ('08)....and one time in response to AD's constant posting of sites that should be banned


RI''s exceptional stance on sites that should be banned is a credit to Jeff's leadership on no censorship and free speech....that's why I am here.