Schuette suggests DEQ chief thrown under the bus for Flint water crisis

A woman displays the filthy water coming out of faucets in Flint.

The Flint water crisis has emerged in recent weeks as a national embarrassment to the city, to the state and to Gov. Rick Snyder.

So, the resignation announced today of Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant clearly represents the first step toward accountability for a drinking water system that was slowly poisoning Flint kids.

Yet, state Attorney General Bill Schuette expressed sadness toward Wyant’s decision to quit (or possibly be forced out) of the DEQ’s top post after ample evidence has emerged that the high lead levels in Flint water was the result of a monumental screw-up by state officials.

Schuette

"I am saddened to hear of the resignation of Department of Environment Quality Director Dan Wyant,” Schuette, the state's top lawman, said in a statement. “In my 20-plus years of knowing him, Dan has been a hardworking, dedicated public servant. I am committed to working with all parties, including the Legislature and governor, to ensure the public's health and the well-being of Michigan residents."

That’s quite a departure from Snyder’s statement, which strongly suggested he was happy to see Wyant go: 

"...MDEQ Director Dan Wyant has offered his resignation, and I've determined that it's appropriate to accept it. I'm also making other personnel changes at MDEQ to address problems cited by the task force (that studied the issue)."

Wyant

As recounted by MLive, in recent months Wyant and the DEQ have come under fire for handling a Flint drinking water crisis that lead to corrosive water running through city pipes and resulted in children with elevated blood levels of lead.

In October Wyant acknowledged a mistake in oversight from his office, claiming that DEQ officials were confused about federal regulations on making the drinking water less corrosive.

Later testing by the DEQ revealed dangerous toxic lead levels at three Flint schools.

Wyant has had a long track record of service at the top echelons of the state bureaucracy. He served as director of the state Department of Agriculture (a position previously held by Schuette) under both Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican Gov. John Engler before Snyder tapped him to lead the DEQ in 2011.

Environmental groups expressed no sympathy for Wyant, and the liberal advocates at Progress Michigan sharply pointed out that a lack of accountability for the Flint water crisis continues.

"So far under Gov. Rick Snyder's watch, there has been zero accountability in this crisis and that continues today," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. 

"Dan Wyant gets to walk away from this crisis, but the people of Flint do not. There's a lot we don't know about this man-made catastrophe. What did Gov. Snyder know and when did he know it? We need complete transparency so that justice for the families of Flint can be realized and the proper people can be held accountable. All documentation related this this crisis needs to be released to the public immediately."