The state administrative board approved a $1.5 million contract on Tuesday to fund the Michigan attorney general's investigation into Flint's lead-tainted water supply and ignored criticism that another $1.2 million is being spent to help the governor respond to probes and lawsuits.
The board voted 4-0 to authorize $1.25 million in additional spending for a special counsel and team of roughly two dozen outside lawyers and investigators. Attorney General Bill Schuette did not need approval of an initial $249,000 contract because it was below the threshold requiring board to act.
Representatives for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and the state treasurer abstained from voting because the Snyder administration's role in the water crisis is under investigation.
A Democratic lawmaker and other Snyder critics urged the board Tuesday to reject up to $1.2 million in spending by the governor's office for legal assistance related to Flint's disaster. The board ignored the requests because under a rule change adopted when Snyder took office in 2011, governor-approved contracts for services do not need board approval.
"Spending more than a million dollars on legal fees while men, women and children still face the threat of tainted water is inhuman at best," said Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D-Saginaw.
Snyder spokesman Ari Adler said last week that it is appropriate for the state to bear the governor's legal costs because all investigations are looking at actions taken in his official capacity.
Also Tuesday, lawmakers at the first meeting of a legislative oversight committee examining government actions related to the water crisis reviewed a state audit and sharply criticized decisions made by the state Department of Environmental Quality that may have led to or worsened the situation in Flint.
Republicans and Democrats faulted the agency for mistakes that led to the failure to treat the water with corrosion control chemicals when the city switched its water supply to the Flint River in 2014. Failing to add the controls caused lead to leach from pipes. Tests have shown some children with elevated lead levels, which can cause developmental delays and other issues.
The House-Senate panel is supposed to determine what led to the disaster, develop solutions and make sure other cities do not face similar problems, said chairman Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland.
Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, was critical of the DEQ for using an interpretation of the federal Lead and Copper Rule to the detriment of Flint residents.
The department conducted a six-month lead sampling test and discovered lead levels that would have necessitated corrosion control chemicals to mitigate that, but the rule allowed state officials to conduct a second six-month testing period even when they would have had to apply the chemicals regardless of the results of the second test.
The audit "certainly shows that we have weaknesses within the DEQ," Stamas said after the meeting, at which Auditor General Doug Ringler and staff testified.
Lawmakers also accused the environmental agency of not taking Flint residents' complaints about water quality seriously.
No further meetings have been scheduled, but Stamas said he would like to hold another next week. Democratic Sen. Jim Ananich, who represents the Flint area, said he wants Snyder to testify.
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