Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday he is deeply disturbed by the criminal charges leveled against three low level state employees in the criminal investigation into Flint’s water contamination crisis, and noted he has not been interviewed for the investigation.
Snyder held a press conference shortly after Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced felony and misdemeanor charges against three low-level environmental regulators for allowing Flint citizens to drink lead-tainted water for several months, reports The New York Times.
“With respect to this investigation, I have not been questioned or interviewed at this point,” Snyder told reporters. “Our office has been cooperating with this investigation.”
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) official Mike Prysby, along side Stephen Busch, Flint’s water department supervisor, and the city’s water quality control supervisor, Mike Glasgow, were charged with multiple felonies related to the crisis, court documents show.
Busch and Prysby are charged with misconduct in office and tampering with evidence, while Glasgow is charged with the same charges, as well as neglecting his duties. Prysby allegedly told Glasgow at a meeting in 2014 that it was unnecessary to treat Flint water pipe lines with phosphate chemicals.
“You don’t need to monitor phosphate because you’re not required to add it,” Prysby told Glasgow, at a meeting prior to Flint making the switch from Detroit water to Flint River water.
Glasgow said he had misgivings and was surprised by the remarks at the time, but said he didn’t do enough to push back against the statements.
“Unfortunately, now that I look back, I relied on engineers and the state regulators to kind of direct the decision,” he said. “I looked at them as having more knowledge than myself.”
Schuette would not answer when asked by reporters if Snyder is a target of the investigation — but he did not rule out the possibility of more charges coming down the pike.
“No one is off limits,” he said.
Follow Chris on Facebook and Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.