Seeking: MDEQ Director Who Will Protect Our Clean Water

While there has been much discussion about who to blame for the Flint Water Crisis, Governor Snyder’s Flint Water Advisory Task Force has put a rest to any outstanding questions: our state government is primarily at fault.

Among many failures, much of the blame was leveled at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), which was cited as having a culture of “technical compliance” that is:

Unacceptable and simply insufficient to the task of public protection.” — Flint Water Advisory Task Force

We took a deep dive into the history and staffing of the MDEQ and brought together environmental and conservation leaders from across the state to call on Gov. Snyder to make serious changes.

The most basic request? Hire a new MDEQ Director who will make environmental protection and public health the unquestionable top priorities for this broken department.

The critical choice of leadership for our environmental protection department is a key first step down that path. More than 5,100 Michigan LCV members have already joined us in that call for big changes at the top of the MDEQ.

Members like you are demanding action and that’s why we are laser-focused on making sure that the next person at the MDEQ is ready and able to make serious lasting change.

There are no simple answers to the Flint crisis. But there is a way forward. It starts with a commitment by [Gov. Snyder] to stand up for the health and well-being of every man, woman, and child in the state.”  —Joint letter to Gov. Snyder from Michigan LCV, the Flint River Watershed Coalition, and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, among others.

It is more clear than ever that we have to fight for our clean water. In the weeks and months ahead, it is critical that Michigan LCV members like you continue to take action, speak out and demand better from our state government.