Key players in the Flint water crisis testified before the House Oversight Committee on March 14. As at previous hearings, each witness blamed others for causing one of the worst cases of lead contamination of drinking water supplies in U.S. history.
Several witnesses also sought to set the record straight about their respective roles in the crisis. Susan Hedman, former administrator for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said she first learned that lead was leaching into the water supply in June 2015. She said she immediately offered technical assistance to the city, and on July 21, the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality agreed with EPA’s recommendation that corrosion controls should be added to the system.