Civil Rights Compliance Questioned in Flint and Detroit
Mary Kuhlman, Managing Editor
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
LANSING, Mich. - Some Michigan agencies are being called out for what some claim are environmental injustices against communities of color.
Several groups are asking federal officials for a probe into whether the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are violating civil-rights laws in Flint and Detroit. A letter drafted on behalf of the organizations by Earthjustice contended that communities of color have not enjoyed the same degree of protections provided to other communities.
Flint mother Nakiya Wakes said her family cannot get clear answers about lead levels and added that more accountability is needed.
"I cannot trust MDEQ. I cannot trust the state. I cannot trust our governor. I cannot trust no one at this time," she said. "We are still getting poisoned water and still have to pay high water bills. It's ridiculous for the people of Flint, what we're going through."
The Environmental Protection Agency is currently gathering data to determine if a formal civil-rights investigation is needed, and the state Department of Civil Rights will hold a public hearing on Wednesday as it investigates the water crisis.
Vincent Martin, a board member of Original United Citizens of Southwest Detroit, said he lives in the most polluted zip code in Michigan, where permitting and enforcement policies have disproportionately burdened the African-American community. He contended that while environmental issues in white communities are resolved quickly, there are delayed responses in communities of color.
"We've been dying for years for some help, and help has not come," he said. "Now it's time to expose and come out with the truth. EPA is culpable just as MDEQ in allowing these industries to pollute like they do."
The letter requested that civil-rights offices at both the EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review civil-rights compliance, and for the U.S. Department of Justice to coordinate the investigation.
The letter is online at earthjustice.org.
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