Watchdog says EPA waited too long to intervene in Flint

The inspector general today faulted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for waiting seven months to issue an emergency order to protect residents of Flint, Mich., from lead-contaminated water. The EPA had enough information to declare a state of emergency in June 2015 but waited until October of that year to do so, Inspector General Arthur Elkins said in an interim report. The Flint crisis should have generated “a greater sense of urgency” at the agency to “intervene when the safety of drinking water is compromised,” Elkins wrote. The city began drawing water from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money, but regulators failed to ensure the water was treated properly, and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply. Doctors have detected elevated levels of lead in hundreds of children.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.