By Caitline Keating
Miguel del Toral heard LeeAnne Walter’s concerns loud and clear. (click here)
“If it weren’t for LeeAnne, this may have gone on a lot longer than it did,” he told ABC News.
Del Toral, a manager at the Environmental Protection Agency, authorized a report in July 2015, noting the high lead levels in Flint.
The EPA had previously said that there was likely something wrong with Walters’ pipes that was causing lead in her water, but del Toral told the news outlet that she has plastic pipes, which could not cause the problems she was experiencing.
“They certainly didn’t take the actions that I think would have been needed to mitigate the problem,” he said.
In a leaked memo written by del Toral, it was revealed that the city s drinking water was not treated for corrosion control which caused the lead to leach out of the pipes.
“I think you go back to the beginning and say this should have never happened in the first place,” he told ABC. “It’s inconceivable that you would allow a system with lead service lines – a large system – not to have a treatment in place.”...
They knew and did nothing. If there was a cover-up it started at the highest levels of the state government. There is no getting away from the fact there was substantial damage done to the people of Flint, Michigan because of the profound negligence and wrongful priorities of the Governor's leadership.
August 23, 2018
By Ron Fonger
...Miguel Del Toral, (click here) a regional groundwater regulations manager for the EPA, testified Wednesday, Aug. 22, before Genesee District Court Judge Jennifer Manley during the preliminary examinations for four current or former state Department of Environmental Quality officials.
The four are Stephen Busch, 42, Michael Prysby, 55, Patrick Cook, 54, and Liane Shekter-Smith, 58, and Del Toral said he communicated with each about what needed to be done.
In some cases, EPA officials inquired about corrosion control through emails or phone calls, Del Toral testified, and he recalled discussing the issue with Shekter-Smith in person at EPA's regional headquarter in Chicago.....
