Susan Hedman, a regional director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in charge of the drinking water crisis in the Flint area, will step down on February 1. EPA chief Gina McCarthy announced Thursday Hedman's resignation, saying she accepts it to solely focus on restoring the clean drinking water in Flint.
Since the EPA is accused of acting too slow in resolving the issue of high lead content in Flint's water, McCarthy issued an emergency order demanding that the state and its head act to ensure the safety of the public. Business Insider reported that McCarthy wrote a letter to Governor Rick Snyder, saying the EPA "is deeply concerned by continuing delays and lack of transparency."
Meanwhile, according to The Hill, Hedman's office already knew since April 2015 that Flint's move to shift to another water supply could lead to higher chances pipe corrosion and a surge in lead levels. She opted not to tell the public and instead demanded Michigan officials to simply address the issue. Later on last year, lead poisoning became prevalent among children, which lead to the Flint water crisis. Before Hedman, Michigan's Determent of Environmental Quality Dan Wyant resigned December for being part of the controversy.
According to The Guardian, Michigan officials still aren't certain whether the Flint drinking water crisis and the increase in the cases of Legionnaires' disease in the area are linked. The Michigan department of health and human services reported Thursday that nine people died from the illness from June 2014 to October 2015 in Flint and surrounding Genesee County areas. The number was decreased from 0 after officials found out that some of the deaths weren't caused by Legionnaires.
Overall, there were a total of 87 cases of the Legionnaires' disease from June 2014 to November 2015 in the area. A third of the people infected used Flint water, which had high levels of lead.
