Former Michigan governor Rick Snyder, who ran the state at the time of the devastating Flint water scandal in 2014, was accused of the crisis that led to an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease that killed 12 people.
He faces two counts of deliberate negligence of duty, according to online court records, and faces up to a year in prison and a $ 1,000 fine.
“We believe there is no evidence to support any criminal charges against Governor Snyder,” defense attorney Brian Lennon told the Associated Press late on Wednesday, adding that state prosecutors did not provide him with any details.
Lennon’s requests for comment from NBC News were not responded to immediately. The state attorney general’s office did not comment.
Others in his administration can also be charged.
Snyder and others are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, and a press conference with Attorney General Dana Nessel and prosecutors is due to take place.
The 2014 Snyder administration’s decision to switch Flint from the Detroit water system to the Flint River led to disaster, as untreated river water resulted in pipe corrosion and lead contamination.
In 2017, criminal charges were brought against several state officials, including former head of state health department, Nick Lyon, about the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the same time as the contaminated water crisis. Lyon was accused of learning about the outbreak in 2015 and of not informing the public for another year.
Prosecutors dropped the charges against eight people, including Lyon, in 2019.
Some experts said that the city’s contaminated water led to the emergence of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that develops in hot water.
Bryant Nolden, Genesee County Commissioner who runs a historic recreation center in Flint, welcomed the news that possible charges would include the former governor.
“The ball stopped at Governor Snyder,” he said. “He was the one who put the people in the place who really did it. We have to see how it all plays out, but I’m very happy to know that some people will be held accountable at the highest level.”
Nolden said that he and his neighbors in Flint were disappointed when the first rounds of prosecution stopped near Snyder himself. “I was a little concerned that this was not going up the stairs to him.”
Seeing Snyder held responsible, he said, will not repair the damage done to Flint – including skyrocketing fees for children who need special education services – but it will improve morale among residents.
“The residents here are very resilient,” he said. “We have overcome it and we are dealing with it, but I think it will help in some way, letting them know that justice will be done because these people will be held responsible for the mistakes they have made here in this community.”
Residents of Flint, a city with a largely black population, struggled for years to recover from the crisis as they depended for months on bottled water as their main source of drinking water and saw property values suffer.
The state agreed to a $ 600 million deal in April for Flint residents whose health was affected in a class action lawsuit, establishing a fund where residents can claim damages.
