An environmental engineering professor who helped uncover water contamination in Flint, Mich., told a congressional committee state and federal officials tried to cover up proof of high lead levels.
Marc Edwards, from Virginia Tech University, said Susan Hedman, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s former Midwest chief, and Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality dismissed information about contaminates in the city’s water system.
“EPA had the chance to be the hero here, and Ms. Hedman snatched defeat for EPA from the jaws of victory,” Edwards told the U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform on Wednesday. Hedman resigned Monday.
Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said the committee will seek her deposition about the agency’s response to the Flint scandal. Chaffetz also chided former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley for failing to show up to the committee meeting to testify about whether he should be held accountable for the contamination after he decided in 2014 to switch the municipal water source to the Flint River.
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