On Thursday, a contractor said that it reached a $25 million settlement for its part in the Flint water crisis that contaminated the city's drinking water with lead, caused learning disabilities, and other health concerns throughout Flint's population, which is largely African American.
FLINT, MI - APRIL 20: The Flint River is shown in downtown Flint April 20, 2016 in Flint, Michigan. Today, Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that he filed 13 felony charges and 5 misdemeanor charges against two state officials and one city official as a result of their actions in the City of Flint's lead water contamination crises. The officials are Stephen Busch, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality District 8 Water Supervisor, Michael Prysby, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality District 8 Water Engineer, and Michael Glasgow, City of Flint Laboratory and Water Quality Supervisor.
The class-action agreement will include individual payments of $1,500 to minors.
Veolia North America, a defendant, believes the agreement will resolve claims made for over 45,000 Flint residents.
Last year, a deal between engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newman and residents of the Michigan city had been reached.
The details the agreement are confidential.
The firm was accused of being at least partially responsible for the water crisis in Flint, the same as Veolia North America.
The city of Flint, which is under state-appointed managers, used the Flint River for drinking water in 2014-2015 but didn't ensure the water, which is highly corrosive, had been treated. As a result, the water leached lead from the antiquated pipes that supplied water to the city.
The state of Michigan was sued because regulators and officials had multiple opportunities to remedy the water problem, but failed. Flint returned to a regional water supplier in the fall of 2015.
Doctors have since found elevated levels of lead in the blood of many of Flint's children. Veolia North America was in federal court last month, but that has been suspended pending final approval of its settlement agreement, the company said.
The issues to be presented to a jury include whether the engineering firm breached care and, if true, if this dereliction prolonged the crisis. The firm was hired by the city to conduct a one-week assessment 10 months after Flint switched to Flint River water.
"VNA made good recommendations, including a crucial one on corrosion control, that would have helped the city had those recommendations not been almost entirely ignored by the responsible government officials," the company said Thursday in a release. "VNA had no power over these decisions. VNA never operated the Flint Water Plant."
In November, HNGN reported that President Joe Biden wants to replace all water pipes that contain led to be replaced in the next 10 years.
