An email criticizing how the state handled Benton Harbor's lead in water crisis that should have been provided to Gongwer in response to a 2021 Freedom of Information request was not included because it also was in a cache of documents made available to the public as part of a Senate committee request, officials said Friday.
An email from a lobbyist sharply criticizing the administration of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's response to the Benton Harbor water crisis that has come under scrutiny in the past week was not included in the state's response to a Gongwer News Service public records request that should have produced it.
The threat of a request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take over the persistent Benton Harbor lead in drinking water problem from state government prompted the state to shift from having the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy manage the situation to multiple departments, the governor's staff and eventually the governor herself.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, as well as its former director, was recently dismissed from a lawsuit alleging that the city of Benton Harbor's lack of a fully functioning water system led to inadequate levels of secondary water service like fluid for fire hydrants.