EPA staff slow to report health risks from lead-tainted Benton Harbor water, report states - Detroit Free Press

EPA staff slow to report health risks from lead-tainted Benton Harbor water, report states

BENTON HARBOR (AP) — Health risks due to high lead levels in drinking water in a majority Black and impoverished Michigan city were not taken quickly to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leadership, according to a report released Thursday.

The EPA Office of Inspector General said staff monitoring the state’s response to lead levels and compliance in Benton Harbor failed to “elevate” the issue of health risks to the city’s residents, per an EPA policy that encourages staff to do so. The issues met several EPA elevation policy criteria, including the appearance of a substantial threat to public health and that normal enforcement and compliance tools seemed unlikely to succeed in the short term, the report said.

In October 2018, the state notified the Benton Harbor water system it had exceeded 15 parts per billion in water samples — the federal threshold for taking action.

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Those levels stayed high. In 2021, activists ramped up pressure for more action, and state leaders responded as the lead issue attracted national attention. State officials promised to rapidly remove the city’s lead pipes and instructed residents to switch to bottled water for basic needs like cooking and drinking.