DOJ: Michigan Company and Its Owner Sentenced for Illegally Storing Hazardous Waste

And now, you have just one more reason why we are #1 in infant mortality.

Electro-Plating Services Inc. (EPS), located in Madison Heights, Michigan, was sentenced in federal court in Detroit to­­­­­­­­ five years of probation, and was ordered to pay restitution of $1,449,963.94 joint and several with Gary Sayers to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Sayers, EPS’s owner, was sentenced to one year in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The Honorable Stephen J. Murphy issued the sentence, having accepted each of their pleas of guilty to a federal hazardous waste storage felony on Feb. 14, 2019.

The crime related to Sayers’s operation of EPS, which used chemicals such as cyanide, chromium, nickel, chloride, trichloroethylene, and various acids and bases, as part of the plating process. After these chemicals no longer served their intended purpose, they became hazardous wastes, which required handling in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Rather than having EPS’s hazardous wastes legally transported to a licensed hazardous waste facility, Sayers stored the hazardous waste in numerous drums and other containers, including a pit dug into the ground in the lower level of the EPS building in Madison Heights. For years, Sayers stonewalled state efforts to get him to legally deal the hazardous wastes. Ultimately, the EPA’s Superfund program spent $1,449,963.94 to clean up and dispose of the hazardous wastes.

“This case shows that anyone who chooses to do business with dangerous materials must obey federal laws that protect our fellow Americans and the environment.  These defendants’ knowing, illegal storage of waste cyanide, highly corrosive wastes, toxic chromium waste, and reactive wastes posed a significant danger and threat to nearby communities and the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “They disregarded the law and numerous warnings and requests by state authorities to comply with their legal obligations. The Department of Justice will act to protect public health and safety.”  

“The improper storage of hazardous waste presents a significant danger to our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan.  “EPS blatantly disregarded the safety of our community and environment.  We hope this case will serve as notice to other businesses that law enforcement will take all necessary action to ensure compliance with our environmental laws and protect the people of Michigan.”

“Hazardous wastes pose serious risks to the health of entire communities, so it’s imperative they be handled and disposed of safely and legally,” said Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Lynn of the EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Michigan.  “Today’s sentencing sends a clear signal that EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to the protection of public health and will continue to pursue those who blatantly undermine those efforts.”

According to court records, Sayers—who owned and was the President of EPS—knew that such storage was illegal and had managed the company’s former Detroit facility where he kept hazardous wastes illegally.  Starting in 1996, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) repeatedly sent him warnings about his illegal handling of hazardous waste. In 2005, Sayers was charged with and pleaded guilty to illegally transporting hazardous wastes in state court. During the ensuing years, the MDEQ attempted to get Sayers and EPS to properly manage the amounts of hazardous wastes piling up at the Madison Heights location. The MDEQ issued numerous letters of warning and violation notices to the company regarding its hazardous wastes.

In 2016, the MDEQ identified over 5,000 containers of liquid and solid wastes at the Madison Heights location. That same year, the city of Madison Heights revoked the company’s occupancy permit. In January 2017, the EPA initiated a Superfund removal action, after determining that nature and threats posed by the stored hazardous waste required a time-critical response. The cleanup was completed in January 2018.

Assistant Attorney General Clark and U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Schneider thanked EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources-Environmental Investigation Section for their work investigating this case, as well as the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE, formerly the MDEQ) and the Coast Guard Investigative Service, which provided investigative support. Senior Counsel Kris Dighe of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara D. Woodward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.

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Cocktails & Popcorn: September 24th, 2019. Mueller Takes Down Fernald - Exfiltrates It To Tenex

"If you do not live there, you cannot vote there".

https://www.lm.doe.gov/land/sites/oh/fernald_orig/AboutFernald/aboutF.htm

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/15/us/us-for-decades-let-uranium-leak-at-weapon-plant.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/04/26/fernald-nuclear-weapons-plant-green-living/8044037/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernald_Feed_Materials_Production_Center

https://local12.com/news/investigates/whats-in-the-water-local-12-investigates-fernald

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Ford, UAW & Antitrust - It's All About The Timing -- In Detroit

This is awkward.

Now, why would the feds launch an antitrust probe against Ford right at the beginning of UAW negotiations?

They eat each other alive.

#sayhisname

Feds launch antitrust probe into California mpg deal with Ford, others

Washington — The Trump administration is escalating its battle with California over gas-mileage rules by launching an antitrust investigation into Ford Motor Co. and three other automakers that have agreed to higher fuel-economy rules than President Trump has pushed for.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Ford, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co. and BMW AG for reaching a deal with California to voluntarily increase the average fuel economy of their fleets to about 50 miles per gallon by the end of the 2026 model year, Ford, Honda and BMW confirmed Friday. The Justice Department declined comment.

In a letter obtained by The Detroit News, the Justice Department said it is concerned the agreement between the auto companies and California "may violate federal antitrust laws." The agency said it is inviting the carmakers to meet with federal regulators "in order to help us determine whether that is a possibility and what are the appropriate next steps we should take" and is planning to review communication between the carmakers concerning the formation of the pact.

Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a letter sent Friday to the California Air Resources Board, which negotiated the deal with the carmakers, that the proposed agreement "appears to be inconsistent with federal law."

"Congress has squarely vested the authority to set fuel economy standards for new motor vehicles, and nationwide standards for [greenhouse gas] vehicle emissions, with the federal government, not with California or any other state," Steven Bradbury and Matthew Leopold, general counsels for the EPA, wrote in a letter to CARB Administrator Mary Nichols. 

EPA's lawyers urged CARB to immediately disassociate itself from the commitments made by the four automakers. "Those commitments may result in legal consequences given the limits placed in federal law on California's authority," the letter said.

The California Air Resources Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra declined to comment.

Ford said in a statement: "We have received a letter from the Department of Justice and will cooperate with respect to any inquiry.”

Honda said it will "work cooperatively with the Department of Justice with regard to the recent emissions agreement reached between the State of California and various automotive manufacturers, including Honda."

BMW said: "We can confirm receipt of an inquiry from the Department of Justice and will respond appropriately."

Volkswagen declined to comment, saying: “We are in regular contact with U.S. authorities on a number of matters, but do not comment on specific private communications we may or may not receive.”

The investigation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources, is the latest front in a battle over mpg rules between the Trump administration and California that has ensnared automakers in a fight that is likely to end up in a lengthy court battle.

The move by the carmakers to agree separately with California to higher mpg standards flew in the face of the Trump administration's two-year push to freeze fuel-mileage rules at about 39 mpg for model years 2021 to 2026.

The Trump administration has responded by moving forward with a plan to revoke part of California's right to set its own gas mileage rules for cars, setting up a likely protracted legal fight.

The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is planning to submit a proposed "One National Program" rule that prohibits states from setting their own gas mileage rules in a bid to ensure a single national level for fuel economy standards that would directed by Congress, a source familiar with the interagency process who was not authorized to speak on the record said Thursday.

The "One National Program" rule will not be final until it is submitted to the Federal Register and approved under the federal government's traditional rulemaking process after the White House review process is complete.

At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to revoke aspects of a Clean Air Act waiver that has been used for years by California to set its own emission standards, according to the source that is familiar with the internal administration discussions. That would undo California's Advanced Clean Car Rule, which calls for automakers to reduce pollution from new cars from 2012 model year levels by 40% by 2025.

The Trump administration's plan would leave in place California’s low-emission vehicle standards that have been in place since the 1990s.

The White House and California have locked horns over gas mileage rules since the earliest days of Trump's presidency. His administration announced last year its intention to ease stringent gas-mileage rules that would have required fleets averaging nearly 55 miles per gallon by 2025. The administration proposed a freeze in the mandate after 2020, touching off a fierce battle with California, which helped craft the Obama-era rules.

The two sides attempted to negotiate a potential agreement, but the White House announced in February it was pulling out of the talks and moving forward with its proposed freeze.

Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have adopted California’s mileage rules, meaning automakers could be left with one set of rules for a quarter of the country and another set for the remaining states unless the Trump administration and California can come to an agreement. Congress gave California the right to set its own standards years ago under the Clean Air Act.

Carmakers have consistently pushed for one national fuel-economy standard. They have pressed the Trump administration to go back to the negotiating table with California.

Environmentalists have decried the Trump administration's efforts to roll back the Obama-era fuel economy standards as an attack on the environment from a hostile administration.

“The Trump administration is trying to bully automakers into accepting a rule rollback the companies don’t want,” said Luke Tonachel, director of clean vehicles and fuels at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s bizarre — but not surprising — that this Environmental Protection Agency is attacking companies that want to cut pollution.”


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DOJ: IAV GmbH to Pay $35 Million Criminal Fine in Guilty Plea for Its Role in Volkswagen AG Emissions Fraud

IAV GmbH (IAV), a German company that engineers and designs automotive systems, has agreed to plead guilty to one criminal felony count and pay a $35 million criminal fine as a result of the company’s role in a long-running scheme for Volkswagen AG (VW) to sell diesel vehicles in the United States by using a defeat device to cheat on U.S. vehicle emissions tests required by federal law.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of FBI’s Detroit Division made the announcement.

IAV is charged with and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and VW’s U.S. customers and to violate the Clean Air Act by misleading the EPA and U.S. customers about whether certain VW- and Audi-branded diesel vehicles complied with U.S. vehicle emissions standards.  IAV and its co-conspirators knew the vehicles did not meet U.S. emissions standards, worked collaboratively to design, test, and implement cheating software to cheat the U.S. testing process, and IAV was aware the VW concealed material facts about its cheating from federal and state regulators and U.S. customers.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, which must be accepted by the court, IAV will plead guilty to this crime, will serve probation for two years, will be under an independent corporate compliance monitor who will oversee the company for two years, and will fully cooperate in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation and prosecution of individuals responsible for these crimes.  Pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, IAV’s $35 million fine was set according to the company’s inability to pay a higher fine amount without jeopardizing its continued viability.  IAV is scheduled to appear for a change of plea hearing before the Honorable Sean F. Cox of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Jan. 18, 2019 at 9:30 a.m.

“Today’s guilty plea shows that this scheme to evade automotive emissions tests and cheat the American public and the U.S. government extended well beyond Volkswagen,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “Our investigation into emissions cheating is ongoing and we will follow the evidence wherever it leads.”

“By helping VW cheat on U.S. emissions tests in violation of the Clean Air Act, IAV put its corporate success over public health and unfairly disadvantaged its competitors,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Williams. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to ensure that companies like IAV play fair and that all Americans can enjoy the protections of our nation’s environmental laws.”

“IAV participated in Volkswagen’s deception of American regulators and fraud on American consumers,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “As this guilty plea demonstrates, our office will continue to aggressively prosecute corporate criminals, even when they work at some of the world’s largest, most prominent companies.”

 “IAV designed the software that allowed VW to cheat U.S. air emissions standards,” said EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine. “EPA and its law enforcement partners will not tolerate actions like this that put profit above public health and environmental protection.”

 “Americans rightly expect corporations to operate honestly,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Slater.  “This case sends a clear message that the FBI and its partners will hold corporations accountable when they defraud consumers and violate federal laws.”

The guilty plea of IAV represents the most recent charges in an ongoing investigation by U.S. criminal authorities into unprecedented emissions cheating by VW.  In March 2017, VW pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it deceived U.S. regulatory agencies, including the EPA and the California Air Resources Board, by installing defeat devices in diesel vehicles emissions control systems that were designed to cheat emissions tests.  As part of its plea agreement with the Department, VW paid a criminal fine of $2.8 billion and agreed to an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years.  Eight individuals were previously indicted in connection with this matter, two of whom have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.  The other six charged defendants are believed to reside in Germany. 

According to the statement of facts that will be filed with the court in IAV’s case, in 2006, VW engineers began to design a new diesel engine to meet stricter U.S. emissions standards that would take effect by model year 2007.  This new engine would be the cornerstone of a new project to sell diesel vehicles in the United States that would be marketed to buyers as “clean diesel.”  When the co-conspirators realized that they could not design a diesel engine that would both meet the stricter standards for nitrogen oxides (Nox) and attract sufficient customer demand in the U.S. market, they decided they would use a software function to cheat the U.S. emissions tests.

VW delegated certain tasks associated with designing its new “Gen 1” diesel engine to IAV, including parts of software development, diesel development and exhaust after-treatment.  In November 2006, a VW employee requested that an IAV employee assist in the design of defeat device software for use in the diesel engine.  The IAV employee agreed to do so and prepared documentation for a software design change to recognize whether a vehicle was undergoing standard U.S. emissions testing on a dynamometer or it was being driven on the road under normal driving conditions.  If the software detected that the vehicle was not being tested, the vehicle’s emissions control systems were reduced substantially, causing the vehicle to emit substantially higher NOx, sometimes 35 times higher than U.S. standards.

By at least 2008, an IAV manager knew the purpose of the defeat device software, instructed IAV employees to continue working on the project and directed IAV employees to route VW’s requests regarding the defeat device software through him; the manager was involved in coordinating IAV’s continued work on it.

Starting with the first model year (2009) of VW’s new “clean diesel” Gen 1 engine, through model year 2014, IAV and its co-conspirators caused defeat device software to be installed on all of the approximately 335,000 Gen 1 vehicles that VW sold in the United States.

This case was investigated by the FBI and EPA-Criminal Investigation Division.  The prosecution and corporate investigation are being handled by Trial Attorneys Philip Trout, Mark Cipolletti and Gary Winters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section; Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer Blackwell of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section; and White Collar Crime Unit Chief John K. Neal of the Eastern District of Michigan. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also assisted in the case.  The Justice Department also extends its thanks to the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Braunschweig, Germany.

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EPA Testimony On Flint Water Crisis Forgot To Invite Maura Corrigan

For distribution purposes only, I have provided a missing persons poster for Maura Corrigan.

She has been missing since the Flint Water Crisis.

Please, feel free to share.

EPA expert: DEQ officials admitted not using anti-corrosion controls in Flint

Miguel Del Toral

Flint — A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water expert testified Wednesday that Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials told him that Flint was not treating its water with anti-corrosion controls as he warned them it wasn't safe.

Miguel Del Toral, the EPA's Region 5 regulations manager, began looking into water quality issues in Flint in February 2015 after a resident called to alert him to high lead levels in her home.

DEQ water treatment engineer Patrick Cook told Del Toral about the water treatment plant issues, the EPA expert said. Del Toral met with then-DEQ official Liane Shekter Smith at the Chicago EPA headquarters to discuss the issue as well — with him saying each time Flint was not meeting federal standards.

And Del Toral said he was "very surprised" at the lack of corrosion controls and no plans to implement them.

"I was informed by Patrick Cook via email that the city of Flint did not continue using corrosive control treatment after they disconnected from Detroit (area water)," Del Toral said. "Because the city of Flint has lead service lines and in the absence of treatment to lower lead levels within lead service lines, they can get very high."

Del Toral was testifying before 67th District Court Judge Jennifer Manley at the preliminary exam hearing for DEQ water regulators Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, Cook as well as Shekter Smith, the fired head of the DEQ division responsible for overseeing Flint’s water source switch. This is the first Flint preliminary exam where Del Toral has been asked to testify.

The state regulators have been charged with various criminal offenses, including misconduct in office.

Maura Corrigan is MIA in Michigan Flint Water Crisis by Beverly Tran on Scribd

UPDATE: Last sighting - Butzel Long Law Firm, Detroit

Shekter Smith and Busch are each charged with involuntary manslaughter. Attorney General Bill Schuette accused them and four others of failing to alert the public about a 2014-2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area that killed 12 people and sickened another 79 individuals.

Del Toral, who manages water regulations for the EPA based in Chicago, was the latest witness to testify for Special Prosecutor Todd Flood against them. Much of Del Toral's testimony was technical and often interrupted by objections from defense counsel.

The EPA water expert was considered the agency's Midwest whistle-blower on Flint's lead-contaminated water. In a June 2015 email, he pleaded with superiors to protect Flint residents from lead contamination and even asked for permission to do additional water testing in Flint on his own dime to prove his assertions of widespread lead contamination.

“I understand that this is not a comfortable situation, but the State is complicit in this and the public has a right to know what they are doing because it is their children that are being harmed,” Del Toral wrote in a June 2015 memo to EPA officials. “At a MINIMUM, the city should be warning residents about the high lead, not hiding it telling them there is no lead in the water.”

EPA District 5 Director Susan Hedman asked for a legal opinion about whether the agency could intervene in Flint and didn't receive an answer until November 2015 — after Michigan recognized the crisis in October 2015. Hedman retired after The Detroit News published a January 2016 story about her delay in seeking action.

Under questioning in court, Del Toral said he first became aware of the Flint situation from resident LeAnne Walters, not from DEQ officials. Busch told Del Toral that the lead problem wasn't with the city's service line but with Walters' pipes and that she needed to call a plumber.

But Del Toral said Busch's assertion was "misleading" because she had all plastic pipes in her home.

Walters reached out to Del Toral because lead levels in her home were high and he and another colleague were set to visit her home in April.

"When I see numbers that high, usually they're indicative of lead service lines," he said. "And so my concern was that she had high lead coming off her services lines."

Del Toral will continue his testimony from Flood and then under cross examination on Sept. 19.Del Toral was testifying before 67th District Court Judge Jennifer Manley at the preliminary exam hearing for DEQ water regulators Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, Cook as well as Shekter Smith, the fired head of the DEQ division responsible for overseeing Flint’s water source switch. This is the first Flint preliminary exam where Del Toral has been asked to testify.

The state regulators have been charged with various criminal offenses, including misconduct in office.

Shekter Smith and Busch are each charged with involuntary manslaughter. Attorney General Bill Schuette accused them and four others of failing to alert the public about a 2014-2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area that killed 12 people and sickened another 79 individuals.

Del Toral, who manages water regulations for the EPA based in Chicago, was the latest witness to testify for Special Prosecutor Todd Flood against them. Much of Del Toral's testimony was technical and often interrupted by objections from defense counsel.

The EPA water expert was considered the agency's Midwest whistle-blower on Flint's lead-contaminated water. In a June 2015 email, he pleaded with superiors to protect Flint residents from lead contamination and even asked for permission to do additional water testing in Flint on his own dime to prove his assertions of widespread lead contamination.

“I understand that this is not a comfortable situation, but the State is complicit in this and the public has a right to know what they are doing because it is their children that are being harmed,” Del Toral wrote in a June 2015 memo to EPA officials. “At a MINIMUM, the city should be warning residents about the high lead, not hiding it telling them there is no lead in the water.”

EPA District 5 Director Susan Hedman asked for a legal opinion about whether the agency could intervene in Flint and didn't receive an answer until November 2015 — after Michigan recognized the crisis in October 2015. Hedman retired after The Detroit News published a January 2016 story about her delay in seeking action.

Under questioning in court, Del Toral said he first became aware of the Flint situation from resident LeAnne Walters, not from DEQ officials. Busch told Del Toral that the lead problem wasn't with the city's service line but with Walters' pipes and that she needed to call a plumber.

But Del Toral said Busch's assertion was "misleading" because she had all plastic pipes in her home.

Walters reached out to Del Toral because lead levels in her home were high and he and another colleague were set to visit her home in April.

"When I see numbers that high, usually they're indicative of lead service lines," he said. "And so my concern was that she had high lead coming off her services lines."

Del Toral will continue his testimony from Flood and then under cross examination on Sept. 19.

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EPA Flint Water Crisis OIG Report Is Out!

Ok, let me get this straight.

So, the EPA Flint Water Crisis started like this:

del Tora: "Hey, boss, people of Flint just let me know the children are being poisoned by the water and no one is doing a thing about it." 

Hedman: "Really, let me get a legal opinion, first, then put together a legal defense team to come up with a propaganda campaign to cover up why it took so long for us to do anything to stop it." 

Feel free to correct me in the comments, below.

Inspector: EPA 'management weakness' prolonged Flint crisis

Lansing — "Management weaknesses" delayed federal intervention in the Flint water crisis after Michigan failed to enforce rules designed to prevent lead contamination and protect public health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General.

The 69-page report, below, released Thursday highlights known failures by both state and federal regulators that led to the Flint water contamination crisis, but it provides a new level of specificity and includes recommendations to improve oversight.

“While Flint residents were being exposed to lead in drinking water, the federal response was delayed, in part, because the EPA did not establish clear roles and responsibilities, risk assessment procedures, effective communication and proactive oversight tools,” according to the report.

The report cited management problems at the EPA and its Region 5 office in Chicago, which oversees Michigan. Regional managers did not properly address state actions to “disinvest” in safe drinking water requirements dating back to 2010, concluding they were intended to be temporary and not affect public health, inspectors said.

The Region 5 office also lacked an effective risk assessment process, the report said. While initial bacterial violations alone would not have pointed to lead contamination, “the combined information available to Region 5 painted a picture of a system at risk from multiple angles.”

In January 2016, The Detroit News reported that Region 5 water expert Miguel del Toral warned of Flint water problems in a June internal memo, but then-Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman said she sought a legal opinion on whether the EPA could force action that wasn’t completed until November 2015 — after the state finally recognized the crisis.

Oh, those "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending), they are everywhere, are they not!?

Hedman soon retired after The News' report, but but no EPA officials were ever fired over the Flint crisis. In a March 2016 congressional hearing, Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy defended Hedman as "courageous" and blamed the state's misleading and insufficient information for prolonging the crisis.

The state didn’t agree to apply corrosion controls until late July and didn’t publicly concede until October 2015 that it erroneously applied the federal Lead and Copper Rule overseeing water quality. The state decided in October to change Flint’s drinking water source from the corrosive Flint River back to the Detroit water system.

The report, based on two years of research and inquires, dings the federal agency but also repeatedly notes the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality holds primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with safe drinking water requirements.

Communication between the EPA and DEQ “did not convey key information about human health risks from lead,” the report said.

MDEQ did not properly develop and maintain an inventory of lead service lines needed to ensure appropriate test sampling of Flint water, according to the inspector general. The state also failed to ensure Flint continues to use corrosion control chemicals when city began using Flint River water in April 2014 and did not provide the EPA with “accurate information” regarding treatment.

The state “did not issue a notice of violation or take other formal enforcement action regarding either requirement until August 2015.,” the report said. “Instead, the MDEQ advised Flint public water system staff to conduct additional tests and to delay corrosion control treatment installation. The decision to delay corrosion control treatment prolonged residents’ exposure to lead.”

The EPA Office of Inspector General first announced the investigation in January 2016, five days after then-President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency in the city, freeing up $5 million in federal aid. The Obama administration denied Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's request for a major disaster declaration because the Flint water contamination crisis was a man-made calamity not created by fire, flood or explosion.

Inspectors issued a preliminary report in October 2016,  saying the EPA had the authority and enough information about Flint water lead contamination to issue an emergency order to protect public health as early as June 2015, seven months before it's Chicago-based Region 5 office did so.

McCarthy and Gov. Rick Snyder testified before a congressional committee in March 2016 and faced withering criticism for state and federal oversight failures but resisted calls to resign.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed criminal charges against several former and current state employees and officials over the lead contamination and Legionnaires' disease outbreaks that killed at least 12 and sickened 79 others.

Del Toral began raising concerns about Flint water lead content in early 2015 and pressed the DEQ for information about corrosion controls. He confirmed the suspicions in April of that year and two months later summarized the looming problem in an internal memo.

By June 2015, EPA Region 5 knew at least four homes had water with lead concentrations exceeding the federal action level of 15 parts per billion, according to an earlier inspector general report.  It was not until Jan. 21, 2016, that EPA finally exerted its authority by issuing an emergency order that laid out steps for Flint and the state to resolve the crisis.

In congressional testimony a month later, the Virginia Tech University professor who helped uncover the Flint water crisis criticized the EPA’s Hedman for discrediting the internal report. But Marc Edwards told Congress the primary blame lies with a few state environmental regulators who “misled” Michigan leaders and residents and tried to “cover up” proof of high lead levels.

EPA Flint Water Crisis Report 7-19-2018 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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DOJ: Historic $1.2 Billion Settlement In New York City Housing & Child Welfare Fraud - Are Detroit & Michigan Next?

The federal complaint and settlement decree is based on child welfare fraud.

Children residing in properties of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were intentionally subjected to lead poisoning, under the guise of millions and millions, generations and generations, in fraud.

The Detroit Land Bank Authority, et al and Michigan are next, because the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed has issued her public decree for these people to stop using children as chattel.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Settlement With NYCHA and NYC To Fundamentally Reform NYCHA Through the Appointment Of a Federal Monitor and the Payment By NYC Of $1.2 Billion Of Additional Capital Money Over the Next Five Years

Consent Decree Provides Comprehensive Relief, Requiring NYCHA to Promptly Address Lead Paint Hazards, Remedy Mold and Pest Infestations, and Provide Adequate Heat and Elevator Service

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ben Carson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), Helen M. Albert, Principal Deputy Inspector General, performing the duties of the Inspector General, HUD Office of the Inspector General (“HUD OIG”), and Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), announced today the simultaneous filing of a Complaint against defendant NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY (“NYCHA”) and a proposed settlement agreement, in the form of a Consent Decree, with NYCHA and the City of New York (the “City”).  The Complaint alleges that NYCHA for years has violated and continues to violate basic federal health and safety regulations, including regulations requiring NYCHA to protect children from lead paint and otherwise to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing.  The Complaint further alleges that NYCHA has repeatedly made false statements to HUD and the public regarding its lead paint compliance, and has intentionally deceived HUD inspectors.  To fundamentally reform NYCHA and ensure that it provides housing that complies with federal law, the Consent Decree – which is subject to the review and approval of the Court – imposes a strong federal Monitor and requires the City, among other things, to provide $1.2 billion of additional capital funding to NYCHA over the next five years, and $200 million every year thereafter until the problems are fixed and the Consent Decree is no longer necessary.

Along with other federal, state, and city funding, there will be approximately $ 4 billion available for capital improvements the first four years.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated:  “NYCHA’s failure to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing is simply unacceptable, and illegal.  Children must be protected from toxic lead paint, apartments must be free of mold and pest infestations, and developments must provide adequate heat in winter and elevator service.  NYCHA has put its residents at risk.  Today’s unprecedented settlement will improve life for the 400,000 residents who call NYCHA home, while ensuring accountability, reform, and oversight at this troubled institution. The City’s commitment of resources to NYCHA is extraordinary and promises real relief for NYCHA residents.”

HUD Secretary Ben Carson said:  “This historic agreement marks a new era for New York City’s public housing, one that puts families and their children first.  New York City and New York State are making an unprecedented commitment to put NYCHA on a new path.  The cooperation of Federal, State and city officials will vastly improve the living conditions for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who call NYCHA home.”

HUD OIG Principal Deputy Inspector General Helen M. Albert said:  “We are proud of the integral work that the OIG staff performed which led to today’s settlement.  This represents a consequential partnership with the U.S. Attorney and others to ensure that those who reside in NYCHA housing will do so in safe and sanitary conditions.”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said:  “Instead of protecting children from lead poisoning, NYCHA systematically violated EPA and HUD lead paint safety regulations and covered up its noncompliance.  Today’s landmark settlement puts a stop to that.  It is not only a great example of what EPA and HUD can achieve by working together, but it also sends a strong message to housing authorities, landlords, and renovators – violating the law and endangering public health will not be tolerated.  This agreement will dramatically improve the living conditions of New York City’s most vulnerable residents.”  

According to the Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:

For years, NYCHA has failed to comply with key HUD and EPA lead paint safety regulations, including by failing to inspect apartments for lead paint hazards and failing to remediate peeling lead paint.  NYCHA also fails to ensure that its workers use lead-safe work practices.  Children have been harmed as a result of NYCHA’s failures.  Between 2010 and 2016, at least 19 lead-poisoned children were found to have been exposed to deteriorated lead paint in their NYCHA apartments, and thousands more were put at risk. 

NYCHA also fails to provide “decent, safe, and sanitary” housing as required by HUD regulations.  Mold grows unchecked at many NYCHA developments, often on a very large scale, threatening the health of residents with asthma.  Across the city, NYCHA residents are provided inadequate heat in winter, leading to frigid apartment temperatures.  Pest and vermin infestations are common.  Elevators fail, leaving elderly or disabled residents trapped in their apartments or sleeping in building lobbies. 

NYCHA has repeatedly made false statements to HUD and the public regarding these matters.  These include false certifications by NYCHA each year that it would comply with HUD’s lead paint safety regulations.  NYCHA also deceived HUD about living conditions at NYCHA, going so far as to publish a “Quick Tips” training guide for how to hide conditions from HUD’s inspectors.

*                *                *

The United States has filed a proposed Consent Decree today, which would resolve the allegations in the Complaint.  The Consent Decree remains subject to review and approval by the Court.  The Consent Decree provides for the appointment of a federal monitor to oversee fundamental reform at NYCHA.  The Monitor has the authority, under the review of the Court, to set the performance standards that NYCHA must meet, devise the plans by which NYCHA will achieve those standards (including by implementing changes to NYCHA’s management, organization, and workforce structure), and require NYCHA to select independent contractors to perform certain work.  The Monitor will be selected by the United States, after consultation with City and state officials and NYCHA stakeholders, and subject to approval by the Court.

The Consent Decree also commits the City of New York to provide an additional $1 billion in capital funds over the next four years, over and above what the City has budgeted, and at least an additional $200 million in capital funds each subsequent year until the conditions identified in the Complaint are addressed.  Further, the Consent Decree requires NYCHA to comply immediately with HUD’s and EPA’s lead-safe work practices rules and to provide notice to residents in any apartment where NYCHA has identified lead paint.

*                *                *

In the Consent Decree submitted today, NYCHA admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following:

• • At least once a year, beginning no later than 2010 and extending through 2016, NYCHA’s certifications to HUD contained untrue representations that NYCHA “will comply with” HUD’s federal lead paint safety regulations.
  •  
  • In more than half of NYCHA’s developments, NYCHA’s inspections (including statistical sampling) have confirmed the presence of lead paint somewhere on the premises, and in at least 92 developments, the inspections (including statistical sampling) have confirmed the presence of lead paint inside apartment units. 
• • Since at least 2010, NYCHA has not performed most of the biennial lead paint risk assessment reevaluations required by regulation for developments containing lead paint. 
  •  
  • From at least 2012 to 2016, NYCHA failed to perform visual assessments of apartments for lead paint hazards as required by regulation.  In 2016, NYCHA began performing visual assessments in units where children under six reside, but NYCHA has not yet performed visual assessments in the majority of apartments that may contain lead paint. 
  •  
  • Since at least 2010, NYCHA has not ensured that staff use lead-safe work practices when performing work on surfaces that may contain lead paint.
• • Currently, after NYCHA has removed mold from apartments, the mold returns at least 30% of the time. 

• • In Winter 2017-2018 alone, more than 320,000 residents, 80% of the public housing population, lost heat.

• • In 2016 alone, NYCHA experienced an average of more than 13 outages per elevator.

• • NYCHA’s data reflects more than 260,000 work orders for roaches between 2013 and 2016.  For the same period, there were more than 90,000 mouse work orders and nearly 36,000 rat work orders.

• • For a decade, NYCHA provided its staff with a list of “Quick Fix Tips” to improve its Public Housing Assessment System inspection scores.
  •  

Mr. Berman thanked HUD, HUD OIG, and EPA for their invaluable assistance in this matter.  Mr. Berman also thanked Mark Peters and the Department of Investigation for their important wok in this area.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Environmental Protection Unit in the Civil Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Robert William Yalen, Mónica P. Folch, Jacob Lillywhite, Talia Kraemer, and Sharanya Mohan are in charge of the case.

U.S. v. New York City Housing Authority Complaint 18 Civ. 5213 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

New York City Housing Authority Consent Agreement June 8, 2018 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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UPDATE On Flint Water Crisis Trial: Flint Has A Land Bank, You Know, Right?

All I can do is say what I see and tell what I know.

What I see is, or least I hope I see this correctly, is a conjugal collaborative with Michigan Auditor General, House Oversight Committee, and FBI.

Of course, the Michigan Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Schuette, who called me a public nuisance through his Assistant AG in the Court of Claims for creatively reporting fraud, has farmed out the prosecution to Andy and Todd, so, I am going to include them, also, in the conjugal collaborative.

Yes, I enjoy encouraging Bill Schuette to do his job to protect children, even though he has no idea that by refusing to deal with the pervasive Medicaid fraud in child welfare, he is participating in the "depopulation" of Flint.

Flint has a Land Bank, you know.

But now, we have subject matter experts participating in the investigation, Shawn McElmurry.

WSU prof: State officials stalled Flint water tests

A Wayne State University professor tasked by Gov. Rick Snyder with helping investigate whether the Flint area Legionnaires’ outbreak was connected to the switch to the Flint River said on Friday state officials tried to stall his team so they didn’t find anything in the water system.

Shawn McElmurry, an environmental engineering associate professor hired by the state, testified Friday in the preliminary hearing of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon that the group was being set up to fail. He also worried the budget limits for the 2016 study would hinder his sampling and research because he wouldn’t be able to hire as many staffers as necessary.

Lyon’s preliminary hearing on criminal charges in the Flint water crisis resumed Friday after stopping in December.

Asked by Lyon attorney Chip Chamberlain if the health director deliberately tried to slow down the contracting process to affect his research team, McElmurry said things were “politically slow” but didn’t name Lyon.

“What I’m basing that on is multiple interactions with, not with Mr. Lyon, but MDHHS in general,” he said.

“Every interaction seemed to be adding yet another layer of complexity and things keep slowing down, down, down,” McElmurry said. “It wasn’t just one instance. Over the time period, it felt like things didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense.”

Because of the way the Flint water system worked, he was concerned the sampling of bacteria would be affected. “The longer you wait, the more that water system’s flushed out,” he said.

In court, McElmurry referenced an email he sent to members of his WSU environmental team that indicated Snyder was “shocked” when told “he needed to push if he wanted this done.”

In the same email, McElmurry said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials were not keen on filter sampling and questioning the scientific value of the study.

All of this, he said, led to conflict over what to test and then reveal to the public.

Chamberlain sought to cast special prosecution witness McElmurry as being alone in wanting to test water filters on faucets for bacteria in select homes.

McElmurry and Lyon had sparred over funding for the project and how quickly to test water filters in Flint for the presence of Legionnaires’ disease bacteria known as Legionella. Lyon said he didn’t think the filters needed testing; McElmurry did.

Flood’s team has been criticized by defense attorneys as taking a long time but he said in court Friday that the case is proceeding at a good pace, a comment backed by the judge.

Chamberlain sought to contend that Virginia Tech environmental engineer Marc Edwards also disputed McElmurry’s claims that testing home water filters was needed and would be effective. But his questions often were overruled after Special Prosecutor Todd Flood objected.

67th District Court Judge David Goggins rebuffed Chamberlain when he tried to ask McElmurry if Edwards criticized home sampling.

Testing by Edwards and his students helped expose high levels of lead in some Flint homes in summer 2015 after the city switched its drinking source from the Detroit area water system to the Flint River in 2014. He has also testified before Congress about the Flint crisis.

McElmurry’s group was charged with trying to determine what caused the Legionnaires’ outbreak that eventually killed 12 and sickened 79 others, but v/it found more areas of possible exposure that needed investigating.

“We were not certain that the epidemic ... the outbreak was over,” he said Friday, but added that the study group needed various areas of data collection to “be able to verify that indeed the outbreak had ended.”

Chamberlain also questioned McElmurry about the funding disputes and concerns by the Department of Health and Human Services about study costs.

In other testimony, Stephanie Whisiker-Lewis, an internist for Genesys Regional Medical Center and its associated hospice, said though her name appeared on the death certificate of Robert Skidmore she couldn’t determine his exact cause of death. She said she did not examine him or review his charts.

Lyon is charged in Skidmore’s death.

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Special Prosecutions: The Long And Winding Road Of The Flint Water Crisis

If Todd Flood, special prosecutor for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's criminal probe of the Flint Water Crisis, is calling Adam Rosenthal as being "very low in the totem pole", then who would be the head of the totem pole?

If you have not noticed, the Flint Water Crisis special prosecution is a mirrored investigation of state government using a special prosecutor, similar to the federal investigation of the public corruption in the DOJ and FBI.

Perhaps, the Michigan Office of the Attorney General has similar issues to what is being investigated in the DOJ and FBI, but hey, what do I know.

I am just a public nuisance, according to Bill Schutte, Michigan Attorney General and 2018 Gubernatorial Candidate.

Special investigations are "special" because you never know where the findings will take you along the long and winding road of public corruption.

9 times out of 10 the findings will take you somewhere you never expected.

Stay tuned because it is all symbiotic. 

DEQ water analyst agrees to plea in Flint water case

Flint — A water quality analyst for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality agreed to a plea deal Wednesday with prosecutors in Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s criminal probe over the city’s water crisis.

Adam Rosenthal — whom special prosecuting attorney Todd Flood described as being “very low in the totem pole” of DEQ involvement in the lead-tainted water crisis — pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor related to failing to offer “reasonable facilities” to inspect records.

It’s a charge punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or one year in jail, and Rosenthal is expected to continue cooperating with Flood’s far-reaching prosecution of state and local officials as part of the plea deal.

Flood told Flint’s 67th District Court Judge Jennifer Manley that Rosenthal “has been honest and candid with us to date” and that he expects him to “continue to be honest and candid with us … and will testify in court if necessary and required by the prosecution.”

After the hearing, Flood and Rosenthal’s attorney, James Burdick, declined to elaborate on the extent of his expected cooperation or the content of his testimony if he is called to testify.

Burdick had high praise for Flood, although he said most of the accusations against Rosenthal signify that his client never should have been charged in the first place.

“Yes, I feel like he should never have been charged,” said Burdick, but still called Flood “a person of honor, of integrity and sincerity” who realized during the course of the investigation that Rosenthal’s involvement in the crisis was minimal.

Burdick said Rosenthal’s only error was “failing to make facilities available for all of the investigators who descended one day.”

Burdick said it took “probably a day or two” longer than prosecutors wanted to obtain certain documents during the Flint water crisis criminal probe. All original charges were dropped against Rosenthal, and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor that Flood had not charged Rosenthal with prior to the plea.

Before the plea, Rosenthal faced misconduct in office, neglect of duty and tampering with evidence charges, which could have resulted in possible time in prison and a fine if convicted. He pleaded no contest to failing to provide reasonable facilities for the inspection and examination of records and the remaining charges were dropped.

He is the fourth defendant to cut a plea deal with Flood, the second state official to reach an agreement and the first DEQ official to make a plea deal.

Rosenthal was warned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that high levels of lead are usually due to particulate lead, an indication of a corrosion problem. A task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder said in a March 2016 report that the failure to use corrosion control chemicals in the river water resulted in lead leaching from the city’s old pipelines.

In 2015, Rosenthal allegedly helped manipulate lead testing results and falsely reported they were below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. Those charges were dropped.

The state acknowledged high lead levels in the city’s children in late September 2015 and switched back in mid-October 2015 to the Detroit area water system, now called the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Lead testing this year has found that Flint’s results have consistently been below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. But the state has maintained advisories against drinking Flint’s water until all of the city’s lead lines have been replaced.

■Former Flint utilities administrator Michael Glasgow pleaded guilty in May to a reduced charge of willful neglect of duty, a one-year misdemeanor. Sentencing for Glasgow was set aside as long as he cooperates with the ongoing investigation by Schuette.

■Corinne Miller, who retired as director of the state’s bureau of epidemiology earlier this year, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of neglect of duty in office in exchange for providing information to investigators.

Miller originally was charged with failing to respond properly to an early report that city children were affected by lead contamination in Flint and instructing state health employees to delete emails pertaining to the report. She was sentenced to one year of probation in March.

■In late November, former Flint utilities director Daugherty Johnson pleaded no contest to failing to give water documents to a Genesee County Health Department employee investigating a possible connection between Flint water and Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks that eventually killed 12 and sickened 79 others in the Flint area in 2014-15. The deal resulted in two felonies being conditionally dropped in exchange for his cooperation.

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Day 36.7. American Centrifuge in Piketon, OH.

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Day 33.5. Laptops to Sugar Packets. Ore to Yellowcake.

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CONYERS, KILDEE, and LAWRENCE Reintroduces Bill To Stop Emergency Managers: Three Years After Disastrous Flint Water Switch

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Dan Kildee (D-MI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), and 17 cosponsors, today reintroduced the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities. Last week marks three years since the disastrous water switch that resulted in lead contamination in Flint, Michigan.  

Recently, Congressman Conyers, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Cedric Richmond, sent a letter to President Trump questioning the Administration’s commitment to the Flint area in light of proposed budget cuts to EPA and other agencies.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Three years later, the people of Flint continue to suffer from the misguided and disastrous choices of an emergency financial manager they did not elect to represent them. We cannot undo the damage already done by the lead-poisoned water in Flint or fix the harm already caused by the hazardous conditions in Detroit’s public schools.  But we must continue to stand together and make sure the unaccountable emergency financial managers responsible for these disasters – and the legal system that empowered them – are not permitted to inflict further harm on our citizens or our constitutional rights. I will continue to introduce the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act until its passage. We must ensure that what happened in Flint, will never happen again.” said Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13).

“Our state’s emergency financial manager law has hurt Flint and families throughout Michigan,” Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) said. 

“Unelected emergency financial managers made the decisions that led to the Flint water crisis. Their failed governing philosophy is solely focused on the bottom-line and cutting cost, often at the expense of people. Michigan families and their elected officials – not appointed and unaccountable emergency financial managers – should be in charge in the communities that they live in. This bill will help ensure what happened in Flint does not happen to other communities.”

“The Flint Water Crisis was a man-made disaster, and the people of Flint needed strong and responsible leadership to do their job and work in the best interest of the community they serve.  This never happened.  The people suffered, and they continue to suffer; while the leaders who caused this disaster hold no accountability for their actions.  This is shameful for the state of Michigan and shameful for America. It is imperative that the citizens of this great country are not denied their right to have a government that is elected and accountable.  We need immediate reform of the lack of accountability with emergency financial managers and we simply cannot allow a tragedy like this to ever happen again,” said Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14).

There are many cities in financial distress across our nation still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.  While most states work cooperatively with their cities to foster economic stability and growth, others such as the state of Michigan, use draconian, autocratic laws that usurp local elected officials and replace them with unaccountable political appointees – typically known as emergency financial managers – who, through their vast powers, can jeopardize the health and safety of those who live and work in these struggling cities. 

For example, Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is also in financial distress, is now dealing with similar issues as it struggles under the control of an unaccountable state appointed overseer with powers similar to those available to Michigan’s emergency financial managers.  Last month, that city’s police union filed a lawsuit in response to the state’s announced intention to slash pay and benefit cuts in violation of the police union’s contract, claiming that these “cuts could harm public safety and the state takeover law is unconstitutional because it impairs their contract rights.

Earlier this year, the state also proposed a 25 percent reduction in compensation for that city’s firefighters’ union members.

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act would authorize the U.S. Attorney General to withhold five percent of the law enforcement funds that would otherwise be allocated to a state under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne-JAG) if the Attorney General determines that the state-appointed emergency financial manager fails to protect against the following six abuses: discriminatory impact on voting, conflicts of interest, mismanagement, and abuse of discretion, harm to public health, unilateral rejection of other contracts, and lack of notice to affected communities who cannot provide comment.

The objective of the legislation is not to deny Byrne-JAG grant funds, but rather to incentivize the states to protect their citizens against these risks and abuses when emergency financial managers are appointed.  However, if in the event the funds are withheld, they are directly reallocated to the local government for which an emergency financial manager is appointed. 

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act was introduced with support from the following original cosponsors: Representatives Brenda Lawrence (D-MI); Dan Kildee (D-MI); Karen Bass (D-CA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Eddie Bernice  Johnson (D-TX), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

This legislation is identical to H.R. 4754, the “Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016,” introduced in the 114th Congress and supported by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others.

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Whistleblowers Should Replace Regulators

U.S. Representative
Joe Courtney

In the spirit of deregulation, there seems to be a shift in the oversight authority back to the people.

U.S. Representative Joe Courtney has introduced the following Bill which has been referred to the U.S. House Committee on House, Education and the Workforce.

All I can do is cross my fingers that the Committee:

• Does not keep whistleblower powers exclusive to federal employees;

• Allow pro se standing through administrative remedies via referral coordination with EPA and IRS.  Make a community policing "court appointed" program for indigent whistleblowers to proceed with claims providing advocacy.  It is difficult for the indigent to access justice when your attorney breaks the seal of your case to work with the fraudfeasors and refuses to lift a finger to represent you in hopes the case is dismissed, with or without prejudice, because they know you will never be able to afford representation and you just gave them all the information to cover up these financial crimes. We possess the expertise as the original source, so listen to us; 

• End all the Rule 9b dilatory volley.  A fraud is a fraud.  Refer it out to an IG, Ethics or DOJ to stop wasting time on litigating legal semantics; and,

• Stop ignoring the desperately needed clean up with the crap about a state not being classified as an "individual" under the False Claims Act.   All this does is give a free pass to state and locally elected and appointed officials to use their offices for personal inurement with special federal powers of immunities to run taxpayer money-raping schemes through nonprofits into their re-election campaigns.

Come on, people, let us just keep it real and do what needs to be done to stop the dark money being siphoned through the black budget.

Pretty please, Pretty Preet?

If this does not get fast-tracked through Committee and both chambers, I am going to ethically castigate each and every official who is not in concurrence with me because each vote in opposition will be a red flag that they are engaging in fraudulent activities through their offices and campaigns.

If you want to get rid of regulations, then you better replace it with whistleblower empowerment protections. 

Every single federal department and agencies need whistleblower protections, including the States.

Period.

#Time2AuditGod

H.R.914 - To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for other purposes.

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