Watchdog: EPA could have declared Flint emergency six months earlier

The Environmental Protection Agency knew enough about the lead water crisis in Flint, Mich., to issue an emergency declaration six months earlier than it did, according to the EPA's inspector general.

The IG's report, issued after months of investigation, said the EPA knew in June 2015 that state regulators were not doing enough to protect Flint residents by not including corrosion control chemicals in the water supply. But the emergency wasn't declared until January 2016.

Not including those chemicals in the water from the Flint River caused the acidic river water to corrode lead pipes. The lead went into the town's drinking water and sickened many residents.

"Region 5 had information that systems designed to protect Flint drinking water from lead contamination were not in place, residents had reported multiple abnormalities in the water, and test results from some homes showed lead levels above the federal action level," the report stated.

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