GOP Reps Lie To Smear EPA During Flint Water Crisis Hearing (VIDEO)

On March 15, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held the second of three hearings on the water crisis in Flint, Mich. During the hearing, House Republicans who are part of the committee put former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman’s feet to the flames for what many consider to be her role in the delayed EPA response in confronting and dealing with the conditions of Flint’s drinking water, which was rich with the neurotoxin lead.

It’s not really a secret that the Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee would love to pin as much of this on the EPA as possible, but instead of sticking to the actual facts surrounding the crisis in Flint, of which the EPA does share some of the blame, Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, have resorted to making up the truth as they go along, so long as it poisons the EPA.

Both Chaffetz and Walberg indicated during questioning that they had met with EPA staffer and whistleblower Miguel Del Toral last weekend during a Congressional trip to Flint.

The two Republicans further indicated that Del Toral had told them he was reprimanded for a memo he had written regarding the state of Flint’s water last summer.

If there had been any retaliation against Del Toral for a memo he had written about the water conditions in Flint, that would damn the EPA. But, when pressed on what was said during Del Toral’s “meeting” with Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg, Hedman denied such retaliation ever occurred. Rep. Walberg also insinuated that Hedman had instructed former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling to disregard Del Toral’s memo, a claim Hedman also denied.

“WALBERG: Ms. Hedman, in July 2015, you told Flint’s mayor to disregard Mr. Del Toral’s preliminary memo that found high levels of lead in Flint’s water supply. Why did it take another five months for the final report to come out?

HEDMAN: I never told the mayor to disregard that memo. In fact, if you look at Appendix 3 to my testimony, you’ll see what actually occurred during the conversation I had with the mayor…

WALBERG: There’s dispute on that coming across the board.

HEDMAN: Yes, I wrote the email and I know what I said and if we could take the time to take a moment to talk about that, I think we could clear that up.

WALBERG: I’m not sure we could. Mr. Del Toral certainly has a different recollection of it, as well as responses to him. And I had the opportunity to talk with him in Flint this Saturday, as well. Very different from what we are being told here, and that’s the concern.”

It’s troubling that Hedman offers to further explain an aspect of this case, which is causing a considerable amount of controversy, more thoroughly and one of the men whose job is to find the truth in what has happened refuses to even consider doing so.

flint epa u.s. house hearing
U.S. House Reps. Jason Chaffetz (left) and Tim Walberg (right).

With Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg claiming to have “had the opportunity to meet with [Del Toral] in Flint” on March 12, it must have come as a surprise when an email released on March 17 and dated March 16 — the day after Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg tried throwing Susan Hedman to the wolves — showed that neither Jason Chaffetz or Tim Walberg had, in fact, had a conversation with Miguel Del Toral on Saturday, March 12 in Flint and that Del Toral had not experienced retaliation from EPA officials for the July 2015 memo.

Even more distressing for the torch- and pitchfork-waving Republicans, the email was sent to the Acting Regional Administrator Robert Kaplan, who took over for Susan Hedman following her resignation, from none other than Miguel Del Toral.

Robert Kaplan had sent an email to Miguel Del Toral earlier in the day on March 16, informing the whistleblower that he had relayed information from Del Toral concerning claims made by House Republicans during the hearing on March 15.

“Thanks for calling this morning. I relayed the info about not being required to seek ethical advice and the fact that you had no contact with members of Congress this weekend (except a handshake at the open house). The Administrator can correct the record tomorrow if we have something in writing. If not, that’s fine. As always, your call.”

Del Toral replied to Kaplan, explaining the discrepancy in the claims made by Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg.

“I was never required by anyone to take ethics training because of Flint or for any other reason other than the mandatory ethics training required to be taken annually by all EPA employees. There is probably some confusion from the emails between Ann Coyle and myself where I was seeking advice from Ann, but that was something I requested.

On the meetings with congressional folks…the first I heard about my ‘meeting’ Chaffetz was via an email from Nicole Cantello who forwarded an article to me which stated I had met with him. As I told Nicole, the only time I saw him was at the open house in Flint last Saturday. I was at the corrosion control booth and he stopped by, shook my hand, we exchanged greetings, and he moved on. Same thing with Congressman Walberg. Hi and bye.”

In Miguel Del Toral’s own words, the only contact he had with Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg on Saturday, March 12 at the open house in Flint consisted of salutations, handshakes, “hi and bye.” Del Toral’s email to Kaplan shows that Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg did not meet with Del Toral in any meaningful way and that their claims of Del Toral being subject to retaliation from the EPA were false.

In short, U.S. House Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Tim Walberg of Michigan conjured a narrative for the purposes of putting former EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, as well as the EPA itself, in the firing line where they were poised to pull their respective triggers. The problem is that their guns and bullets were composed of false claims.

Perhaps Reps. Chaffetz and Walberg could benefit from some ethics training themselves.

[H/T Eclectablog]

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