If Bernie Sanders & Michael Moore want to take Flint's water problem to the top, here's where they should start

**Written by Doug Powers

At Sunday night's Dem debate, Hillary Clinton expressed "outrage" about Flint, Michigan's water for which President Obama has declared an emergency. Additionally, Bernie Sanders called on Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder to resign, and Michael Moore wants the governor arrested (apparently local officials in Dem-controlled cities are completely immune to criticism problems in their own districts). 

But hey, if we're gonna do this, let's do it right and follow the accountability trail all the way to the top!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top Midwest official said her department knew as early as April about the lack of corrosion controls in Flint’s water supply — a situation that likely put residents at risk for lead contamination — but said her hands were tied in bringing the information to the public.

Starting with inquiries made in February, the federal agency battled Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality behind the scenes for at least six months over whether Flint needed to use chemical treatments to keep lead lines and plumbing connections from leaching into drinking water. The EPA did not publicize its concern that Flint residents’ health was jeopardizedby the state’s insistence that such controls were not required by law.

Instead of moving quickly to verify the concerns or take preventative measures, federal officials opted to prod the DEQ to act, EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman told The Detroit News this week. Hedman said she sought a legal opinion on whether the EPA could force action, but it wasn’t completed until November.

In fairness to the EPA, at the time they might have been preoccupied with telling the people along the Animas River that the water was going to be just fine.

We'll now await Sanders, Moore, et al to call for the resignation and/or arrest of the head of the EPA (or higher-ups) -- after which progs will demand that an even bigger government be created to solve the problems blamed on big government. If only irony was safe to drink.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe