Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996
188-565: The Safe Drinking Water Act ( SDWA ) is the primary federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states , localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards. The SDWA applies to every public water system (PWS) in
376-657: A class action lawsuit related to the crisis, Snyder and the MDEQ were served subpoenas for the release of additional emails dating back to the beginning of 2011. Emails highlighted by Progress Michigan in January 2016 indicate that Michigan state officials were trucking in bottled water to some of their own employees stationed in Flint as early as January 2015 in regards to the unsafe levels of trihalomethanes. On January 22, 2016, two MDEQ employees (Liane Shekter Smith, former chief of
564-401: A jury , and aggressive pretrial "law and motion" practice designed to result in a pretrial disposition (that is, summary judgment ) or a settlement. U.S. courts pioneered the concept of the opt-out class action , by which the burden falls on class members to notify the court that they do not wish to be bound by the judgment, as opposed to opt-in class actions, where class members must join into
752-535: A waterborne disease , were reported in Genesee County from June 2014 – November 2015, resulting in 12 deaths (two more people later died from the disease). Although the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said that there is no evidence of a clear link between the spike in cases and the water system change, Edwards stated the contaminated Flint water could be linked to
940-511: A "rogue employee" for his whistle-blowing efforts. Marc Edwards, who investigated the lead contamination, wrote that Del Toral had made a "heroic effort" that was stymied by the EPA and MDEQ spending months "wrangling over jurisdiction, technicalities and legalities". In an interview with the Detroit News published on January 12, 2016, Hedman said that "the recommendation to DEQ (regarding
1128-664: A 90th percentile lead reading of 20 ppb, which exceeds the federal action level. Roughly 93 percent of samples from the third round of expanded state sentinel site testing showed results below the lead action level. Edwards called the results the "beginning of the end" of the public health disaster associated with the water crisis. On December 2, 2016, Edwards said lead was not detected in 57 percent of 154 Flint homes tested in November 2016 – up from 44 percent in July 2016. He also advised people to continue using filters. On January 24, 2017,
1316-548: A British classic or two, a famous old case, or a nod to Blackstone ; but current British law almost never gets any mention." Foreign law has never been cited as binding precedent, but as a reflection of the shared values of Anglo-American civilization or even Western civilization in general. Federal law originates with the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to enact statutes for certain limited purposes like regulating interstate commerce . The United States Code
1504-424: A July 2015 email, Dennis Muchmore (Snyder's chief of staff ) wrote to a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) official, "I'm frustrated by the water issue in Flint. I really don't think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state we're just not sympathizing with their plight)." In
1692-455: A breach of general obligations imposed by law and not by contract. This broad family of civil wrongs involves interference "with person, property, reputation, or commercial or social advantage." Flint water crisis The Flint water crisis is a public health crisis that started in 2014 after the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan , was contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria. In April 2014, during
1880-452: A court as persuasive authority as to how a particular statute or regulation may be interpreted (known as Skidmore deference), but are not entitled to Chevron deference. Unlike the situation with the states, there is no plenary reception statute at the federal level that continued the common law and thereby granted federal courts the power to formulate legal precedent like their English predecessors. Federal courts are solely creatures of
2068-419: A court order, EPA stated that it will publish a proposed standard for perchlorate in 2025, and issue a final rule in 2027. Public water systems are required to regularly monitor their water for contaminants. Water samples must be analyzed using EPA-approved testing methods, by laboratories that are certified by EPA or a state agency. A PWS must notify its customers when it violates drinking water regulations or
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#17327935840442256-433: A final regulation for aircraft public water systems in 2009. The regulation requires air carriers operating in the U.S. to conduct coliform sampling, management practices, corrective action, public notification, operator training, and reporting and recordkeeping. An airline with a non-complying aircraft must restrict public access to the on-board water system for a specified period. The SDWA requires each state to delineate
2444-581: A final version is published in the Federal Register. The regulations are codified and incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) which is published once a year on a rolling schedule. Besides regulations formally promulgated under the APA, federal agencies also frequently promulgate an enormous amount of forms, manuals, policy statements, letters, and rulings. These documents may be considered by
2632-603: A financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint's water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River ) to the Flint River . Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into
2820-734: A five-member Flint Water Advisory Task Force, consisting of Ken Sikkema of Public Sector Consultants and Chris Kolb of the Michigan Environmental Council (co-chairs) and Matthew Davis of the University of Michigan Health System , Eric Rothstein of the Galardi Rothstein Group and Lawrence Reynolds of Mott Children's Health Center in Flint. On December 29, 2015, the Task Force released its preliminary report, saying that MDEQ bore ultimate blame for
3008-597: A handful of areas like insurance , Congress has enacted laws expressly refusing to regulate them as long as the states have laws regulating them (see, e.g., the McCarran–Ferguson Act ). After the president signs a bill into law (or Congress enacts it over the president's veto), it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) where it
3196-702: A lawsuit in 2016 to accelerate EPA's regulatory process on perchlorate. Following a consent decree issued by a federal district court in New York, EPA published a proposed rule on June 26, 2019, with a proposed MCL of 0.056 mg/L. In 2020 EPA announced that it was withdrawing its 2019 proposal and its 2011 regulatory determination, stating that it had taken "proactive steps" with state and local governments to address perchlorate contamination. In September 2020 NRDC filed suit against EPA for its failure to regulate perchlorate, and stated that 26 million people may be affected by perchlorate in their drinking water. Following
3384-438: A legislative branch which enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations pursuant to statutory authorization, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances. They retain plenary power to make laws covering anything not preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by
3572-426: A lesser form of judicial deference known as Skidmore deference . Many lawsuits turn on the meaning of a federal statute or regulation, and judicial interpretations of such meaning carry legal force under the principle of stare decisis . During the 18th and 19th centuries, federal law traditionally focused on areas where there was an express grant of power to the federal government in the federal Constitution, like
3760-409: A matter of fundamental fairness, and second, because in the absence of case law, it would be completely unworkable for every minor issue in every legal case to be briefed, argued, and decided from first principles (such as relevant statutes, constitutional provisions, and underlying public policies), which in turn would create hopeless inefficiency, instability, and unpredictability, and thereby undermine
3948-478: A medical issue and others categorizing the same offense as a serious felony . The law of criminal procedure in the United States consists of a massive overlay of federal constitutional case law interwoven with the federal and state statutes that actually provide the foundation for the creation and operation of law enforcement agencies and prison systems as well as the proceedings in criminal trials. Due to
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#17327935840444136-521: A number of civil law innovations. In the United States, the law is derived from five sources: constitutional law , statutory law , treaties, administrative regulations , and the common law (which includes case law). If Congress enacts a statute that conflicts with the Constitution, state or federal courts may rule that law to be unconstitutional and declare it invalid. Notably, a statute does not automatically disappear merely because it has been found unconstitutional; it may, however, be deleted by
4324-403: A regulation requiring drinking water utilities to conduct monitoring for 29 PFAS compounds and lithium. The data are to be collected during 2023 to 2025. EPA will pay for the monitoring costs for small drinking water systems (those serving a population of 10,000 or fewer). The agency may use the monitoring data to develop additional regulations. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed
4512-410: A research associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a national expert on the disease. "The (laboratory) results show that strains (of the bacteria) were throughout the water system." Virginia Tech researcher Amy Pruden published a study that found Legionella levels up to 1,000 times higher than normal tap water in Flint, and said finding a patient whose clinical isolates—or bacteria—matched
4700-479: A revision and vetting process. In the interim, the EPA and MDEQ engaged in a dispute on how to interpret the Lead and Copper Rule. According to EPA administrator Susan Hedman, the EPA pushed to immediately implement corrosion controls in the interests of public health , while MDEQ sought to delay a decision on corrosion control until two six-month periods of sampling had been completed. Meanwhile, Wurfel called Del Toral
4888-514: A separate email sent on July 22, 2015, MDHHS local health services director Mark Miller wrote to colleagues that it "Sounds like the issue is old lead service lines." These emails were obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act by Virginia Tech researchers studying the crisis and were released to the public in the first week of January 2016. In October 2015, it was reported that the city government's data on lead water lines in
5076-649: A small number of important British statutes in effect at the time of the Revolution have been independently reenacted by U.S. states. Two examples are the Statute of Frauds (still widely known in the U.S. by that name) and the Statute of 13 Elizabeth (the ancestor of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act). Such English statutes are still regularly cited in contemporary American cases interpreting their modern American descendants. Despite
5264-475: A spike in trihalomethanes , unsafe chlorine byproducts, in one of eight water locations. Long-term exposure to these chemicals has been linked to cancer and other diseases. Following this test, the MDEQ placed Flint on violation notice but did not reveal the information to residents until January 2015. The employees of the Flint Public Library declared the water undrinkable after noticing that it
5452-582: A state does not take appropriate enforcement action then EPA must issue an order requiring a violator to comply with the requirements, or the agency will initiate a civil enforcement action. The SDWA directly provides for citizen civil actions. Congress amended the SDWA in 2005 to exclude hydraulic fracturing , an industrial process for recovering oil and natural gas , from coverage under the UIC program, except where diesel fuels are used. This exclusion has been called
5640-635: A state of emergency in Genesee County , of which Flint is the major population center. Shortly thereafter, President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security . Between 6,000 to 14,000 children were exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead. Children are particularly at risk from
5828-487: A study published in the journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and mBio concluded that the 2014–2015 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Flint was caused by low levels of chlorine which, at higher levels, would have made it difficult for bacteria to replicate. Because chlorine reacts with heavy metals like lead and iron, high levels of both in Flint's water may have been responsible for
Safe Drinking Water Act - Misplaced Pages Continue
6016-529: A subsequent statute. Many federal and state statutes have remained on the books for decades after they were ruled to be unconstitutional. However, under the principle of stare decisis , a lower court that enforces an unconstitutional statute will be reversed by the Supreme Court. Conversely, any court that refuses to enforce a constitutional statute will risk reversal by the Supreme Court. The United States and most Commonwealth countries are heirs to
6204-581: A supervisor at the health department said that the Flint water treatment plant had not responded in months to "multiple written and verbal requests" for information. In January 2015, following a breakdown in communication between the city and the county on the Legionnaires' investigation, the county filed a FOIA request with the city, seeking "specific water testing locations and laboratory results ... for coliform , E-coli , heterotrophic bacteria and trihalomethanes " and other information. In April 2015,
6392-501: A team from Virginia Tech arrived in Flint. Led by Marc Edwards, an expert on municipal water quality, the team came to perform lead level testing on the Flint water supply, working under a National Science Foundation grant. Edwards had been contacted by Flint resident LeeAnne Walters, whose family had extreme health problems almost immediately following the switch to the Flint River water. Walters had attempted to act locally, but she
6580-538: A team of nine full-time investigators. At a media roundtable in February 2016, Flood said that the investigation could result in involuntary manslaughter charges, if there was gross negligence leading to a death. Critics have questioned the objectivity of the investigation. In his annual State of the State address on January 19, 2016, Snyder announced that he would release all of his emails from 2014 and 2015 regarding
6768-486: A testing kit and conduct sampling on their own (non-sentinel sites). On September 24, 2015, Hurley Medical Center in Flint released a study led by Mona Hanna-Attisha , the program director for pediatric residency at Hurley Children's Hospital, confirming that the proportion of infants and children with elevated levels of lead in their blood had nearly doubled since the city switched from the Detroit water system to using
6956-414: A total of 1,473 children "younger than 5 years" whose address could be mapped to a site inside Flint in two pre/post 8.5 month periods. The 2018 study, led by Hernán F. Gómez, involved 15,817 children "aged ≤ 5 years" over the 11-year period 2006–2016. Data for 2012–2016 were available from center's Epic EMR system ; records for earlier years were scrounged from legacy systems. The results show an increase in
7144-716: A violation of the UIC Program and the State does not or cannot act, the agency must issue an administrative order or to file a civil action to require compliance. A citizen can file a petition for judicial review of EPA final actions. A citizen may also file against any violator of the SDWA or against EPA for failure to take action under the SDWA which is not discretionary. EPA emergency administrative orders are also final actions subject to judicial review. In 2004, EPA tested drinking water quality on commercial aircraft and found that 15 percent of tested aircraft water systems tested positive for total coliform bacteria . EPA published
7332-400: A willingness to reconsider others. And that willingness could itself threaten to substitute disruption, confusion, and uncertainty for necessary legal stability. We have not found here any factors that might overcome these considerations. It is now sometimes possible, over time, for a line of precedents to drift from the express language of any underlying statutory or constitutional texts until
7520-427: A year or less in jail and a substantial fine. To simplify the prosecution of traffic violations and other relatively minor crimes, some states have added a third level, infractions . These may result in fines and sometimes the loss of one's driver's license, but no jail time. On average, only three percent of criminal cases are resolved by jury trial; 97 percent are terminated either by plea bargaining or dismissal of
7708-520: A year. The task force found that "the decision not to require CCT, made at the direction of the MDEQ, led directly to the contamination of the Flint water system". The Flint Water Advisory Task Force's final report, released March 21, 2016, found the MDEQ, MDHHS, Governor's office, and the state-appointed emergency managers "fundamentally accountable" for the crisis, saying the people of Flint were "needlessly and tragically" exposed to toxic levels of lead and other hazards. The task force's findings prompted
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7896-414: A younger average age (1.86 years) compared to areas inside Flint (2.04–2.09 years). Socioeconomic status also represented a meaningful difference with children inside of Flint being more disadvantaged than those children who lived outside of Flint. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that elevated lead levels in children's blood was correlated with elevated lead levels in Flint water. Because lead screening
8084-441: Is no general federal common law . Although federal courts can create federal common law in the form of case law, such law must be linked one way or another to the interpretation of a particular federal constitutional provision, statute, or regulation (which was either enacted as part of the Constitution or pursuant to constitutional authority). Federal courts lack the plenary power possessed by state courts to simply make up law, which
8272-446: Is a sequence of events related to the Flint water crisis. Some water service lines in Flint were installed between 1901 and 1920. As with many other municipalities at the time, all of the service lines from the cast iron water mains to end users' homes were constructed of lead, because it was relatively inexpensive and easy to work. Lead from the pipes can leach into the water, especially if certain contaminants are present. However,
8460-485: Is a valid exercise of Congress' authority. The 1974 SDWA authorized EPA to regulate injection wells in order to protect underground sources of drinking water. The UIC permit system is organized into six classes of wells. EPA has granted UIC primacy enforcement authority to 34 states for Class I, II, III, IV and V wells. Seven additional states and two tribes have been granted primacy authority for Class II wells only. EPA manages enforcement of Class VI wells directly. If
8648-435: Is an accepted version of this page The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law , of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution , which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as various civil liberties . The Constitution sets out the boundaries of federal law, which consists of Acts of Congress , treaties ratified by
8836-526: Is assigned a law number, and prepared for publication as a slip law . Public laws, but not private laws, are also given legal statutory citation by the OFR. At the end of each session of Congress, the slip laws are compiled into bound volumes called the United States Statutes at Large , and they are known as session laws . The Statutes at Large present a chronological arrangement of the laws in
9024-409: Is itself contaminated. Rather, they are concerned with the result of "injection activity." A permit applicant must show that the proposed activity will not allow "the movement of fluid containing [a] contaminant." Id. Injections of clean water into the ground can cause the movement of contaminants into an aquifer. For example, contaminants may dissolve into clean water as the injected water passes through
9212-557: Is no "imminent threat to public health", as the nature of the issue was "communicated poorly". In March 2015, Flint voted to switch back to the DWSD. This vote was motivated by residential complaints and recommendations from Veolia North America to prevent the city from further violating the Safe Drinking Water Act . Ambrose disagreed with the reintroduction of the Detroit water source. Ambrose argued, "Flint water today
9400-529: Is not completed for all children, such data may be skewed toward higher-risk children and thus overestimate lead exposure, especially in non–high-risk areas. Hanna-Attisha and Flint resident LeeAnne Walters were awarded PEN America's Freedom of Expression Courage Award on May 16, 2016. In June 2018 the Journal of Pediatrics published a much expanded study of blood lead levels measured at Hurley Medical Center. The original 2015 study of Hurley records involved
9588-462: Is not repugnant to domestic law or indigenous conditions. Some reception statutes impose a specific cutoff date for reception, such as the date of a colony's founding, while others are deliberately vague. Thus, contemporary U.S. courts often cite pre-Revolution cases when discussing the evolution of an ancient judge-made common law principle into its modern form, such as the heightened duty of care traditionally imposed upon common carriers . Second,
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#17327935840449776-601: Is often found in buildings constructed in the 1980s and earlier. From 2011 to 2015, Governor Snyder appointed four emergency managers to control Flint's finances. After 2015, the city continued to receive financial guidance under the lesser oversight of a Receivership Transition Advisory Board . In 2011, Genesee County initiated the switch to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA); the KWA would supply water to both Genesee County and Flint. On March 25, 2013,
9964-465: Is ongoing. However, the EPA's Miguel Del Toral did excellent work in trying to expose this disaster. Anyone who read his memo and failed to act should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law." Del Toral later told The Flint Journal , "I was stunned when I found out they did not have corrosion control in place. In my head, I didn't believe that. I thought: That can't be true ... that's so basic." He also confirmed that unfiltered Flint water
10152-423: Is permitted in some states but not others. Three strikes laws in certain states impose harsh penalties on repeat offenders. Some states distinguish between two levels: felonies and misdemeanors (minor crimes). Generally, most felony convictions result in lengthy prison sentences as well as subsequent probation , large fines , and orders to pay restitution directly to victims; while misdemeanors may lead to
10340-437: Is providing drinking water that may pose a health risk. Such notifications are provided either immediately, as soon as possible (but within 30 days of the violation) or annually, depending on the health risk associated with the violation. Community water systems—those systems that serve the same people throughout the year—must provide an annual "Consumer Confidence Report" to customers. The report identifies contaminants, if any, in
10528-451: Is required to submit periodic monitoring reports to its primacy agency. Violations of SDWA requirements are enforced initially through a primacy agency's notification to the PWS, and if necessary following up with formal orders and fines. An underground source of drinking water (USDW) means an aquifer with sufficient quality and quantity of ground water to supply a public water system now or in
10716-469: Is safe by all Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality standards, and the city is working daily to improve its quality." In August 2015, it was found that local organizations observed that high concentrations of chloride caused the water to be orange and that the water contained high levels of lead. The lead levels were caused by the omission of orthophosphate treatments, which led to excessive pipe corrosion. Consequently,
10904-485: Is safe. Some DEQ actions lacked common sense and that resulted in this terrible tragedy in Flint. I look forward to the results of the investigation to ensure these mistakes don't happen again." Smith was fired on February 5, 2016. On January 25, 2016, the Genesee County Commission approved a request from Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney David Leyton for $ 25,000 to conduct an investigation into
11092-468: Is still unsafe to drink, and did not know when that would change. On January 15, 2016, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that his office would open an investigation into the crisis, saying the situation in Flint "is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with even the most basic parts of daily life". To oversee his office's probe, Schuette appointed Todd Flood as special prosecutor and Andrew Arena as chief investigator, who led
11280-411: Is that during the 11-year period, the "crisis years" are actually the third and fourth lowest years for lead blood levels. That is, the upward blip during the water switch sits on a rapid declining curve (presumably because of the many lead mitigation projects that have been initiated nationally) so that blood lead levels during the crisis are actually lower than those two years earlier. In September 2015
11468-702: Is the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule , promulgated in 2006, requiring public water systems to employ a Treatment Technique to control Cryptosporidium and other pathogens. EPA has issued standards for chlorine , monochloramine and chlorine dioxide . EPA has issued standards for bromate , chlorite , haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes . EPA has issued standards for antimony , arsenic , asbestos , barium , beryllium , cadmium , chromium , copper , cyanide , fluoride , lead , mercury , nitrate , nitrite , selenium and thallium . The 1986 amendments require EPA to set standards limiting
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#173279358404411656-626: Is the maximum amount of lead allowed in water per the Safe Drinking Water Act Lead and Copper Rule, the average proportion of Flint children with elevated blood-lead levels rose from 4% to 10.6%. Michigan Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program data agree an increase occurred, suggesting an increase from 2.2% of children (May 2013 – April 2014) to 3.0% (May 2014 – April 2015). Hanna-Attisha's data were taken from hospital laboratory records for children less than five years old. Hanna-Attisha's sample numbers were large, both for
11844-460: Is the most prominent of the small number of remaining equity courts. Thirty-five states have adopted rules of civil procedure modeled after the FRCP (including rule numbers). However, in doing so, they had to make some modifications to account for the fact that state courts have broad general jurisdiction while federal courts have relatively limited jurisdiction. New York, Illinois, and California are
12032-571: Is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes. Many statutes give executive branch agencies the power to create regulations , which are published in the Federal Register and codified into the Code of Federal Regulations . From 1984 to 2024, regulations generally also carried the force of law under the Chevron doctrine , but are now subject only to
12220-540: Is usually expressed in the form of various legal rights and duties). (The remainder of this article requires the reader to be already familiar with the contents of the separate article on state law .) Criminal law involves the prosecution by the state of wrongful acts which are considered to be so serious that they are a breach of the sovereign's peace (and cannot be deterred or remedied by mere lawsuits between private parties). Generally, crimes can result in incarceration , but torts (see below) cannot. The majority of
12408-620: The California constitutional convention was already complaining: "Now, when we require them to state the reasons for a decision, we do not mean they shall write a hundred pages of detail. We [do] not mean that they shall include the small cases, and impose on the country all this fine judicial literature, for the Lord knows we have got enough of that already." Today, in the words of Stanford law professor Lawrence M. Friedman : "American cases rarely cite foreign materials. Courts occasionally cite
12596-495: The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) every five years. EPA is required to decide whether to regulate at least five or more listed contaminants. EPA uses this list to prioritize research and data collection efforts, which support the regulatory determination process. As of 2024, EPA has developed five CCLs: EPA requested public comment on its draft of the 6th CCL in 2023. On December 27, 2021 EPA published
12784-452: The Erie doctrine is that federal courts cannot dictate the content of state law when there is no federal issue (and thus no federal supremacy issue) in a case. When hearing claims under state law pursuant to diversity jurisdiction , federal trial courts must apply the statutory and decisional law of the state in which they sit, as if they were a court of that state, even if they believe that
12972-486: The Federal Arbitration Act (which has been interpreted to cover all contracts arising under federal or state law), arbitration clauses are generally enforceable unless the party resisting arbitration can show unconscionability or fraud or something else which undermines the entire contract. Tort law generally covers any civil action between private parties arising from wrongful acts that amount to
13160-562: The Flint, Michigan water crisis , EPA published revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule on January 15, 2021 addressing testing, pipe replacement and related issues. The rule mandates additional requirements for sampling tap water, corrosion control, public outreach and testing water in schools. Several citizen and environmental groups immediately filed lawsuits challenging the rule. Following the lawsuit, EPA issued its final "Lead and Copper Rule Improvements" regulation on October 8, 2024, which requires
13348-573: The Great Lakes Water Authority . The $ 12 million project will allow Flint to remain a customer of the GLWA until at least 2019. In January 2015, a public meeting was held, where citizens complained about the "bad water". Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water for 18 months before a Flint physician found elevated blood lead levels in the children of Flint. During that time period, MDEQ had insisted
13536-484: The Judiciary Acts ), and the beginning of regular verbatim publication of U.S. appellate decisions by West Publishing . The rule gradually developed, case-by-case, as an extension of the judiciary's public policy of effective judicial administration (that is, in order to efficiently exercise the judicial power). The rule of binding precedent is generally justified today as a matter of public policy, first, as
13724-478: The Senate , regulations promulgated by the executive branch , and case law originating from the federal judiciary . The United States Code is the official compilation and codification of general and permanent federal statutory law. The Constitution provides that it, as well as federal laws and treaties that are made pursuant to it, preempt conflicting state and territorial laws in the 50 U.S. states and in
13912-951: The Superfund law as "Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements" in cleanups of contaminated sites on the National Priorities List . For some contaminants, EPA establishes a Treatment Technique (TT) instead of an MCL. TTs are enforceable procedures that drinking water systems must follow in treating their water for a contaminant. Federal drinking water standards are organized into six groups: EPA has issued standards for Cryptosporidium , Giardia lamblia , Legionella , coliform bacteria and enteric viruses . EPA also requires two microorganism-related tests to indicate water quality: plate count and turbidity . The agency issued its initial Surface Water Treatment Rule in 1989, to address contamination from viruses, bacteria and Giardia lamblia. The most recent amendment
14100-538: The military , money , foreign relations (especially international treaties), tariffs , intellectual property (specifically patents and copyrights ), and mail . Since the start of the 20th century, broad interpretations of the Commerce and Spending Clauses of the Constitution have enabled federal law to expand into areas like aviation , telecommunications , railroads , pharmaceuticals , antitrust , and trademarks . In some areas, like aviation and railroads,
14288-451: The rule of law . The contemporary form of the rule is descended from Justice Louis Brandeis 's "landmark dissent in 1932's Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co .", which "catalogued the Court's actual overruling practices in such a powerful manner that his attendant stare decisis analysis immediately assumed canonical authority." Here is a typical exposition of how public policy supports
14476-421: The water supply , exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels. A pair of scientific studies confirmed that lead contamination was present in the water supply. The city switched back to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015. It later signed a 30-year contract with the new Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) on November 22, 2017. On January 5, 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared
14664-533: The "Halliburton Loophole". Halliburton is the world's largest provider of hydraulic fracturing services. The measure was a response to a recommendation from the Energy Task Force , chaired by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001. (Cheney had been Chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.) The act requires states to establish wellhead protection programs to protect underground sources of drinking water. Wellhead protection programs must specify
14852-565: The $ 12 million for Flint to return to Lake Huron water. The city of Flint would pay $ 2 million, and the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation would pay $ 4 million. Jim Ananich , the State Senator representing Flint, demanded that the state refund the $ 2 million to the city. Ananich also requested further emergency funding from the state and long-term funding to address the effects of
15040-477: The $ 150,000 needed for the team to recover its costs. On January 27, the city of Flint retained Edwards to monitor the city's water testing efforts. On March 1, 2016, the Virginia Tech team was given $ 80,000 from an EPA grant to re-test the lead levels in 271 Flint homes. On August 11, 2016, Kelsey Pieper, a member of Edwards' research team, said 45 percent of residents that collected samples in July for
15228-447: The 1893 Interstate Quarantine Act. As such the standards were directly applicable only to interstate common carriers such as railroads. For local drinking water utilities, these standards were basically recommendations and not enforceable requirements. However, many municipal utlities began to voluntarily adopt the standards. Improvements in chemical testing methods in the 1970s, particularly for synthetic organic chemicals, allowed for
15416-461: The Constitution. Indeed, states may grant their citizens broader rights than the federal Constitution as long as they do not infringe on any federal constitutional rights. Thus U.S. law (especially the actual "living law" of contract , tort , property , probate , criminal and family law , experienced by citizens on a day-to-day basis) consists primarily of state law , which, while sometimes harmonized, can and does vary greatly from one state to
15604-408: The DWSD delivered its one-year termination notice after Flint rejected their last offer. The DWSD expected that Flint would reimburse the investments for the water system that benefited regional customers. Flint and Genesee County rejected such responsibility but indicated their willingness to purchase pipelines. In April 2014, to save about $ 5 million in two years, Flint started treating water from
15792-557: The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) negotiated with Flint officials by offering to restructure water payments. Flint declined, preferring to use KWA. On April 1, 2013, DWSD demanded that the state deny Flint's request, as it would start a water war , which would hurt DWSD. Drain Commissioner Wright of Genesee County accused the DWSD of media negotiation and then replied, "It would be unprecedented for
15980-589: The EPA Administrator broad power to protect public water systems and underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). This guidance encourages more widespread use of the EPA's emergency powers. This emergency power is granted when the Administrator receives "information that a contaminant which is present in or likely to enter a public water system or an underground source of drinking water ... which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to
16168-481: The EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, and the Postal Inspection Service on the investigation. The EPA "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" and "did not publicize its concern that Flint residents' health
16356-444: The February 2016 issue of American Journal of Public Health . Hanna-Attisha's research found that the average proportion of Flint children with elevated blood-lead levels (above five micrograms per deciliter, or 5 × 10 grams per 100 milliliters of blood) rose from 2.4% (2013, before the change in water source) to 4.9% (2015, after the change in water source). In areas where water lead levels were considered high at ≥ 15 ppb, which
16544-417: The Flint River as its water source. Using hospital records, Hanna-Attisha found that a steep rise in blood-lead levels corresponded to the city's switch in water sources. The study was initially dismissed by MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel, who repeated a familiar refrain: "Repeated testing indicated the water tested within acceptable levels." Later, Wurfel apologized to Hanna-Attisha. The team's study appears in
16732-412: The Flint River instead of purchasing Lake Huron water from Detroit. Previously, the Flint River was the backup water source. In June 2014, Flint's Emergency Manager Darnell Earley finalized the sale of a nine-mile (14 km) section of water pipeline to Genesee County for $ 3.9 million. This pipeline fed DWSD water into the county, and after the KWA pipeline was active, would service the eastern part of
16920-415: The Flint water crisis. The task force wrote that the MDEQ's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance adopted a "minimalist technical compliance approach" to water safety, which was "unacceptable and simply insufficient to the task of public protection". The task force also found that "Throughout 2015, as the public raised concerns and as independent studies and testing were conducted and brought to
17108-532: The Flint water treatment plant met to discuss the county's "concerns regarding the increase in Legionella cases and possible association with the municipal water system." By early October 2014, officials at MDEQ were aware of a possible link between the water in Flint and the Legionnaires' outbreak, but the public was never informed, and the agency gave assurances about water safety in public statements and at public forums. An internal email on January 27, 2015, from
17296-490: The Legionella antigen." The family of one of the people who died of Legionnaires filed a $ 100 million lawsuit against McLaren. The Flint Journal obtained documents via the Michigan Freedom of Information Act on the Legionnaires' outbreak and published an article on them on January 16, 2016. The documents indicated that on October 17, 2014, employees of the Genesee County Health Department and
17484-530: The MDEQ reported that more than 96 percent of water samples in Flint residencies were below the EPA lead threshold of 15 ppb. On March 15, 2017, the Genesee County Water and Waste Services Advisory Board voted to construct a new pipeline; it would be a 7-mile (11 km), 42-inch (110 cm) connector to the KWA pipeline. The pipeline would allow the treatment of raw Lake Huron water, so the city of Flint could continue to buy pre-treated water from
17672-410: The MDEQ reported their May 2017 testing showed 90 percent of Tier I samples at or below 6 ppb of lead with 93.1 percent of the samples at or below 15 ppb. On April 23, 2019, Status Coup released the documentary Flushing Flint which claimed that the water testing conducted by MDEQ was falsified by MDEQ staff taking water samples after flushing running water from taps for several minutes before taking
17860-487: The MDEQ told Mayor Weaver that the lead content of Flint water had fallen below the federal limit. The 90th percentile of lead concentrations in Flint was 12 ppb from July 2016 through December 2016—below the "action level" of 15 ppb. It was 20 ppb in the prior six-month period. On the next day, Flint spokeswoman Kristin Moore said that anywhere from 18,000 to 28,000 homes in the city still needed service lines replaced, and that
18048-481: The McLaren water sample without having been hospitalized there "suggests that same strain may have been elsewhere." On March 10, 2017, affidavits filed by experts in court supported the conclusion that Flint water was connected to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak. Janet Stout wrote in an affidavit: "(It) is my opinion to a reasonable degree of probability that the source water change and the subsequent management of
18236-465: The U.S. has fallen dramatically since the 1980s, but no blood-lead level is considered completely safe. Children under age five, and especially infants and unborn children, bear the greatest risk of deleterious and irreversible health outcomes. From 2012 to 2016, the CDC set a "reference level" of 5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL), in order to target for case management the 2.5% of young American children with
18424-427: The U.S. occupation in 2003. While the local outcry about Flint water quality was growing in early 2015, Flint water officials filed papers with state regulators purporting to show that "tests at Flint's water treatment plant had detected no lead and testing in homes had registered lead at acceptable levels." The documents falsely claim that the city had tested tap water from homes with lead service lines, and therefore
18612-595: The US who believe they were fired or suffered another adverse action related to enforcement of this law have 30 days to file a written complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration . Prior to the SDWA there were few national enforceable requirements for drinking water. In 1914 the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) published a set of drinking water standards, pursuant to existing federal authority to regulate interstate commerce , and in response to
18800-466: The United Kingdom lacked a coherent court hierarchy prior to the end of the 19th century. Furthermore, English judges in the eighteenth century subscribed to now-obsolete natural law theories of law, by which law was believed to have an existence independent of what individual judges said. Judges saw themselves as merely declaring the law which had always theoretically existed, and not as making
18988-1057: The United States. There are currently over 148,000 public water systems providing water to almost all Americans at some time in their lives. The Act does not cover private wells (in 2020, 13% of US households were served by private wells). The SDWA does not apply to bottled water . Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act . The SDWA requires EPA to establish National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) for contaminants that may cause adverse public health effects. The regulations include both mandatory requirements ( Maximum Contaminant Levels , or MCLs; and Treatment Techniques) and nonenforceable health goals (Maximum Contaminant Level Goals, or MCLGs) for each included contaminant. As of 2019 EPA has issued 88 standards for microorganisms, chemicals and radionuclides . MCLs have additional significance because they can be used under
19176-545: The attention of MDEQ, the agency's response was often one of aggressive dismissal, belittlement, and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved. We find both the tone and substance of many MDEQ public statements to be completely unacceptable." The task force also found that MDEQ has failed to follow the federal Lead and Copper Rule. That rule requires "optimized corrosion control treatment", but MDEQ staff instructed city of Flint water treatment staff that corrosion control treatment (CCT) would not be necessary for
19364-406: The average American citizen is subject to the rules and regulations of several dozen different agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, depending upon one's current location and behavior. American lawyers draw a fundamental distinction between procedural law (which controls the procedure by which legal rights and duties are vindicated) and substantive law (the actual substance of law, which
19552-442: The boundaries of areas that public water systems use for their sources of drinking water—both surface and underground sources. Within each source area the origins of regulated contaminants are identified in order to determine the susceptibility of the public water systems. This information can help communities understand the risks to their sources of drinking water. The SDWA includes a whistleblower protection provision. Employees in
19740-405: The charges. For public welfare offenses where the state is punishing merely risky (as opposed to injurious) behavior, there is significant diversity across the various states. For example, punishments for drunk driving varied greatly prior to 1990. State laws dealing with drug crimes still vary widely, with some states treating possession of small amounts of drugs as a misdemeanor offense or as
19928-446: The city and state to underestimate for months the extent of toxic lead leaching into Flint's tap water." In a report released on March 1, 2016, 37 of the 423 recently tested sentinel sites had results above the 15 ppb limit. Eight of the samples exceeded 100 ppb. A 2017 study showed that significantly more samples exceeded the 15 ppb limit in the voluntary or homeowner-driven sampling program whereby concerned citizens decided to acquire
20116-480: The city was planning to complete 6,000 homes per year through 2019. On March 7, 2017, MDEQ reported that Flint water sampled in February registered below the federal threshold for lead with 90 percent of samples at or below 8 ppb. February's water tests marked the seventh straight month in which city water was below the action level. February's testing also showed 95.8 percent of samples taken at homes at risk of high lead levels were at or below 15 ppb. On June 9, 2017,
20304-404: The city was stored on 45,000 index cards (some dating back a century) located in filing cabinets in Flint's public utility building. The Department of Public Works said that it was trying to transition the data into an electronic spreadsheet program, but as of October 1, 2015, only about 25% of the index card information had been digitized . On October 21, 2015, Snyder announced the creation of
20492-473: The class. Another unique feature is the so-called American Rule under which parties generally bear their own attorneys' fees (as opposed to the English Rule of "loser pays"), though American legislators and courts have carved out numerous exceptions. Contract law covers obligations established by agreement (express or implied) between private parties. Generally, contract law in transactions involving
20680-421: The color, taste, and odor of their water. In August and September 2014, city officials detected levels of coliform bacteria , so residents were advised to boil their water. MDEQ determined that cold weather, aging pipes, and a population decline were the cause of these bacteria. According to Stephen Busch, an MDEQ district supervisor, the city took appropriate measures to limit a recurrence. General Motors (GM) made
20868-405: The common law legal tradition of English law. Certain practices traditionally allowed under English common law were expressly outlawed by the Constitution, such as bills of attainder and general search warrants. As common law courts, U.S. courts have inherited the principle of stare decisis . American judges, like common law judges elsewhere, not only apply the law, they also make the law, to
21056-453: The concentration of lead in public water systems, and defines "lead free" pipes as: EPA issued an initial lead and copper regulation in 1991. The regulation specifies a Treatment Technique rather than an MCL. Congress tightened the definition of "lead free" plumbing in a 2011 amendment to the Act. EPA published a final rule implementing the amendment on September 1, 2020. In response to
21244-479: The contamination, but even more so by the inaction of the proper authorities after being made well aware of the contamination. Edwards and his team found that at least a quarter of Flint households had levels of lead above the federal level of 15 ppb and that in some homes, lead levels were at 13,200 ppb. Edwards said, "It was the injustice of it all and that the very agencies that are paid to protect these residents from lead in water, knew or should've known after June at
21432-417: The county as well. By December 2014, the city had invested $ 4 million into its water plant. On July 1, 2014, Earley gave operational authority to Mayor Dayne Walling over two city departments, including Public Works. It was later reported that by not adding a corrosion inhibitor, Flint was going to save about $ 140 per day. After the permanent switch to the Flint River, city residents began complaining about
21620-540: The county health department contacted the CDC, and in April 2015 a CDC employee wrote in an email that the Legionnaires' outbreak was "very large, one of the largest we know of in the past decade and community-wide, and in our opinion and experience it needs a comprehensive investigation." However, MDHHS told the county health department at the time that federal assistance was not necessary. Emails obtained by Progress Michigan in February 2016 indicate Snyder's office knew about
21808-460: The courts' decisions establish doctrines that were not considered by the texts' drafters. This trend has been strongly evident in federal substantive due process and Commerce Clause decisions. Originalists and political conservatives, such as Associate Justice Antonin Scalia have criticized this trend as anti-democratic. Under the doctrine of Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938), there
21996-542: The crimes committed in the United States are prosecuted and punished at the state level. Federal criminal law focuses on areas specifically relevant to the federal government like evading payment of federal income tax, mail theft, or physical attacks on federal officials, as well as interstate crimes like drug trafficking and wire fraud. All states have somewhat similar laws in regard to "higher crimes" (or felonies ), such as murder and rape , although penalties for these crimes may vary from state to state. Capital punishment
22184-604: The crisis. By November, the settlement grew to $ 641 million. An extensive lead service pipe replacement effort has been underway since 2016. In early 2017, some officials asserted that the water quality had returned to acceptable levels, but in January 2019, residents and officials expressed doubt about the cleanliness of the water. There were an estimated 2,500 lead service pipes still in place as of April 2019. As of December 8, 2020, fewer than 500 service lines still needed to be inspected. As of July 16, 2021, 27,133 water service lines had been excavated and inspected, resulting in
22372-409: The crisis. The following day, the governor's office released 274 pages of emails. The New York Times summarized, "the documents provide a glimpse of state leaders who were at times dismissive of the concerns of residents, seemed eager to place responsibility with local government and, even as the scientific testing was hinting at a larger problem, were reluctant to acknowledge it." Later that month in
22560-410: The crisis. Two officials were charged with involuntary manslaughter . Fifteen criminal cases have been filed against local and state officials, but only one minor conviction has been obtained, and all other charges have been dismissed or dropped. On August 20, 2020, the victims of the water crisis were awarded a combined settlement of $ 600 million, with 80% going to the families of children affected by
22748-399: The crisis. The money will be used to hire two special prosecutors . On February 12, 2016, Governor Snyder released additional emails between his office and the MDEQ which about the Legionnaires' outbreak. On February 26, Snyder's office released several thousand more emails regarding the crisis that date back to 2011. An additional batch of emails was released on March 10. On March 4, 2016,
22936-400: The crisis. The site also summarized study results and became a comprehensive public database for all information related to the study. On January 11, 2016, the Virginia Tech research team led by Edwards announced that it had completed its work. Edwards said, "We now feel that Flint's kids are finally on their way to being protected and decisive actions are under way to ameliorate the harm that
23124-565: The decreased amount of chlorine available. On December 4, 2019, research institute KWR from the Netherlands published the results of their re-investigation of the outbreak in Environmental Health Perspectives . They found evidence for three sources: strong evidence for exposure to a Flint hospital in 2014 and 2015 for 42 of 86 confirmed cases, and weaker evidence for exposure to city water at home or living in
23312-478: The department's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance; and Steve Busch, former district supervisor in the division) were suspended, pending an investigation, as a result of questions regarding actions related to water testing in Flint. In response, Snyder said, "Michiganders need to be able to depend on state government to do what's best for them and in the case of the DEQ that means ensuring their drinking water
23500-401: The detection of smaller concentrations of contaminants. Under state programs, some water works managers mistakenly believed that the major, real threats were behind them and their primary focus was on providing consistent and effective service through aging infrastructure, with major efforts at maintaining the bacteriological quality of drinking water. United States federal law This
23688-457: The drinking water and explains the potential health impacts. The Public Water System Supervision Program comprises "primacy" agencies, which are either state government agencies, Indian tribes, or EPA regional offices. All state and territories, except Wyoming and the District of Columbia , have received primacy approval from EPA, to supervise the PWS in their respective jurisdictions. A PWS
23876-556: The duties of agencies, determine the wellhead protection areas, identify sources of contaminants, implement control measures to protect the wellhead protection areas, and a contingency plan for alternative drinking water supplies in the event of contamination. Federal agencies having jurisdiction over potential sources of contaminants must comply with all requirements of the state wellhead protection program. The "Updated Guidance on Invoking Emergency Authority Under Section 1431 Of The Safe Drinking Water Act" shows that 42 U.S.C. § 300i gives
24064-613: The exact order that they have been enacted. Public laws are incorporated into the United States Code , which is a codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The main edition is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives , and cumulative supplements are published annually. The U.S. Code is arranged by subject matter, and it shows
24252-412: The extent that their decisions in the cases before them become precedent for decisions in future cases. The actual substance of English law was formally "received" into the United States in several ways. First, all U.S. states except Louisiana have enacted " reception statutes " which generally state that the common law of England (particularly judge-made law) is the law of the state to the extent that it
24440-607: The federal Constitution and the federal Judiciary Acts. However, it is universally accepted that the Founding Fathers of the United States , by vesting "judicial power" into the Supreme Court and the inferior federal courts in Article Three of the United States Constitution , thereby vested in them the implied judicial power of common law courts to formulate persuasive precedent ; this power
24628-450: The federal Senate. Normally, state supreme courts are the final interpreters of state constitutions and state law, unless their interpretation itself presents a federal issue, in which case a decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by way of a petition for writ of certiorari . State laws have dramatically diverged in the centuries since independence, to the extent that the United States cannot be regarded as one legal system as to
24816-439: The federal government has developed a comprehensive scheme that preempts virtually all state law, while in others, like family law, a relatively small number of federal statutes (generally covering interstate and international situations) interacts with a much larger body of state law. In areas like antitrust, trademark, and employment law , there are powerful laws at both the federal and state levels that coexist with each other. In
25004-455: The first complaint about the corrosivity of the water. GM stopped using Flint water in October 2014, after reporting that the water was corroding car parts. General Motors requested to switch back to the DWSD water source, which was later approved by city officials. Prior to August 2014, additional chlorine had been added to eliminate bacteria from the Flint River. This is likely the cause of
25192-462: The fraction of children with elevated lead blood levels immediately pre/post the water switch (from 2.2% to 3.7%); invoking a Bonferroni correction , Gómez argues the change is not statistically significant. These results are consistent with a CDC report which found that the fraction of "all children under age 6" with elevated lead blood level "was nearly 50 percent higher after the switch to Flint River water". The striking result of Gómez et al. however
25380-475: The future. The SDWA prohibits any underground injection which endangers drinking water sources . The Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals while enforcing this prohibition of "harmful injections into drinking water aquifers " explains that underground injection of even clean water can result in the illegal movement of a fluid containing a contaminant into an USDW : The SDWA and its implementing regulations are not concerned with whether an injected fluid
25568-519: The health of persons" and that appropriate agencies have not acted. Since this emergency power protection applies to all USDWs it includes potential future supplies of public water and even private wells. The imminent endangerment includes contaminants that lead to chronic health effects that may not be realized for years such as lead and carcinogens . To prevent harm from occurring the EPA Administrator may issue administrative orders or commence civil actions even without absolute proof. Whenever EPA finds
25756-460: The highest blood-lead levels. At 45 μg/dL, chelation therapy is considered. Among the many ways lead can enter a modern American's bloodstream is through lead plumbing. Acidic water makes it easier for the lead found in pipes, leaded solder, and brass faucets to dissolve and to enter a home's drinking water. Therefore, public water treatment systems are legally required to use control measures to make water less acidic. Plumbing that contains lead
25944-523: The highest lead-poisoning risks; however, the city did not know the locations of lead service lines, which city officials acknowledged in November 2015 after the Flint Journal / MLive published an article revealing the practice, using documents obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. The Journal /MLive reported that the city had "disregarded federal rules requiring it to seek out homes with lead plumbing for testing, potentially leading
26132-409: The issue, but has signaled in dicta that it sides with this rule. Therefore, in those states, there is only one federal court that binds all state courts as to the interpretation of federal law and the federal Constitution: the U.S. Supreme Court itself. The fifty American states are separate sovereigns , with their own state constitutions , state governments , and state courts . All states have
26320-433: The latter are able to do in the absence of constitutional or statutory provisions replacing the common law. Only in a few narrow limited areas, like maritime law, has the Constitution expressly authorized the continuation of English common law at the federal level (meaning that in those areas federal courts can continue to make law as they see fit, subject to the limitations of stare decisis ). The other major implication of
26508-428: The law. Therefore, a judge could reject another judge's opinion as simply an incorrect statement of the law, in the way that scientists regularly reject each other's conclusions as incorrect statements of the laws of science. In turn, according to Kozinski's analysis, the contemporary rule of binding precedent became possible in the U.S. in the nineteenth century only after the creation of a clear court hierarchy (under
26696-502: The lead contamination. On March 2, 2016, Michigan declared that returning to the Detroit water system must be approved by the state. When approved, the city was granted an emergency loan of $ 7 million. On September 27, 2016, Flint officials announced that the city will continue to use Detroit water until a new stretch of pipeline is constructed and the Flint River is tested and treated by the KWA. From August 2015 to November 2016, median water lead levels began to go down again depending on
26884-503: The lead testing program had no detectable level of particulate lead in their water supply. She added the study yielded a lead reading of 13.9 ppb, just below the federal action level of 15 ppb. However, Pieper acknowledged the sampling, which was conducted by volunteer residents, does not fulfill the testing requirements of the federal Lead and Copper Rule. State testing of the most-recent six month monitoring period, which began January 1 and complied with Lead and Copper Rule regulations, showed
27072-409: The long-term effects of lead poisoning , which can include a reduction in intellectual functioning and IQ , increased issues with mental and physical health, and an increased chance of Alzheimer's disease . The water supply change was considered a possible cause of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the county that killed 12 people and affected another 87, but the original source of the bacteria
27260-1139: The majority of types of law traditionally under state control, but must be regarded as 50 separate systems of tort law, family law, property law, contract law, criminal law, and so on. Most cases are litigated in state courts and involve claims and defenses under state laws. In a 2018 report, the National Center for State Courts ' Court Statistics Project found that state trial courts received 83.8 million newly filed cases in 2018, which consisted of 44.4 million traffic cases, 17.0 million criminal cases, 16.4 million civil cases, 4.7 million domestic relations cases, and 1.2 million juvenile cases. In 2018, state appellate courts received 234,000 new cases. By way of comparison, all federal district courts in 2016 together received only about 274,552 new civil cases, 79,787 new criminal cases, and 833,515 bankruptcy cases, while federal appellate courts received 53,649 new cases. States have delegated lawmaking powers to thousands of agencies , townships , counties , cities , and special districts . And all
27448-462: The mid-19th century. Lawyers and judges used English legal materials to fill the gap. Citations to English decisions gradually disappeared during the 19th century as American courts developed their own principles to resolve the legal problems of the American people. The number of published volumes of American reports soared from eighteen in 1810 to over 8,000 by 1910. By 1879 one of the delegates to
27636-542: The most famous is the Miranda warning . The writ of habeas corpus is often used by suspects and convicts to challenge their detention, while the Third Enforcement Act and Bivens actions are used by suspects to recover tort damages for police brutality. The law of civil procedure governs process in all judicial proceedings involving lawsuits between private parties. Traditional common law pleading
27824-664: The most significant states that have not adopted the FRCP. Furthermore, all three states continue to maintain most of their civil procedure laws in the form of codified statutes enacted by the state legislature, as opposed to court rules promulgated by the state supreme court, on the ground that the latter are undemocratic. But certain key portions of their civil procedure laws have been modified by their legislatures to bring them closer to federal civil procedure. Generally, American civil procedure has several notable features, including extensive pretrial discovery , heavy reliance on live testimony obtained at deposition or elicited in front of
28012-469: The municipal water system caused conditions to develop within the municipal water distribution system that promoted Legionella growth and dispersion, amplification, and the significant increases in cases of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County in 2014 and 2015." J. David Krause, director of Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, and Hung K. Cheung, a doctor specializing in environmental and occupational medicine agreed with her claims. On February 5, 2018,
28200-407: The need for corrosion controls) occurred at higher and higher levels during this time period. And the answer kept coming back from DEQ that 'no, we are not going to make a decision until after we see more testing results ' ". Hedman said the EPA did not go public with its concerns earlier because (1) state and local governments have primary responsibility for drinking water quality and safety; (2) there
28388-664: The next. Even in areas governed by federal law, state law is often supplemented, rather than preempted. At both the federal and state levels, with the exception of the legal system of Louisiana , the law of the United States is largely derived from the common law system of English law , which was in force in British America at the time of the American Revolutionary War . However, American law has diverged greatly from its English ancestor both in terms of substance and procedure and has incorporated
28576-467: The outbreak since March 2015, despite Snyder's claim he was only informed in January 2016. On March 11, 2016, Governor Snyder ordered an investigation of the MDHHS regarding the outbreak. On February 16, 2017, the CDC discovered the first genetic links between city water and patients diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County. "The presence of Legionella in Flint was widespread," said Janet Stout,
28764-416: The perennial inability of legislatures in the U.S. to enact statutes that would actually force law enforcement officers to respect the constitutional rights of criminal suspects and convicts, the federal judiciary gradually developed the exclusionary rule as a method to enforce such rights. In turn, the exclusionary rule spawned a family of judge-made remedies for the abuse of law enforcement powers, of which
28952-496: The pre-switch and post-switch time periods and for Flint children (1,473) and for children not exposed to Flint water (2,202). Demographics were meaningfully different among the two groups. In terms of race, 24.4% of the children outside of Flint were African American, while 76.8% of the children in areas of high water lead levels (≥ 15 ppb) were African American, and 67.0% of the children in areas of lower water lead levels (< 15 ppb) were African American. Children outside of Flint had
29140-591: The presence of reception statutes, much of contemporary American common law has diverged significantly from English common law. Although the courts of the various Commonwealth nations are often influenced by each other's rulings, American courts rarely follow post-Revolution precedents from England or the British Commonwealth. Early on, American courts, even after the Revolution, often did cite contemporary English cases, because appellate decisions from many American courts were not regularly reported until
29328-567: The present status of laws (with amendments already incorporated in the text) that have been amended on one or more occasions. Congress often enacts statutes that grant broad rulemaking authority to federal agencies . Often, Congress is simply too gridlocked to draft detailed statutes that explain how the agency should react to every possible situation, or Congress believes the agency's technical specialists are best equipped to deal with particular fact situations as they arise. Therefore, federal agencies are authorized to promulgate regulations. Under
29516-544: The principle of Chevron deference, regulations normally carry the force of law as long as they are based on a reasonable interpretation of the relevant statutes. Regulations are adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Regulations are first proposed and published in the Federal Register (FR or Fed. Reg.) and subject to a public comment period. Eventually, after a period for public comment and revisions based on comments received,
29704-442: The proximity of a specific cluster of cooling towers, both only in 2014. Each source could be associated with only a proportion of cases. They concluded that focus on a single source may have delayed recognition and remediation of other significant sources of L. pneumophila and provided recommendations to improve Legionella prevention. One focus of inquiry is when Snyder became aware of the issue, and how much he knew about it. In
29892-559: The purchase of 16 million US gallons (61,000 m ) per day from the KWA was approved by the Flint City Council. The KWA informed the council that they could dig to Lake Huron (the new water supply) in 30 months using a bored tunnel. Ed Kurtz, Flint's emergency manager, along with Mayor Dayne Walling and Flint City Council, approved the action and awaited the State Treasurer's approval. Following this decision,
30080-580: The relevant state law is irrational or just bad public policy. Under Erie , such federal deference to state law applies only in one direction: state courts are not bound by federal interpretations of state law. Similarly, state courts are also not bound by most federal interpretations of federal law. In the vast majority of state courts, interpretations of federal law from federal courts of appeals and district courts can be cited as persuasive authority, but state courts are not bound by those interpretations. The U.S. Supreme Court has never squarely addressed
30268-1319: The removal of all lead pipes within ten years. Additionally, the regulation lowers the action level of lead contamination to 10ppb from the current limit of 15ppb. EPA has issued standards for over 53 organic compounds, including benzene , dioxin ( 2,3,7,8-TCDD ), PCBs , styrene , toluene , vinyl chloride and several pesticides . In March 2021 EPA announced that it would develop regulations for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). In April 2024 EPA published final standards for PFOA, PFOS, perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (also known as GenX ) and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS). EPA has issued standards for alpha particles , beta particles and photon emitters, radium and uranium . EPA proposed regulations for radon in 1991 and 1999. Secondary drinking water standards are non-regulatory guidelines for aesthetic characteristics, including taste, color, and odor. EPA issues "health advisories" for some contaminants; some of which have not been regulated with MCLs. Health advisories provide technical information to public health officials about health effects, methods for chemical analysis, and treatment methods. The advisories are not enforceable. EPA
30456-484: The replacement of 10,059 lead pipes. After $ 400 million in state and federal spending, Flint has secured a clean water source, distributed filters to all who want them, and laid modern, safe, copper pipes to nearly every home in the city. Politico declared that its water is "just as good as any city's in Michigan." However, a legacy of distrust remains, so residents often refuse to drink the tap water. The following
30644-533: The resignation of MDEQ director Dan Wyant and communications director Brad Wurfel. Flint Department of Public Works director Howard Croft also resigned. On January 8, 2016, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said that it was investigating. A month later, they said they were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the EPA's Office of Inspector General,
30832-473: The rest were unpublished and bound only the parties to each case. As federal judge Alex Kozinski has pointed out, binding precedent as we know it today simply did not exist at the time the Constitution was framed. Judicial decisions were not consistently, accurately, and faithfully reported on both sides of the Atlantic (reporters often simply rewrote or failed to publish decisions which they disliked), and
31020-453: The rule of stare decisis . This is where the act of deciding a case becomes a limited form of lawmaking in itself, in that an appellate court's rulings will thereby bind itself and lower courts in future cases (and therefore also implicitly binds all persons within the court's jurisdiction). Prior to a major change to federal court rules in 2007, about one-fifth of federal appellate cases were published and thereby became binding precedents, while
31208-422: The rule of binding precedent in a 2008 majority opinion signed by Justice Breyer : Justice Brandeis once observed that "in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than that it be settled right." Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. [...] To overturn a decision settling one such matter simply because we might believe that decision is no longer "right" would inevitably reflect
31396-609: The sale of goods has become highly standardized nationwide as a result of the widespread adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code. However, there is still significant diversity in the interpretation of other kinds of contracts, depending upon the extent to which a given state has codified its common law of contracts or adopted portions of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts . Parties are permitted to agree to arbitrate disputes arising from their contracts. Under
31584-500: The samples, contrary to normal procedures for water testing, and by MDEQ staff telling residents that they should take water samples after flushing running water from their taps for several minutes. This would clearly contravene the EPA guidance that samples taken must be "first-draw samples at taps in homes/buildings". These claims cast doubt on the MDEQ reports of improvements in water quality over previous years. On January 13, 2016, Snyder said that 87 cases of Legionnaires' disease ,
31772-597: The soil on its way to an aquifer. Underground fluid injection can have disastrous consequences for drinking water and, in turn, for human health. Injected fluid is hard to trace once it enters the ground, and polluted aquifers are hard to remediate. Congress' cautious "preventive" approach requires permit applicants to show that their injections will not harm underground sources of drinking water. It presumes, until an applicant shows otherwise, that injections will contaminate an USDW. Although this approach may result in forbidding some injections that would not contaminate an USDW, it
31960-489: The spike. In a second report released January 21, state researchers had still not pin-pointed the source of the outbreak. The next day, an official at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint confirmed that there was a spike in Legionella cases in Flint and elsewhere in Genesee County, but noted that there was "no definitive data to support that McLaren Flint is the source of exposure for any patient testing positive for
32148-448: The state constitutions, statutes and regulations (as well as all the ordinances and regulations promulgated by local entities) are subject to judicial interpretation like their federal counterparts. It is common for residents of major U.S. metropolitan areas to live under six or more layers of special districts as well as a town or city, and a county or township (in addition to the federal and state governments). Thus, at any given time,
32336-423: The state to force one community to enter into an agreement with another, simply to artificially help one community at the other's expense ... this is exactly what the [Detroit Water and Sewerage Department] is arguing". On April 15, 2013, State Treasurer Andy Dillon approved the water purchase contract with the KWA. Emergency Manager Kurtz signed the KWA water purchase agreement the following day. On April 17,
32524-412: The territories. However, the scope of federal preemption is limited because the scope of federal power is not universal. In the dual sovereign system of American federalism (actually tripartite because of the presence of Indian reservations ), states are the plenary sovereigns , each with their own constitution , while the federal sovereign possesses only the limited supreme authority enumerated in
32712-460: The three organizations "delivered more than 26,000 online petition signatures to Mayor Dayne Walling, demanding the city end its use of the Flint River and reconnect to the Detroit water system." Flint's water supply was switched back to DWSD in October 2015. Subsequently, Flint started adding additional orthophosphate to the water to rebuild the pipe lining. On October 8, 2015, Snyder requested that Michigan legislators contribute $ 6 million of
32900-441: The type of water service pipes each home had. In homes with copper pipes, the median water lead level dropped from 3.0 micrograms per liter (μg/L) to <1 μg/L; galvanized steel service lines dropped from a median water lead level of 7.2 μg/L to 1.9 μg/L, and lead service lines dropped from a median water lead level of 9.9 μg/L to 2.3 μg/L. 1 μg/L is equivalent to 1 part per billion. On December 9, 2016,
33088-424: The very very latest of this year, that federal law was not being followed in Flint, and that these children and residents were not being protected. And the extent to which they went to cover this up exposes a new level of arrogance and uncaring that I have never encountered." Edwards' team created a website called Flint Water Study , with the main purposes of informing, and creating support for, Flint residents during
33276-472: The water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, where Flint had obtained its water since 1967, had been treated well enough that the leaching from the lead pipes was at levels considered acceptable by state and federal environmental protection agencies. There are an estimated 43,000 service lines in the city; when the crisis began, these included 3,500 lead lines, 9,000 known galvanized steel lines, and 9,000 unknown service lines. Lead exposure across
33464-522: The water was safe to drink. A study by Virginia Tech researchers (see section below) determined that the river water, which, due to higher chloride concentration, is more corrosive than the lake water, was leaching lead from aging pipes. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, an environmental toxicologist based in Ann Arbor , said this level of lead exposure is comparable with what the Iraqi people have experienced since
33652-466: Was accepted. Assessments of the EPA's action varied. Edwards said that the assessment in Del Toral's original June memo was "100 percent accurate" and criticized the EPA for failing to take more immediate action. State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich , Democrat of Flint, said, "There's been a failure at all levels to accurately assess the scale of the public health crisis in Flint, and that problem
33840-464: Was discolored, despite the city's claim that the water was safe. Since 2014, the library has provided safe water for the public alongside the state's most prominent bottled water provider. January and February 2015 tests showed that the city water met all health and safety standards. Nevertheless, the DWSD offered to reconnect Flint, waiving a $ 4 million connection fee, but was declined by Emergency Manager Jerry Ambrose. MDEQ officials indicated that there
34028-576: Was done." Edwards credited the Michigan ACLU and the group Water You Fighting For with doing the "critical work of collecting and coordinating" many water samples analyzed by the Virginia Tech team. Although the labor of the team (composed of scientists, investigators, graduate students, and undergraduates) was free, the investigation still spent more than $ 180,000 for such expenses as water testing and payment of Michigan Freedom of Information Act costs. A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $ 116,000 of
34216-618: Was given explicit authority to issue advisories in the 1996 SDWA amendments . As of 2022, health advisories have been issued for the following contaminants. The SDWA allows states to set standards which are more stringent than the federal standards, and to issue standards for contaminants that EPA has not regulated. Several states have issued their own standards for a few contaminants, including fluoride, perchlorate and perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS). The SDWA requires EPA to identify and list unregulated contaminants which may require regulation. The Agency must publish this list, called
34404-438: Was insufficient evidence at that point of the extent of the danger; and (3) the EPA's legal authority to compel the state to take action was unclear, and the EPA discussed the issue with its legal counsel, who only rendered an opinion in November. Hedman said the EPA discussed the issue with its legal counsel and urged the state to have MDHHS warn residents about the danger. On January 21, Hedman's resignation (effective February 1)
34592-436: Was jeopardized by the state's insistence that such controls were not required by law". In 2015, EPA water expert Miguel A. Del Toral "identified potential problems with Flint's drinking water in February, confirmed the suspicions in April and summarized the looming problem" in an internal memo circulated on June 24, 2015. Despite these "dire warnings" from Del Toral, the memo was not publicly released until November 2015, after
34780-468: Was never found. Four government officials—one from the city of Flint, two from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and one from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—resigned over the mishandling of the crisis, and one additional MDEQ staff member was fired. In January 2021, former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and eight other officials were charged with 34 felony counts and seven misdemeanors—41 counts in all—for their role in
34968-402: Was repeatedly ignored by city, state, and EPA officials. The study found that Flint water was "very corrosive" and "causing lead contamination in homes". It concluded in its report that "Flint River water leaches more lead from plumbing than does Detroit water. This is creating a public health threat in some Flint homes that have lead pipe or lead solder." Edwards was shocked by the extent of
35156-616: Was replaced by code pleading in 27 states after New York enacted the Field Code in 1850 and code pleading in turn was subsequently replaced again in most states by modern notice pleading during the 20th century. The old English division between common law and equity courts was abolished in the federal courts by the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1938; it has also been independently abolished by legislative acts in nearly all states. The Delaware Court of Chancery
35344-516: Was widely accepted, understood, and recognized by the Founding Fathers at the time the Constitution was ratified. Several legal scholars have argued that the federal judicial power to decide " cases or controversies " necessarily includes the power to decide the precedential effect of those cases and controversies. The difficult question is whether federal judicial power extends to formulating binding precedent through strict adherence to
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