The lawsuit filed by the Michigan Attorney General yesterday is outrageous. The allegations against Veolia are false, inaccurate, and unwarranted. Sadly for the citizens of Flint and throughout Michigan, the lawsuit represents the latest attempt to deflect responsibility by government officials and representatives who caused and are responsible for this situation.
Incredibly, the Attorney General filed this lawsuit and made these false claims after the Governor's Task Force, acting for the State of Michigan, conducted a thorough investigation including dozens of interviews and exonerated Veolia from any involvement in the Flint water crisis. The Governor's Task Force placed blame precisely where it belongs, with the government officials who made all of the decisions and directed all of the actions that resulted in the crisis.
The facts are important, and we are alarmed and outraged that the State of Michigan is abusing them for the sake of political expedience. We were hired for a limited, one-month, one-time study – 160 hours in total – and asked to only assist with an analysis of disinfection byproducts, and taste and odor issues in Flint. Veolia was given rigid parameters around what we were and were not allowed to do and we followed those directions. We made a series of recommendations and they were ignored.
In fact, when Veolia raised potential lead and copper issues, city officials and representatives told us to exclude it from our scope of work because the city and the EPA were just beginning to conduct lead and copper testing.
This lawsuit is baseless, entirely unfounded, and appears to be intended to distract from the troubling and disturbing realities that have emerged as a result of this tragedy. Veolia remains committed to safe, high-quality drinking water and environmental protection and is proud to serve as the world’s leading private water company.
CONTACTS
Press Relations Groupe Veolia
Laurent Obadia-Sandrine Guendoul
Stephane Galfre
Tel. +33 1 71 75 12 52
[email protected]
Press Relations- Veolia North America
Paul Whitmore
Tel. 317 917 3724
[email protected]
Karole Colangelo
Tel: 312 552 2820
[email protected]
Analyst & Investor Relations
Ronald Wasylec- Ariane de Lamaze
Tel. +33 1 71 75 12 33/06 00
Terri Anne Powers (USA)
Tel. +1 312 552 2890