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FLINT, Mich. (12/19/18) — On December 17, 2019, the City of Flint and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) executed a Voluntary Agreement that replaces the Administrative Order the DEQ issued on October 22, 2019.
Mayor Weaver commented on the successful resolution. “We are happy to have the DEQ’s Order set aside in favor of a negotiated agreement. When we received the order it was a surprise, we felt that we had made significant progress in our discussions at that point, and the order wasn’t necessary and gave a wrong impression. The City had shown it was committed to meeting all requirements for its water system, the order wasn’t going to change that. After some productive discussions we were able to reach mutually agreeable terms and deadlines, and to eliminate the DEQ order.”
The Voluntary Agreement sets out improvements to be made to the City’s water distribution infrastructure and hiring goals, and a plan for the city to meet the DEQ’s “technical, managerial and financial capacity” requirements under the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act. After reaching the Agreement with the state, the City withdrew its demand for a public hearing, which the state had scheduled for December 19, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. (That hearing is now cancelled.)
The Mayor added “we know the DEQ has a job to do, so does the City, and we’re doing it.”