WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave the green light to two class-action lawsuits filed by residents of Flint, Michigan who are pursuing civil rights claims against local and state officials over lead contamination in the city’s water supply.
The high court rejected separate appeals filed by the city of Flint, Genesee County’s drainage commissioner and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials.
The 6th Circuit decided that the civil rights claims brought by the plaintiffs under federal law could proceed, ruling they were not precluded by a statute that sets the standards for drinking water, the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Flint, a predominantly black city, switched its public water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in a cost-cutting move in April 2014.
The city switched back to Lake Huron water in October 2015, but lead levels remained above federal standards until early 2017.
The crisis prompted several lawsuits against the city, state, Republican Governor Rick Snyder and several individual city and state officials.
Two of those suits were the subject of the Supreme Court appeals.
In one, Melissa Mays and several other Flint-based parents sued in November 2015 on behalf of themselves and their children.
Julie Hurwitz and Bill Goodman, lawyers representing Mays, praised Monday’s action by the justices, saying in a statement that it “signals that the State of Michigan and all of its cronies are reaching the end of the line in their ongoing efforts to avoid being held accountable.” The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality declined comment.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Barbara Grzincic and Ben Klayman; Editing by Will Dunham)