Federal judge finds city of Flint in contempt over lead water pipe crisis [Video]

A federal judge has found the city of Flint in contempt for failing to comply with a court order that spelled out the steps it needed to take to finish replacing old lead pipes following the Michigan city’s lead-contaminated water scandal.

U.S. District Judge David Lawson wrote in Tuesday’s decision that he had found Flint in civil contempt because it had failed to meet deadlines for pipe-removal outlined in his February 2023 order. The city had originally promised to replace the pipes by early 2020.

Lawson’s ruling comes after he held a June 2023 hearing on a motion seeking a contempt finding filed the previous month by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Concerned Pastors for Social Action.

“Based on the evidence, it is apparent that the City has failed to abide …