Benton Harbor residents claim genocide convention should prevent contaminated water case dismissal

Update:

• Benton Harbor residents are fighting back against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s attempts to escape class action claims revolving around Benton Harbor’s problematic drinking water system. 
• In paperwork filed Feb. 28 in opposition to a motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit in a Michigan federal court, the residents argue that top environmental officials should be held personally responsible for lead pollution in Benton Harbor because they failed to warn citizens about lead contamination in water pipes.
• The residents also argue that officials should not get immunity from responsibility for the crisis, invoking the U.S. Constitution and international genocide conventions.
• Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy argue they — as the state and its officials — are protected by the 11th Amendment from facing the claims in federal court. 

Benton Harbor water contamination class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state and federal officials have asked to be released from class action lawsuits revolving around Benton Harbor’s previously lead-contaminated drinking water system. 
• Why: Officials argue they are protected from the claims and that the situation is different from the Flint, Michigan water crisis in that they cannot be blamed for the contamination and responded to it appropriately.
• Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in Michigan federal court. 

(Dec. 20, 2022)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy have asked to be let off the hook from class action lawsuits revolving around Benton Harbor’s problematic drinking water system. 

Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy argue they — as the state and its officials — are protected by the Eleventh Amendment from facing the claims in federal court. 

Other federal officials, including Michael Regan, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, also asked to be released from a class action lawsuit revolving around the Benton Harbor drinking water system, arguing they are entitled to qualified immunity. 

Benton Harbor residents claim their body integrity constitutional rights were violated by being subjected to water contaminated with unsafe levels of lead found in the city’s municipal water system from between 2018 and 2021. 

Officials argue they are not to blame for the Benton Harbor drinking water system lead contamination

State officials argue, however, that—unlike with the Flint water crisis—they cannot be blamed for the situation, saying there are no actions they personally made that can be singled out as the cause of the problem. 

Whitmer and other officials point to the fact that the lead contamination was not due to a switch in the water supply, nor was there a state-appointed emergency manager present during the period where the water contained elevated levels of lead. 

Further, officials argue their situation is different from what transpired in Flint, Michigan since there was no delayed response at tackling the lead contamination problem once it was discovered. 

“As soon as elevated lead levels were detected through routine monitoring, state officials jumped into action, working with the City to keep the public informed and take remedial steps,” Whitmer, the EPA, and others said. 

The city of Flint, Michigan, along with state entities and others, ultimately agreed to pay $641.26 million to resolve claims revolving around the Flint water crisis and to compensate affected residents.

Have you been injured by lead contamination? Let us know in the comments.

The Benton Harbor water contamination class action lawsuits are Grant, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-00186; Braziel, et al. v. Whitmer, et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-00960; and Mitchell, et al. v. City of Benton Harbor, et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-00475, all in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

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