Report: Water Quality Analyst Cuts Deal In Flint Water Crisis

DETROIT (WWJ) - A state water quality analyst charged in the Flint Water Crisis has apparently cut a deal with prosecutors. Sources telling the Detroit News that Adam Rosenthal with the state Department of Environmental Quality could be in court as early as tomorrow to enter a no contest plea to an unspecified misdemeanor.

He'd be the fourth defendant to make a deal with special prosecutor Todd Flood.

Rosenthal had been warned by city officials they were not ready to switch from Detroit water to the Flint River for their water supply in 2014. He had also been warned about high levels of lead resulting from a corrosion problem. He is charged with misconduct in office, neglect of duty and tampering with evidence.

Corinne Miller, the state's health director, returned to the witness stand in October. Michigan's former head of disease control believes a spike in Legionnaires' in Genesee County in 2014-15 was related to a switch in Flint's water supply.

Miller's former boss, Nick Lyon, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office. Prosecutors say a timely alert about the Legionnaires' outbreak might have saved 85-year-old Robert Skidmore, who died of congestive heart failure six months after he got Legionnaires'.

Nearly 100 cases of Legionnaires', including 12 deaths, were detected in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015 while the city was using the Flint River for water. Legionnaires' is a pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. Cooling systems and misting fountains can be sources.

The Flint City Council narrowly approved a 30-year agreement to get drinking water from a regional agency after court-ordered negotiations in November.

The deal was approved by a 5-4 vote after hours of debate and comments from dozens of residents.

The pact means the Great Lakes Water Authority will continue to serve Flint. It has been providing water for the Michigan city since fall 2015, when Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged a lead crisis related to use of Flint River water.