POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

The editors at the Detroit Free Press have published an editorial titled “Like a Sick Joke.” Here are the opening paragraphs:

“In the wake of the Flint water crisis, amid profound concerns over an aging oil pipeline under the Great Lakes, with an ongoing, urgent need to decrease pollution and improve air quality and public health in southwest Detroit, Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed … wait for it . . .  a former oil-industry lobbyist, Heidi Grether, to head the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

“It’s a stunning look into the way the governor views the state’s responsibility to protect Michigan’s environment, and Michiganders’ health.

“And in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis, it’s like Snyder is rubbing the noses of his constituents in his own mess. The move is astoundingly tone-deaf to Michiganders, who rely on the state’s environmental regulatory agency to keep us safe. It’s also a tacit announcement that Snyder no longer finds rebuilding Michiganders’ trust in government, something nearly everyone agreed was paramount after the Flint crisis, to be particularly important.”

In the editorial, the editors express some regret that the newspaper gave its endorsement to Snyder when he was running for governor.

The complete editorial is available at: http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/07/15/flint-water-crisis-mdeq/87090220/.