Overview

• U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker on Sept. 22 denied the EPA’s third attempt to dismiss consolidated cases, finding sufficient evidence for liability under the Good Samaritan doctrine.
• U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet called on the agency to acknowledge oversight failures and begin negotiating compensation with Flint residents.
• The EPA has asked Parker to certify an interlocutory appeal to the Sixth Circuit, and her decision on that request remains pending.
• In a parallel case, Judge Judith E. Levy set a Jan. 26 bench trial in Ann Arbor for roughly 1,000 children suing the agency.
• Plaintiffs cite an inspector general finding that EPA Region 5 had authority to act by June 2015 and seek more than $2.3 billion in damages, while the EPA—unlike the state, city, and private firms that paid nearly $700 million—has declined to settle or comment.