State spends almost $25M on Flint water crisis attorneys

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — New accounting figures show Michigan has spent nearly $25 million on attorneys handling cases involving the Flint lead-tainted water crisis.

The Flint Journal reports that accountings by Michigan agencies and the Governor's Office detail that attorney spending has reached more than $24.8 million for the crisis that began in 2014 when the city changed its drinking water source to the Flint River.

State records show spending on civil and criminal attorneys for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and its employees alone has surpassed the total state appropriation for the 11 active water crisis prosecutions. The Legislature reserved $6.2 million for the prosecutions and the environmental department has already been billed $6.7 million by attorneys.

There is still far to go for many of the criminal prosecutions.