EPA watchdog says clearer emergency power needed after Flint crisis

By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needs to make its emergency authority clearer to help protect people from contaminated water supplies, the agency's inspector general said on Thursday, following the Flint, Michigan, lead crisis. "These situations should generate a greater sense of urgency," the EPA's Office of the Inspector General said in a summary of its findings, adding that its review of the lead-contaminated water in Flint was ongoing. The findings were included in a report released on Thursday. The inspector general conducted the review to evaluate the EPA's response to the contamination of Flint's water system and how it used its oversight authority. Flint, a predominantly black city of 100,000 people, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its water source to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach from city pipes into the drinking water. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she found it "troubling" to learn that the EPA took so long to issue an emergency order from when it first had reliable information on water safety. "In this country we have agencies and policies in place to help ensure the well-being and safety of men, women and children, yet they failed when it comes to the man-made water disaster in Flint," she said in a statement. In June, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said local officials had taken appropriate short-term measures to improve water quality, but the city will require additional funding and attention to ensure safe water over the longer term. Weaver said Congress needed to release funds to help Flint recover and rebuild its water systems. Congress will finalize legislation to release $170 million in funding for Flint after it returns following the Nov. 8 election. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Peter Cooney)