EPA official resigns over Flint water crisis

A banner in Flint warns residents not to drink the water.
(Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Susan Hedman, the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 administrator, will resign effective Feb. 1, the EPA announced Thursday.

Hedman oversees Michigan and the rest of the Midwest. A state of emergency has been declared in Flint over high levels of lead in the water, and in a statement, the EPA said Hedman's resignation was accepted "given Susan's strong interest in ensuring that EPA Region 5's focus remains solely on the restoration of Flint's drinking water." The EPA also ordered Michigan on Thursday to take "immediate action to address serious and ongoing concerns" with the city's drinking water system, The Detroit News reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.