Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did Biden’s choice for a new White House coordination role delay responding to the Flint water crisis as head of the EPA?

Thursday, December 17, 2020

By Ramon Rodriguez

Copy link

Copy featured image

YES

In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general found that the agency under then-Administrator Gina McCarthy had moved too slowly in response to the water-contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. McCarthy admitted in her testimony before the House Oversight Committee that she learned about excessive lead concentrations in at least four homes in June 2015, but only in January 2016 did she exercise her emergency authority to intervene. The EPA has legal authority to intervene in a public health threat if state-level action is not protecting the public in a timely manner.

Republican lawmakers widely castigated McCarthy's performance during the crisis and many called for her resignation.

McCarthy has been named by President-elect Joe Biden to the newly-created role of White House Climate Coordinator.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

EPA Inspector General: Flint drinking water contamination in demonstrates a need to clarify EPA authority to issue emergency orders

C-SPAN: Gina McCarthy's testimony at 2016 House Oversight Committee hearing

Detroit Free Press: Biden taps former EPA chief who came under fire over Flint water crisis

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF BY

Latest fact briefs

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.