Opinion ID: 4536379
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Busch

Text: Stephen Busch was the MDEQ District Supervisor. Busch knew as early as March 2013 that Flint River water presented health risks and would require significant treatment, id. at 40, ¶ 105 (Page ID #17843), but he did not stop the switch to the Flint River even after Glasgow warned him that the FWTP was not ready, id. at 46, ¶ 129 (Page ID #17849); see also Guertin, 912 F.3d at 927. When the MDEQ came under the EPA’s scrutiny for lead contamination, Busch lied and told Del Toral that the City was using corrosion control. R. 620-3 (Fourth Am. Compl. at 83, ¶ 246) (Page ID #17886); see also Guertin, 912 F.3d at 928. Busch claims that he Nos. 19-1425/1472/1477/1533 Waid et al. v. Snyder et al. Page 29 did not lie and that, instead, he simply informed the EPA that the City had a corrosion control program in place, meaning that the City was monitoring the water without treating it. See Appellant Br. (19-1477) at 54. That is quibbling with the facts and asks us to do what we cannot at this stage—to view the allegations in the light most favorable to him. See Guertin, 912 F.3d at 916. Plaintiffs’ allegation stands. Busch also lied to the GCHD. He told them that the evidence did not support a connection between the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease and the switch to the Flint River. R. 620-3 (Fourth Am. Compl. at 85–86, ¶ 253) (Page ID #17888–89). And according to Glasgow, Busch directed him to distort water quality tests to exclude high results for lead contamination. Id. at 91, ¶ 273 (Page ID #17894). Busch’s alleged role in creating, failing to mitigate, and covering up the crisis plausibly demonstrates deliberate indifference.