Overview
The residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, are currently forced to rely on bottled water for safe drinking and eating as a result of lead contamination in the water supply. These residents, 90% of whom are people of color, have been dealing with lead in their water for over three years with little recourse from the Michigan Government, in particular, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the City of Benton Harbor. Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (GLELC) recently filed a successful stay with the EPA to force the Michigan Government to provide bottled drinking water and to address the situation.
In addition to helping GLELC enforce the emergency stay, L4GG is helping GLELC analyze a recent FOIA response provided from EGLE to determine how and why the Benton Harbor Water Crisis took place and to ensure the infrastructure is fixed as quickly as possible. The assignment involves analyzing the documents and flagging potentially relevant information.
Project Details:
Seeking 5 attorneys to review and analyze documents from a FOIA response
Data will help Great Lakes Environmental Law Center determine how and why the Benton Harbor Water Crisis took place and to ensure the infrastructure is fixed as quickly as possible
No prior experience required
Training and mentorship provided
Estimated time commitment is 20 hours per attorney
Deadline is January 31, 2022
To express interest in this project, please fill out the form on this page and select “Right to Water in Michigan - Document Review” in the Projects field.