"In Flint Crisis, Questions Grow Over Quest For Pipeline"

"After months of national attention on lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, many are starting to ask questions about a 74-mile pipeline being built from Lake Huron to the struggling former auto manufacturing powerhouse".

"FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- With drab olive chairs and worn carpet, the conference room in the low-slung administrative building near the Genesee County wastewater treatment plant isn't fancy, but it showcases one of Jeff Wright's greatest treasures: Permit No. 2009-001.

Wright, a wiry man with trademark moustache and slicked-back hair, is the county drain commissioner, a title that dates to Michigan's early days of draining swamps. The job gives him sway over almost everything involving water, from diverting runoff to building major sewer projects.

The permit framed on the wall will allow a new 74-mile pipeline to draw water from Lake Huron to the county and its largest city, Flint, the realization of a dream Wright has nurtured for most of his 15 years in office."

Tammy Webber reports for the Associated Press May 20, 2016.