Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released a new Flint water crisis report Monday.
Why it matters: The report is the latest official accounting in a landmark public-health and government-failure case. It could shape how residents, lawmakers and litigants view the state's responsibility after criminal cases ended without trial.
- Nessel released the report on August 25, 2026, and said it is the final accountability step her office can take.
- The state Supreme Court previously shut down criminal cases against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight other people before trial.
- The report outlines the factual basis for the charges, the legal framework behind the prosecutions and the later court rulings that ended them.
- AP reports the crisis began in 2014, when officials switched Flint's water source to the Flint River to save money and lead from old pipes contaminated the water.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released a report Monday describing her office's yearslong criminal investigation into the Flint water crisis and calling it the final accountability step her office can take. Nessel said, "This report is meant to be as thorough and complete an accounting as is possible and legally allowed."
Her office said the report lays out the factual basis for the charges, the legal framework behind the prosecutions and the impact of later court rulings that ended them. In a statement, Nessel also said, "I hope this offering ... may tell one part of the story of the Flint water crisis, and put the truth in the hands of the people of Flint who deserve it the most."
The report says the state Supreme Court's earlier ruling shut down criminal cases against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight other people, preventing the prosecutions from reaching trial. Nessel said, "justice has evaded the people of Flint".
The crisis began in 2014, when officials switched Flint's water source to the Flint River to save money. AP reported that lead from old pipes contaminated the drinking water. Flint was under state financial emergency control when the switch happened.
The report is titled Report Regarding the Prosecution of the Flint Water Crisis and is dated August 25, 2026. A 2020 judge approved a $626 million settlement for Flint residents and others exposed to lead-contaminated water.
Read the attorney general's announcement here and the report PDF here. AP's report is here.
By the numbers
- August 25, 2026 - Date Nessel released the report
- $626 million - Settlement approved in 2020 for Flint residents and others exposed to lead-contaminated water
- 9 people - Former Gov. Rick Snyder plus eight others whose criminal cases were shut down
Yes, but: The report does not change the fact that no criminal trials resulted from the Flint prosecutions.