LANSING, MI (AP)-- Michigan's top environmental regulator says she isn't defined by her past as an oil and gas lobbyist and she will make decisions with no "particular bent" other than protecting the environment and human health.
Governor Rick Snyder's recent appointment of Heidi Grether to lead the Department of Environmental Quality in the wake of Flint's water crisis has drawn criticism because of her ties to BP, the company responsible for the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
But Grether told The Associated Press Wednesday that "who I am is a whole lot more than just my last job." She says people who "make assumptions" should first evaluate how she runs the agency and makes decisions.
Five current or former DEQ employees have been charged criminally over Flint's lead contamination.
