Drinking water expert who helped expose Flint crisis sues Trump administration after EPA firing
June 22, 2026 | Steve Neavling | Detroit Metro Times
A Michigan drinking water expert who helped expose the Flint water crisis is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging she was fired for signing a petition critical of the Trump administration’s environmental policies.
Elin Warn Betanzo filed the federal lawsuit on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accusing the EPA and Administrator Lee Zeldin of violating her First Amendment rights by suspending and later removing her from the National Drinking Water Advisory Council, a federal panel that advises the agency on drinking water policy…
… “Ms. Warn Betanzo is one of many public servants, inside and outside of the EPA, who have been retaliated against by the Trump administration for exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights to express concern about the administration’s policies,” Lauren Kurtz, an attorney and executive director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, said. “In filing this lawsuit, she continues the fight to protect not only our drinking water, but our First Amendment freedoms.”