Firm announces $25M settlement over role in Flint, Michigan, lead-tainted water crisis

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A second contractor says it has reached a $25 million settlement over its role in Flint, Michigan’s lead-contaminated water scandal. Boston-based Veolia North America said Thursday that the class-action litigation agreement includes payments of $1,500 for individual minors. It says the agreement will resolve claims made on behalf of more than 45,000 Flint residents. In July, the engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newman said a confidential deal was reached with residents in federal court. Flint used the Flint River for water in 2014-15, but the water wasn’t properly treated. As a result, lead leached throughout the vast pipe system, causing learning disabilities in scores of children.