Prosecutors have filed charges against two environmental regulators in the state of Michigan and a water plant supervisor in the beleaguered city of Flint, where a boneheaded bureaucratic decision led to the water supply being contaminated with lead - potentially harming tens of thousands of children and adults.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced charges against Michael Prysby and Stephen Busch from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, who were each charged with three felony counts, including for allegedly misleading federal environmental officials and tampering with evidence; they pleaded not guilty.  Michael Glasgow, a supervisor at Flint's water-treatment plant, was charged with one felony count of tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor count of willful neglect of duty; he has yet to appear in court.

All three men face possible prison time if convicted.

Governor Rick Snyder insists he did nothing wrong, while critics say he did.  In 2014, Snyder ordered switching Flint's water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, a notoriously polluted tributary, in a move to save money.  The Michigan DEQ failed to treat the corrosive water, which ate into the city's aging system pipes, causing lead to leach into the drinking water. 

More than 50 lawsuits have been filed since January.  One class action suit says residents suffered skin lesions, hair loss, vision loss, memory loss, depression and anxiety - all symptoms of lead poisoning.  Many are also concerned about lead poisoning causing future learning disabilities in their children.