The public utility manager of Richmond, Virginia, a proponent of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, resigned after the city endured a crisis.
April Bingham resigned from her position as director of the Department of Public Utilities this week after residents of Virginia’s capital city were left without water for days following a snow storm. The Daily Wire reported last week that Bingham, who is not an engineer, served as the member of a committee of an organization that works to “ingrain DEI as a cultural norm” as Richmond’s water infrastructure fell into disrepair.
The Daily Wire reported that Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said that her resignation was “amicable” and voluntary. “It came on the heels of a pretty intense week, as we have all been responding to this crisis, thinking about what is the path forward, what does the water plant need,” Avula stated.
The city also announced that Anthony “Scott” Morris, a professional engineer and the current director of water at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, would take over as the interim Director of Public Utilities.
His professional experience provides a stark contrast with that of Bingham’s — she was the only water manager in her area who did not have a background in engineering.
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Under Bingham, The city’s water infrastructure was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including insufficient maintenance, corroded pumps, cracked filters, and outdated emergency response plans. Bingham refused to say whether or not the issues identified by the EPA contributed to the water system’s failure, but Dwanye Roadcap, the head of the Virginia Office of Drinking Water, said that some regulations had apparently been ignored.
“I can cite some regulations where we’ve got noncompliance with the regulations. That’s part of the reason why we’re out there. It’s part of the reason we’ve got a boil water advisory. It’s part of the reason why there’s no water pressure or insufficient water pressure,” Roadcap said in the midst of the crisis. “One of the things that we’re looking into is why the fail-safe systems and the redundant systems didn’t work, because you shouldn’t have this kind of problem.”