Feds say they’ll act soon on plea for Flint help

The US House of Representatives voted 253-166 this week to overturn a controversial rule to protect America’s clean water in spite of a growing scandal in Flint, Michigan over poisonous levels of lead.

Governor Rick Snyder is requesting $31 million (£22 million) from the federal government because the need “far exceeds the state’s capability”.

Big news on coal: “The Obama administration announced on Friday a halt to new coal mining leases on public lands as it considers an overhaul of the program that could lead to increased costs for energy companies and a slowdown in extraction”.

Flint returned to the Detroit system in October, after elevated lead levels were discovered in children, and the city could tap into the new pipeline by summer. The state failed to ensure the city treated its new water for corrosion, and the new water wound up leaching lead from the city’s pipes.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on Friday launched an investigation into a water crisis in Flint, where residents have been exposed to contaminants. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will review the request and advise Obama.

Despite the concerns of residents in the weeks following the switch, then-Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, a former Rhodes scholar, insisted it was a “safe product” and that “people are wasting their precious money buying bottled water”.

“We had never seen such sustained high levels of lead in 25 years of work”, he said.

The presence of lead in drinking water is known to cause kidney problems and related issues in adults, but infants and children are subjected to the worst effects.

“At this point, I’m quite limited in what I can say about attributing any sort of blame for this particular situation, primarily because the Department of Justice is taking a look at this question”, he said.

Snyder’s application said as much as $55 million is needed in the near term to fix damaged lead service lines and as much as $41 million to pay for several months of water distribution and providing residents with testing, water filters and cartridges.

Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) had reportedly continued to tell Flint residents that the water was safe for drinking despite warnings from local doctors who had found alarming amounts of lead levels in people. What’s more, Schuette is the one responsible for defending Snyder against lawsuits from the people of Flint, raising a serious conflict of interest.

Also on Friday, a bipartisan group of leaders on the House energy and commerce committee sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency requesting a briefing “in the coming days” on the Flint crisis.

The crisis erupted after Flint stopped receiving its water supply from the neighbouring city of Detroit due to unaffordable hikes in rates and started sourcing from the local Flint River in April 2014 as a cost-cutting temporary measure. “The costs add up quickly and the state simply can’t absorb them all”, said Snyder spokesman Meegan Holland.

“We are working hard to earn their trust back”, Snyder says. Michigan Nation Guard Sgt. Steve Kiger, left, of Harrison, Mich., stacks cases of drinking water with Red Cross volunteer Franklin Dickerson of Pleasant Ridge Wednesday Jan 13, 2016 in Flint, Mich. Members of the Mi…