State AG apparently changes mind on Flint probe

In a statement, Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday that the investigation would determine “what, if any, MI laws were violated in the process that resulted in the contamination crisis” forcing Flint’s 100,000 residents to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and bathing.

And a Flint pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, announced that records showed blood lead levels in local toddlers doubled and even tripled in some cases since the water switch.

“Critics say the state’s response – in particular, the governor’s handling of the crisis – has been inadequate at best, criminal at worst”, Michigan Radio’s Steve Carmody reported for NPR earlier this week. As you scroll, think to yourself, ‘Would I drink this, or let anyone I love do the same?’ .

Flint returned to the Detroit system in October, after elevated lead levels were discovered in children, and could tap into the new pipeline by summer.

It was not until September that evidence of lead poisoning became public, and officials began to acknowledge it. It turned out that the river water was corrosive, causing lead to leach from pipes.

“Right now, what we’re looking for is accountability”, Flint city councilman Wantwaz Davis said.

WEYI-TV (http://bit.ly/1ZBKN9x ) reports that Schuette senior adviser Rusty Hills wrote a letter to a lawmaker, saying an investigation was unnecessary because federal authorities and other agencies were reviewing the matter.

The crisis prompted President Barack Obama to sign an emergency declaration clearing the way for federal aid.

But he said a department director such as Lyon can only rely on the information his scientists are giving him, and he said he’s also not clear on exactly what information was being sent to the state by the Genesee County health authority. On Thursday, more than 150 Flint residents flooded the lobby of the building where Snyder’s office is housed, demanding his resignation and arrest for what they say is his mishandling of the lead contamination. The decision to use the river was made while a Snyder-appointed emergency manager was running city government.

High levels of lead have tainted Flint’s main water supply for at least a year, prompting extensive emergency measures to keep residents especially children, safe.

Weaver said last week it could cost as much as $1.5 billion to replace aging and damaged pipes leaching lead into city water.

JANUARY 2015: Flint seeks an evaluation of its efforts to improve the water amid concerns that it contains potentially harmful levels of a disinfection byproduct.

Don’t forget: This has been the only publicly available water to the people of Flint since 2014. Control during the water crisis has been in the hands of the city administrator.

Now, health officials are investigating a spike in Legionnaires’ disease.

The only choice left for thousands of residents is to purchase bottled water.