Michigan Water Contamination: Obama Declares Emergency

Snyder last week apologized again for the state’s handling of the crisis and asked President Barack Obama to declare both an emergency and an expedited major disaster in Genesee County, where Flint is located, to free up federal aid. “I can not wait for the water to get there to help these people who have been poisoned because the water they’ve been getting out of their taps has been polluted for so long and remains that way without the state or federal government stepping in with any substantial plan to resolve this problem”.

FEMA can now provide water, filters, cartridges and other items for about three months.

The city’s 100,000 residents haven’t had safe water to drink since 2014, when officials began drawing water from the Flint River as a cost-saving measure.

The president rejected Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s appeal for a disaster declaration, which would have allocated more federal funds and resources.

The actress and singer Cher, who is part of a movement, led by the film director Michael Moore, to have the Governor arrested, announced she was sending thousands of bottles of fresh water to Flint.

Now, a class-action lawsuit has been filed by the residents of Flint claiming that those responsible for switching their water caused them “serious personal injury” by exposing them to “the extreme toxicity of water pumped from the Flint River into their homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces and public places”.

More than 180,000 bottles will be shipped to the city starting on Monday, according to a statement Cher released to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Many residents of Flint, a predominantly African-American city, complained about their water’s odor, taste and color shortly after the water supply switch.

Cher called the situation in Flint, “a tragedy of staggering proportion”.

No stranger to controversy after enacting right-to-work laws in organized labor’s backyard and blessing Detroit’s bankruptcy that resulted in cuts to retiree pensions and health care benefits, Snyder’s legacy surely will include the regulatory failures that led to an underwhelming response to Flint’s lead-tainted drinking water. The state even ignored reports of elevated lead levels in the blood of Flint children.