Governor’s emails show debate over blame for Flint water

By now, most of MI, no less the nation, know the facts surrounding the switch to the Flint River, the lead leach from the pipes into the water supply and the falsified “facts” and attempted cover-up by state officials.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he didn’t expect the president to make a detour to Flint, but the White House noted that Obama did meet with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver when she visited Washington Tuesday, saying he “heard firsthand how the residents of Flint are dealing with the ongoing public health crisis, and the challenges that still exist for the city, its residents, and the business community”.

This may not be adequate.

According to David Murray, a spokesperson for Snyder, the 1 February email was part of preparations for a press conference to announce additional state resources to help address concerns about the odour and colour of the water in Flint. He has since pledged to release all emails related to the issue.

Meanwhile, the materials that have been released are serious enough that Snyder may owe the public another apology or two. “People can draw their own conclusions, but that’s what it appears to me”, the governor told the Detroit News after addressing an audience during a Martin Luther King Day Breakfast at the University of Michigan-Flint. Other critics were accused of turning complaints about water into a “political football”.

Some fault the disconnected hierarchical approach – sans community engagement – to governance that the state imposes on municipalities in financial trouble, as Flint was when the fateful decisions about the water system were made by emergency manager Darnell Earley. Because state officials were responsible for policymaking decisions in the city of Flint?

“This is the kind of disaster, the kind of failure to deliver basic services that hurts people’s trust in government”, state House Minority Leader Tim Greimel said.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is asking President Barack Obama to reconsider the denial of his request for a federal disaster declaration in Flint. I pray that each resident affected gets full and proper restitution. Snyder had estimated a need for up to $95 million over a year.

Mr. President, if that lead-in-water tragedy happened in Grosse Point (not Flint), how quickly would your EPA have told you about the problem – (A) instantly, or (B) in a NY minute? A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analyst had discovered the high levels of lead in Flint’s water in early 2015 – before any official finding had been made public.

“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 the federal government stepping in with any substantial plan to resolve this problem”, commented Cher.

Other 2014 emails discuss the reaction to a water boil order issued for Flint in August and September of 2014 as a result of E. coli tests as well as debate over funding for infrastructure improvements, including the water system, throughout Flint.

MI officials are going so far as to deny that Flint’s water is undrinkable.

In his annual speech, Snyder committed $28 million more in the short term to pay for more filters, bottled water, school nurses, intervention specialists, testing and monitoring – on top of $10.6 million allocated in the fall.

Back in 2014, the city of Flint switched its water system from Detroit, to utilizing the Flint River which has been known to be polluted. But Snyder aides said they still considered it a local issue.

If you take a look at the collection of emails, and compare them to the comprehensive timeline the governor released Tuesday, the series of events that led up to the crisis match up.