Governor Apology For Flint Water ‘Catastrophe’

In his State of the State address, Snyder will propose funding to help the City of Flint with utilities, thus alleviating the need for water shut-offs, said a Snyder administration official speaking on background. Flint’s plight also emerged as an issue in Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate.

Weaver also met with Obama’s senior adviser and his intergovernmental affairs director on Tuesday.

The suits will detail government officials’ culpability and will provide a more detailed timeline than the previously filed federal lawsuit, Hood said.

LANSING, Mich Jan 19 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, facing protests, lawsuits and calls for his resignation over drinking water contamination in Flint, on Tuesday apologized to the city’s residents and called for the state to spend $28 million on fixes.

“They were staring at a public health emergency, and they sat on it for over 10 months”, Pitt said, further criticizing leaders who assured residents the water was safe when they knew it wasn’t true.

Nearly all his other priorities, except the mounting financial problems in Detroit’s state-overseen school district, were shelved from the speech due to the crisis. The governor and his office are exempt from public-records requests under MI law, but given his administration’s regulatory failures, he chose to bow to pressure to disclose more information about what he knew and when.

“If you can’t drink the water, you shouldn’t be billed for it”, Schuette, whose duties include consumer protection, said on Twitter. Research shows lead exposure can affect a developing child’s IQ, resulting in learning disabilities. He added local, county and state officials need to be held to account.

The Flint River water leached lead from city pipes more than Detroit water did, leading to elevated levels of lead in the water and the blood of some children.

– $100,000 for the Michigan State Police to pay for the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who attended the address, said Snyder’s contrition “does not mitigate the crime that has been committed”.

The request was sent Tuesday to the chairs of the Michigan House and Senate Appropriations committees.

In his sixth State of the State address tonight, Governor Rick Snyder outlined a plan to deal with the short-term damage wrought by the Flint water crisis.

The city swapped back to the Lake Huron water supply in October, but the damage was already done to the lead pipes.

“I’m sorry, and I will fix it”, Snyder said.

“I’m sorry, and I will fix it”, Mr. Snyder, a Republican, said in a State of the State address in which he took the unusual step of focusing on a painful issue that has consumed the state in recent weeks and has drawn condemnation from national politicians. His staff announced Tuesday that Obama will not be visiting Flint. “Let’s solve this problem and help the kids”. The National Guard has been deployed to the MI city to help deliver clean water to residents, and the president signed a disaster declaration for MI on Saturday, releasing $5 million in federal funding.

‘The situation is anything but being ignored by the White House, ‘ White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

An attorney in one of the suits had a message for state officials: “Don’t fight it”.

Although the decision to stop buying Detroit’s water was made by an elected city council, Flint switched to using river water while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager with a mandate to get city’s costs down.