MI governor names panel to fix Flint’s contaminated water system

They charge that Flint residents are victims of “environmental racism” – that is, race and poverty factored into how Flint wasn’t adequately protected and how its water became contaminated with lead, making the tap water undrinkable.

Rick Snyder, under fire after Flint residents’ water was poisoned with lead, will discuss the crisis at a news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning.

There’s no set threshold, but officials say the residents’ needs haven’t been met. Kaiser said that “until we can get fresh clean drinking water out of the taps in the city of Flint, our efforts are not going to stop”.

“The people of Flint can not trust the state of MI to fix this man-made disaster and that is why court oversight is critically needed”.

Flint – Arguing the water in Flint is still not safe to drink because state and city officials are violating the Safe Drinking Water Act, a coalition of religious, environmental and civil rights activists is asking a federal judge for help.

The plan includes a call to repeal Michigan’s emergency manager law, which Brooks and others see as a contributor to the health emergency in Flint.

One of the prior suits alleges there is no sovereign immunity because the water switch denied residents their federal constitutional rights to bodily integrity and to be free from state-created danger.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks an order forcing city and state officials to remedy alleged violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, including a failure to properly treat the water for corrosion, test it for lead, notify residents of results and accurately report if the correct sample sites are being selected.

“When you have a disproportionate number of black, brown and poor children subjected to elevated lead, that’s a problem that grows up”, Brooks said.

“I want to make sure lead is not leaking into our water”, Smitherman said.

In addition, Flood, who is now in private practice, said that he has also given money to Democrats. “The short-term issue is about recoating the pipes (with chemicals) and that will be based on third-party experts saying the water is safe”. That’s when residents raised alarms about their faucet water, which looked like urine and caused skin rashes. Flint was under state financial management when it disconnected from Detroit’s water supply and began using the Flint River to save money.

The state’s environment department approved the switch even though the city’s treatment plant was not able to produce water that met state and federal standards.

In the near term, the state will continue to focus on recoating service pipes to control lead leaching.

They were issued nearly a week after Snyder released almost 300 Flint-related emails and other related correspondence regarding the man-made water crisis.

“Everyone in this country deserves and expects safe drinking water, regardless of your race, economic status or ZIP code”, Pastor Allen Overton, co-founder of Concerned Pastors for Social Action, said in the statement.