Doctor Who Helped Expose Flint’s Water Crisis Looks For Solutions

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has convened the first meeting of a panel that will work on finding solutions for Flint residents whose drinking water is contaminated with lead, something he calls a “terrible tragedy”.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday morning 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.

Snyder said earlier Tuesday that he is asking the federal government for additional health care services for Flint children and young adults who may have been exposed to lead-tainted water.

It was discovered several months ago that children in the financially strapped city have high levels of lead in their blood, in part because of the state’s decision to switch Flint’s water supply. The others seek financial damages and class-action status.

Already, Susan Hedman, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regional administrator for Flint, Michigan, has resigned in the wake of the crisis.

On top of millions of dollars in pledged governmental aid, faith-based and nonprofit organizations, companies large and small, the rich and famous, and many other individuals all have targeted Flint for significant charitable giving – in the form of money and millions of bottles of water.

At a news conference Wednesday, Snyder declined to speak about the litigation. It was later discovered that that the river water was corrosive and had caused damage to the city’s pipes, allowing high-levels of lead to leach out. So today, a substantial number of service lines, distribution lines, and household water pipes in American communities are made of lead.

Steve Neavling of Motor City Muckraker writes that e-mails and documents he obtained show that the governor and Flint’s emergency managers repeatedly lied about their role in the process of using the Flint River for drinking water and knew it was risky.

As NRDC scientist Kristi Pullen explained on a call with journalists today, Flint has been particularly vulnerable because about 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, making these residents more likely to have existing health problems. The investigation could focus on whether environmental laws were broken or whether there was official misconduct in the process that left Flint’s drinking water contaminated.

NAACP President and CEO Cornell Brooks drew a direct connection between Flint’s socioeconomic factors and the toxic drinking water.

DEQ officials could not immediately say Tuesday whether the state has hired an expert to assess the condition of the Flint water infrastructure, how much it will cost to fix it, or when that information is expected to be available.

■Ensuring Flint has all of the professional assistance necessary to operate its water system safely.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette announced January 15 that he launched an investigation of his own into the city’s water woes, stating “In 21st century America, no one should have to fear something as basic as turning on the kitchen faucet”.

Snyder also announced Wednesday that a close adviser, Flint native Rich Baird, would run a new state office in Flint.