MI governor appoints committee to fix Flint water system

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. A spending bill pending in the state Senate includes $3 million to help the city with unpaid water bills.

Snyder also outlined the events and decisions that led to the water supply contamination, pinning the blame on government at all levels.

But he said Flint residents won’t have to take his word or that of his department heads about when the water is safe to drink. Generally, lead affects children more than it does adults.

He announced that the state would have an increased administrative presence in Flint and called it the beginning of a long-term effort.

The money will go to the Community Foundation for Greater Flint.

The Safe Drinking Water Act, which was passed in 1974, orders U.S. water utilities to rigorously test and treat their drinking water for contaminants.

The crisis has even attracted the attention of the United Nations, which is “looking at the human implications closely”, according to Baskut Tuncak, a UN expert on hazardous substance and waste.

The city switched back to the Lake Huron water supply in October, but the damage was already done to the lead pipes. Some children’s blood has since tested positive for lead, which is linked to learning disabilities.

He said officials also are working to identify neighborhoods with no lead pipes, so those residents can get the all-clear on their water. They’re for-profit companies. And by providing water to the public schools for the remainder of the year, the four companies have effectively supplanted the local water authorities and made themselves an indispensable public utility, but without any amount of public regulation or local accountability.

The steps announced Wednesday appear intended in part to help Snyder, the state and other officials regain the trust of the city’s 100,000 residents, who are still unable to drink from their taps.

State emergency response officials say about 176,000 cases of water, 93,000 water filters and 29,000 water testing kits have been distributed to residents since January 6.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has named a special prosecutor and investigator to look into possible crimes in the crisis.

Residents of Flint and the rest of the state deserved to hear that.

A Schuette spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has apologized for regulatory failures and other things that led to Flint’s crisis.

A meeting is scheduled Tuesday in Flint with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President and Chief Executive Cornell Brooks, along with NAACP leaders from Flint and Detroit.

“Flint is Exhibit A for what happens when a state suspends democracy and installs unaccountable bean counters to run a city”, ACLU of MI legal director Michael J. Steinberg said in a statement. Flint re-commissioned a water treatment plant and treated water from the Flint River instead of purchasing more expensive water from Detroit.