MI emails show officials knew of Flint water disease risk

Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to propose an additional $30 million in state funding to help Flint residents pay their water bills.

The congressional hearing devolved into a partisan fight over witnesses and no-shows. Wednesday’s hearing started with an unusual request to the U.S. Marshal’s Service to physically serve subpoenas to some MI officials who failed to appear for the hearing.

Residents from Flint, Michigan, could recieve compensation from the government after their water supply became contaminated with lead. In January, it was reported that the state hired two attorneys to probe what had happened to give Flint citizens answers.

The water contamination crisis has stirred questions about whether officials would have acted sooner if the community were wealthier and the population predominantly white.

Earlier Tuesday, Ananich criticized Snyder for an inadequate, slow response to the crisis, raising concerns about lead testing, water bills and a delay in helping children absorb less lead with nutritional programs.

“Negotiations to attach the aid to the energy bill were increasingly breaking down on Wednesday, with a key Democrat saying her caucus could block the underlying legislation if it does not get a good deal on Flint”.

“I am morally obligated with every bit of the power and authority my office has to make Flint’s water safe and the city successful for the people who live and work here”, Weaver said, according to a February 2 article in the Detroit News. But the proposal was found to have tax code implications, Republicans said, that would have prevented the bill from moving forward. Lansing, Michigan, Mayor Virg Bernero reportedly said in reference to Weaver, shortly after offering assistance from his own city, which has successfully eliminated lead from 13,500 pipes over a ten-year period, racking up a bill of $42 million in the process.

Senate Republicans and Democrats continued their negotiations.

Brad Wurfel, who was DEQ spokesman at the time, informed Snyder’s director of urban initiatives, Harvey Hollins, about a “significant uptick” in Legionnaires’ cases but said it was “beyond irresponsible” for Henry to link the disease to the river without an adequate investigation.

Flint, a city near Detroit, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched the source of its tap water from Detroit’s system to the Flint River in April 2014. Earley declined a request to testify. Susan Hedman, former administrator for the EPA’s Region 5 Office, and Darnell Earley, former emergency manager for Flint, were among those who did not show up. Chaffetz said the committee will interview Hedman under oath this month.

And Democrats, especially members from MI, said Gov. Dan Snyder’s (R) administration deserved blame for the lead problem because it was a Snyder appointee’s decision to switch the water supply. “The citizens should not be made to add insult to injury by having to pay for unsafe, dirty, non-drinkable, non-usable water”.

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a comprehensive energy bill after majority Republicans balked over hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency federal aid to Flint, Michigan, to fix and replace the city’s lead-contaminated pipes.