MI should have required Flint to treat water

MI lawmakers moved quickly Thursday to start approving $30 million to help pay the water bills of Flint residents facing a lead-contaminated water supply.

Federal officials had been alarmed just a week ago by water samples of unfiltered water from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that suggested Flint’s lead contamination in parts of the city was stronger than residential faucet filters can handle.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Creagh’s testimony in advance of Wednesday’s hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Snyder’s office said the agency that has already accepted blame for much of the Flint water crisis dropped the ball on the Legionnaires’ disease issue and nobody told the governor about it. The Michigan Democratic Party has now called on Snyder to resign.

Flint residents still receive a monthly bill for water they can’t drink, at rates about eight times the national average. Yet officials indicated that nothing was the matter, with then-Flint Mayor Dayne Walling even drinking his city’s tap water on local TV to try to calm concerns.

A bill backed by all members of Michigan’s congressional delegation aims to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s reporting requirements in the event of drinking water emergencies.

Gov. Rick Snyder had a press conference this afternoon in Flint where reporters had raise their hands to get questions answered by him.

“I don’t think we should have to pay for water until they get it right, at all”, said resident Eric Marland. And critics have called for Snyder to resign, accusing his administration and officials he appointed of prioritizing cost cutting over public safety.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, said “there’s a good argument to be made” for assisting with bills because government “at every level” failed the city’s water customers.

Creagh, the MI official, focused on a June 2015 memo by an employee in EPA’s Midwest regional office that outlined problems with Flint’s water.

In addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the EPA, the team includes the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said Gina Balaya, a U.S. attorney’s spokeswoman in Detroit.

But he says state officials were not the only ones who made mistakes in Flint.

The residents are somewhat discriminated too, as claims point to recently released documents showing that Flint state employees have been receiving bottled water while government officials continued telling the people that the water system of the city was safe and fine. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was not asked to testify and was not present at the hearing.

Stabenow said the amendment would have paid to fix pipes in Flint, among other help for the city.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich of Flint says MI should fully cover water bills instead of a portion.