Investigator: Manslaughter charges possible in Flint

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Flint mayor Karen Weaver announced a US$55 million plan to replace the city’s network of lead service lines. A spokesman for Snyder, who has apologized for his administration’s role in the disaster and an inadequate initial response, said $25 million of the funding designated for Flint would help replace an unspecified number of old lead lines running from city streets to houses. The mayor said her proposal will require funding from the MI legislature or the US Congress.

Although Michigan Governor Rick Snyder had commented recently that replacing the pipes was not a good short-term solution, Weaver seemed confident that the work could begin as soon as possible and would be finished within a year by 32 crews from the US National Guard.

The former Wayne County prosecutor tapped to lead the state’s investigation into the crisis said on Tuesday he was looking to see whether any of the officials who signed off on the change acted criminally. She says Flint residents are emotionally distraught and in her words: they need to move forward to get the city going whether Governor Snyder is behind her or not.

“We can’t wait for that we don’t trust that, and we deserve new pipes”.

At this hearing, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats will also hear testimony on this ongoing emergency from public health experts and local officials. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat, and James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, to go back to the negotiating table. For decades, Flint had bought its water from Detroit, but while the KWA was under construction a state-appointed emergency manager chose to pull Flint’s water from the river. It was an interim measure while a new pipeline to Lake Huron is being built. My mother has to boil water to clean herself and use bottled water to prepare food and brush her teeth.

Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around homes and may cause health effects such as behavioral problems and learning disabilities, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Schuette, whose office is both investigating the crisis and representing Snyder in the civil cases, refused on Tuesday to discuss the subpoena and its potential impact to the state’s investigation, citing an “ironclad” wall between the investigation and civil lawsuits he says his office has established.

News reports Luke Waid and his fiancée Michelle Rodriguez were first informed about their daughter’s high lead levels at her 1-year checkup. According to the suit, daughter Sophia “has experienced serious physical and emotional issues due to the contaminated water, including skin rashes, digestive problems, infections, excessive crying and irritability and the inability to sleep at night”.

On Monday, the state Board of Canvassers approved a recall petition for Snyder.