EPA official resigns amid Flint water crisis

But “the community in Flint has created an infrastructure to help each other as this crisis evolves and persists”.

– To some people, the water problems echo the lackluster federal response to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Gov. Rick Snyder is seeking a federal disaster declaration which would bring in more federal resources. In a September 25 email, Muchmore said he could not “figure out why the state is responsible” before noting that former state Treasurer Andy Dillon had signed off on the city’s plans to build a water pipeline from Lake Huron, which required a temporary switch to the Flint River during construction. They didn’t learn the water was tainted until the state issued warnings a year and a half later.

The governor has some explaining to do about how Flint’s water ended up poisoned.

Exposure to lead can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children and various illnesses in adults.

Kildee said the EPA may bear some blame for not blowing the whistle publicly earlier, but the state bears most of the responsibility.

Snyder apologized to the residents of Flint during his State of the State address this week and promised that he would seek long-term assistance for the city’s residents. Details being discussed about a hearing on Flint “are entirely premature”, said a spokesman for Republicans on the committee who did not want to be named. He said Flint is a classic case of minority and low-income residents confronting an environmental issue and that “it may be one of the biggest environmental justice disasters we’ve seen in a long time”. The White House said the administration moved to make sure the money is available to MI much more quickly than normal, though it is unclear how much, if any, of the money would go to Flint. They would never do this to Ann Arbor. He asked MI lawmakers to authorize spending on diagnostic tests, health treatment for children and adolescents, replacement of old fixtures in Flint schools and day care centers and a study of the city’s water pipes.

Moore also cited deaths from Legionnaires’ disease recorded in the Flint area over the past two years and only announced publicly last week by Snyder.

The bulk of the extra funding requested for Flint, $17.2 million, would be spent on immediate health and water needs, including bottled water, filters and replacement cartridges, according to a letter Budget Director John Roberts sent Tuesday to the Legislature.

“It’s impossible to tell a story about Flint without some involvement from Michael Moore”, said Baxter.

“This just wasn’t a case of people having their water cut off for not paying their bills”, said Baxter of U.K.-based Montrose Pictures. It’s a racial crisis.

Susan Hedman, the second official to resign since the crisis unfolded, had played down a memo by an EPA employee that said tests had shown high levels of lead in the city’s water, telling Flint and MI administrators it was only a draft report.

“This public health crisis was caused by state and local officials, who made tragically bad decisions with the drinking water of Flint”, Lawrence stated in a Thursday release.

Weaver says Flint residents don’t know when the city’s water will be safe to drink again – even though they’re still paying for it.