EPA says it urged state, local action in Flint

Lest anyone forget Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s legacy in the Flint water crisis, artist Michael Dykehouse has painted a portrait of the governor, done completely in lead. Officials in the Snyder Administration have said that they hope to restore drinking water to the city in stages, with a full assessment of the system completed by mid-April.

Snyder has said he’s hopeful that the federal government will expand Medicaid coverage to people under 21 and pregnant women who have been exposed to Flint’s water.

Approximately 800,000 of Oakland County’s 1.2 million residents, and a similar number in neighboring Macomb County, receive their drinking water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. He said he wanted the water service line replacements to start quickly but not so fast that the repairs might lead to other troubles.

It’s bad enough that the residents of Flint, Michigan, were drinking water tainted with lead, putting a future generation in jeopardy.

The governor also favored speedy pipe replacement, but it’s part of multi-step process.

The CRS identified regulatory implementation, monitoring protocols, compliance, oversight issues and the lead regulation itself as contributing factors in the failure to effectively prevent, identify and respond to high lead levels in Flint’s drinking water.

That aid comes as a new congressional report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said the Environmental Protection Agency waited too long to take enforcement action after learning of elevated lead levels in Flint’s tap water.

Matt Krol speaks to protestors and citizens about the Flint Water Crisis on January 24, 2016 at Flint City Hall in Flint, Michigan. The failure to deploy corrosion controls after the switch is considered a catastrophic mistake that enabled lead to leach from aging pipes and reach some homes.

A key member of that team is retired National Guard Brig.

Since Oct. 2, 2015, the state has assisted the city of Flint in the amount of $39.3 million. But McDaniel reiterated the plan is still in its early phases and much of it is based on “assumptions”.

State Treasurer Nick Khouri says that five thousand of the 29,000 residential water customers in Flint are delinquent on their bills. Dykehouse used white paint that’s made with lead in the painting as a permanent reminder of children affected in Flint.

The astronomical water rates in Flint were ordered rolled back by 35 percent in August 2015 as the result of a court ruling, and an additional monthly service charge was also ended.