Flint lead problem could be eased by recoating old pipes

“They work for me so I accept that responsibility and we’re going to fix this problem”, he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.

“The only way that we can find out what went wrong is to conduct this hearing and have people testify”, she says.

“Just as our state Legislature is working to quickly approve funding for increased clean water resources and improved public health care in Flint, we are hoping for continued support from the federal government and Michigan’s Congressional delegation”.

Mayor Karen Weaver’s figure appears to reflect an analysis included in a Q&A published by the city’s Water Advisory Committee last March, before the city knew it had a lead problem.

Snyder acknowledged failures on the state’s part. “And I’m always scared that they’ll arrest me, and then deport me”, she said. They had strong science, medical backgrounds in terms of their research.

“But as a practical matter, when you look at it today and you look at their conclusions, I wouldn’t call them experts anymore”, he said.

Paul Mohai, a professor at the University of MI in Ann Arbor, has studied environmental burdens and their disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities since the late 1990s.

While much of the blame has been directed at Gov. Rick Snyder and state officials, particularly the Department of Environmental Quality, some have faulted the EPA’s Region 5 office for not acting more forcefully.

A top federal regulator resigned this week in connection with the lead contamination.

According to local estimates, up to 1,000 undocumented immigrants in Flint are opting not to receive any type of assistance in wake of the water emergency, which has exposed the entire population to toxic levels of lead, reports ABC affiliate WJRT.

Solving the crisis must go beyond distributing water bottles and filters to include full transparency from leaders. All they got was advice to boil the water before using it.

What’s more, nobody is certain how many lead service pipes there are in Flint. The decision to try to save money by switching water supplies was approved by one of the emergency managers.

After the city enabled the Flint River supply in April 2014, residents immediately started complaining about the smell, taste, and color of the water.

Koegel Meats is actually located outside the city, in Flint Township.

It turned out that the water was so corrosive that it leached metals, including lead, out of old pipes. But in the response required by Friday, he added, “the state has complied with every recent demand” of the EPA.

In the city of Flint, families are trekking daily to water distribution centers to pick up lead testing kits, filters and a ration of bottled water – one case per home per day. The agency ordered them to protect public health and act to ensure Flint’s water system is made safe.

The episode is under investigation by the EPA and the Justice Department at the federal level, and by the state’s attorney general, Bill Schuette, who is widely expected to run for governor in 2018.