Latest developments in Flint water crisis

The militia was ha… That is, for every $20 donated to fundraisers on a charitable crowdfunding website for the lead-tainted drinking water city.

Calls for Snyder’s resignation have been growing as criticism mounts over the government’s handling of the crisis. She added he will be “fully independent”, report to her and get paid through private donations.

The city is now in the national spotlight after elevated blood levels were discovered in some Flint children after the city changed its water source from Lake Huron water purchased from the Detroit water system to the Flint River in April 2014, a decision made while the city was being run by a state-appointed emergency manager. The complaint cites a part of the act which requires the EPA to “implement an “optimal” treatment program to reduce corrosion of lead in piles and solder” and that water systems must conduct monitoring for lead in household tap water.

An investigation into the Flint government is happening now, but the residents of the city are still suffering without clean tap water and may continue to suffer for some time.

The 17-member committee will recommend ways to help people exposed to lead, study Flint’s water infrastructure and determine possible upgrades, Snyder’s office said in a statement.

Now, the city government is forcing Flint citizens to pay water bills regardless of the quality of the water.

Activists are due to give testimony at the United Nations next week about water shutoffs in Detroit, Michigan as well as lead contamination in neighboring Flint’s drinking water.

If the commission does find discrimination, it could file a lawsuit or make legislative recommendations, he said.

Meekhof, a Republican, suggested Attorney General Bill Schuette should pay for the outside investigators with existing funds and not ask the Legislature for additional money.

He has dragged his feet far too long.

State Rep. LaTanya Garrett, D-Detroit, is asking U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open a federal investigation instead.

Schuette says appointing the special counsel will prevent conflicts between him, his investigation team and the team defending the state against water-related lawsuits.

It is unclear at this point if the probe could result in criminal or civil charges. Some of that water has come from Racine; much of it through a partnership with Racine Police, local pastors and Merchants Moving and Storage. Flood declined to discuss which laws may have been broken, except to note that “a plethora of laws” could be used and that there are prohibitions against misconduct by public officials.

The suit seeks replacement of city and privately owned lead water pipes, which corroded and leached lead when the city began drawing its water from the polluted Flint River in 2014, according to a press release and a blog post by Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission said Tuesday it will investigate whether discrimination played a role in Flint’s water problems as the national leader of the NAACP said the residents of Flint may have been ignored because many are minorities.