MI governor plans $360M for Flint, infrastructure

WASHINGTON – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Friday he has agreed to testify to Congress about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, bowing to demands by Democrats that the Republican governor explain his role in a cost-cutting move that resulted in a public health emergency caused by lead-contaminated water. When the complaints and reports of bad smells, tastes, and color of the water began pouring in back in April of 2014, the state downplayed the seriousness of this issue and began to ignore the citizens of Flint. She spoke after an informational hearing Wednesday on Flint led by Democratic lawmakers.

“This legislation is one step, it’s not the total solution”, said Kildee, who along with several of his colleagues in both the U.S. Senate and House has been pressing for what could be hundreds of millions of dollars in funding they say is needed to fix and replace potentially damaged infrastructure, including old lead pipes, throughout the city. For more than a year, Snyder and his agency heads denied that this might pose a health problem, even mocking locals who complained about the foul liquid coming out of their taps.

The governor also address a new email scandal that critics say shows Snyder waited to react and inform the public about a potential danger with lead in Flint schools.

Governor Snyder said he’s doing his best to make Flint a priority. The Detroit News is reporting that Flint’s water department said in a press statement: The department “is working to get pressure restored, and water staff will be taking other remedial actions such as flushing and collecting bacteriological samples from around the system”.

The proposal includes $25 million for infrastructure needs specific to Flint, which is grappling with lead-contaminated water.

The EPA says it urged the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to “do the right thing” and notify the people of Flint about the water problem.

The Cruz campaign sent volunteers in the middle of January to hand out bottled water in Flint – but only to women at a “crisis pregnancy center”, a facility run by an anti-abortion group. The state’s top environmental regulator and other high-ranking officials also have resigned in response to the crisis. Regulators failed to ensure the water was treated properly and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply, contributing to a spike in child lead exposure.

Kerr says water accounted for the increase, with about 1.4 million pounds of water distributed at 140 sites last month. The Lansing Board of Water & Light has removed 13,500 lead pipes over a dozen years at a cost of $42 million.

“It does remind me, we are the expendables”, Westin says.

The conference – which came weeks after Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha presented research showing elevated lead levels in Flint youth – is also where it was shared that three buildings within the Flint School District had tested above the federal limits for lead in the drinking water.