Obama Declares State Of Emergency Over Flint’s Contaminated Water

The National Guard has been distributing free water, filters and other supplies, and FEMA workers already were providing logistical and technical support.

Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday he will investigate the water crisis to determine whether any MI laws have been violated.

The rally, which will be held at 1:30 p.m. local time (1830 GMT) at the Heavenly Host Church of the Harvest, comes two days before Michigan Governor Rick Snyder gives his annual speech about the state.

Obama’s move was actually less than what Snyder wanted, as he had asked for federal disaster area declaration and $55 million in federal assistance, and indicated the full cost could end up being closer to $100 million.

“I have pledged to use all state resources possible to help heal Flint, and these additional resources will greatly assist its efforts under way to ensure every resident has access to clean water resources”.

The order authorizes FEMA to provide water, filters, filter cartridges and other needed items, FEMA spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said on Twitter.

“The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water”. Lead exposure can lead to learning disabilities and behavioral problems in children.

Cher will donate water to the residents of a city that is struggling with a drinking water crisis linked to lead contamination.

Fresh water and filters will now be shared out across the city.

Moore, surrounded on Saturday by dozens of flag-waving and sign-toting Flint residents in front of the city’s municipal complex, said he must “insist” that Obama visit on Wednesday, the same day the president is scheduled to tour the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The city switched its water source from the city of Detroit to the Flint River in 2014. “Thousands may have been exposed potential brain damage from lead”.

Residents began to report brown tap water, hair loss and skin rashes nearly immediately, though government officials largely ignored their concerns, and the concerns of doctors and researchers who said the lead levels were toxic.

Earlier Thursday, dozens of people – some lugging jugs of dirty water in protest of the water crisis in Flint – criticized Snyder during a demonstration inside the MI state Capitol. In October, Snyder appointee Dan Wyant, DEQ’s director, admitted his department had improperly interpreted the federal Lead and Copper Rule created to protect drinking water.