President Obama declares emergency in Flint

President Barack Obama Saturday signed a disaster declaration for MI because of the contamination of Flint’s water supply.

“I welcome the President’s quick action in support of the people of Flint after months of inaction by the Governor”, Congressman Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said in a statement.

“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”.

President Obama has issued an emergency order over the poisoned water supply in Flint, Michigan. The new supply was not treated with required corrosion control chemicals and caused lead and pathogens [report] to get into the town’s water supply from pipes.

Federal aid will come in the form of water, water filters, filter cartridges, test kits and other items over, at most, 90 days.

The state’s environment department had allowed water to be taken from the Flint River, even though the city’s treatment plant was not able to produce water that met state and federal standards, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency January 5, and the National Guard began distributing bottled water last week.

For more than a year, parents there have voiced simmering concerns that a decision to change the city’s water source in 2014 from Detroit to the Flint River resulted in the slow poisoning of their children who showed elevated lead levels.

The move follows a call for the arrest of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder by the documentary film maker Michael Moore.

The US Justice Department is helping the Environmental Protection Agency investigate the matter, and state Attorney General Bill Schuette has opened his own probe, which could focus on whether environmental laws were broken or if there was official misconduct. The entertainer and Icelandic Water are contributing more than 181,000 bottles of water to help alleviate what she called a “tragedy of staggering proportions”.

Weaver said she has not spoken directly with the president, but she has been in contact with people inside his administration “and we’re hoping to set some things up”.

He blames the governor for not treating Flint’s water so it wouldn’t have corroded the pipes in the first place.

Meanhwile, Cher is donating water to the residents of Flint. “Children in Flint will be plagued with brain damage and other health problems”.