Snyder activates National Guard, requests FEMA assistance to help in Flint

The decision comes after about 45 Michigan State Police troopers and other state workers began Tuesday distributing water and filters to residents without them because of the lead poisoning crisis that has put Flint in the national spotlight and even drawn comments from the White House.

Gov. Snyder also requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which said it would help coordinate a recovery plan for the city with other federal agencies.

“We don’t want people to assume anything’s good until we have a chance to do extensive testing and confirm that publicly”, Snyder said.

The water crisis in Flint has resulted in a U.S. EPA audit of Michigan’s state drinking water program, a federal investigation and the resignation of the director of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Also Monday, he issued an executive order creating a committee to work long term on resolving the crisis and health concerns.

“They say the State of MI – which has acknowledged significant responsibility for the lead contamination of Flint’s drinking water, which began in April 2014 and continues to pose a health threat today – should be picking up some or all of the tab”. Testing in October detected increased lead levels in residential water supplies and in children’s blood.

(CNN)Flint, Michigan, is suffering a major water crisis. Combining a school carnival with medical tests to check children’s blood for abnormally high levels of lead, the event was an example of the weird circumstances that families are contending with in Flint, Michigan’s seventh largest city.

Scientists were finally called to test the water in October and confirmed what many residents suspected, that the water was unsafe to drink.

Snyder’s press secretary said Tuesday that Guard personnel are expected to help staff fire stations here, freeing up members of the American Red Cross so that they can assist with door-to-door distribution of water and water filters.

Snyder held a press conference on Monday to notify citizens of Flint he was asking for federal assistance.

“Flint needs more action and less talk from Governor Snyder”, Kildee said. He notes that filters are being distributed for free around the city, so there’s no need to buy one from someone on the street.

Flint Water Fund is accepting donations to help purchase water filters and bottled water. “Flint residents are the victims in this crisis and they deserve a more urgent response equal to the gravity of this crisis”.