Snyder declares emergency in Flint over water

“If state and local resources are unable to cope with the emergency, the Governor may request federal assistance”.

On Monday Genesee County declared a local state of emergency for response and recovery planning. A recent preliminary report from a task force mostly blamed the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, leading to the December 29 resignation of DEQ Director Dan Wyant. A local hospital discovered that the percentage of Flint children with elevated lead levels almost doubled after the switch, according to CNN affiliate WDIV. This was followed by studies showing that lead piping elevated lead levels 10 times higher than they had previously measured. “Exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight, as well as minor malfunctions”.

Following these discoveries, Flint returned to receiving its water through the Detroit-Lake Huron system in October.

“The City of Flint has experienced a manmade disaster”, Weaver said in a statement announcing the state of emergency. The agency did not address the water’s corrosiveness after switching the city’s water source to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure in 2014.

Even with these efforts, many Flint residents got by thanks mostly to charity organizations and the kindness of neighbors and strangers for potable water.

The one-credit course will begin this month with eight sessions and include panel discussions with leaders, experts and others involved in the Flint water crisis. But it remains to be seen if Flint will actually qualify for federal aid.

Famous singer Cher has taken to Twitter to sound off on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Flint’s water crisis.

“We’re just confirming that we’re looking into it”, Balaya tells the paper. Elsewhere, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with federal prosecutors to investigate the decisions that led to Flint’s public health emergency.