Obama approved an emergency designation for Genesee County and Flint over the weekend, though that does not free up as much in federal financial resources as the major disaster declaration Snyder asked for.
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Rick Snyder responded Monday to criticism from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the Democratic debates for his handling of Flint’s water emergency, saying Clinton is making it a political issue.
“We felt it was important for staff at the White House to hear at some length the challenges that are facing the city”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, adding that the president should meet with Weaver before the end of the day. The crisis actually began when Flint lost $8 million in state revenue sharing money, he said. The announcement is the first step in what will be a broader plan the state will work on with the city to address the water bill issue, the official said.
“We’re going to keep working on putting solutions in place”, Snyder told The Detroit News. They say they want action and want to get back to living with safe, clean water.
But improperly treated water from the Flint River caused lead to leach from the pipes, officials said.
The state also failed to adequately test the water and to act when it learned that children in Flint had high blood lead levels.
By early October, the Snyder administration was forced to acknowledge the validity of the lead concerns and help Flint return to the Detroit water system.
Obama declared an emergency – qualifying the city for $5 million – but determined it is not a disaster based on the legal requirement that such additional relief is intended for natural events, fires, floods or explosions.
In a move toward transparency, Snyder answered outside groups’ calls to release documents from his office so the public could evaluate his role in the Flint crisis. Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett is also getting involved.
While Governor Snyder is promising to do everything he can to solve the water crisis in Flint, there are some things that cannot be undone.
Rick Snyder, Michigan Governor, has taken accountability for, and apologized for contaminated water in Flint.
“Flint deserves an immediate response equal to the gravity of this ongoing public health emergency”.
Members of the Michigan National Guard are headed to Flint to help dole out bottled water, filters and other supplies to residents dealing with a drinking water crisis that began months ago.
During his second term, in April 2014, in order to save millions of dollars for buying water from Detroit, he switched the water source for Flint, Michigan from the fresh glacial water of Lake Huron to the Flint River where, says Michael Moore, “toxins from a dozen General Motors and DuPont factories have been dumped for over a hundred years”.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it would be leading the federal response to Flint’s problems. Snyder said he would request long-term health monitoring of children and others who may have been exposed.
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“I think we had people in the organization that we’re being too technical, being too literal and basically just following kind of the manual of activities rather than asking tougher questions, using more common sense”. ‘EPA did its job but clearly the outcome was not what anyone would have wanted, ‘ she said.
