The nation was watching this week as Gov. Rick Snyder addressed MI residents about the water crisis in Flint.
Advertisement
There is no safe level of lead in the body, but the impacts of lead are considered most severe on the developing brains and nervous systems of children and fetuses. It has also been linked to a spike in the respiratory ailment Legionnaires’ disease, which has resulted in the deaths of least 10 residents. “You deserve to know that the buck stops here with me”.
In 2014, the state tried to save money by switching Flint’s water supply from Detroit to the Flint River.
A hospital in Flint, Michigan, has suffered a cyberattack just one day after hacktivist collective Anonymous threatened to take action over the water pollution crisis affecting the city. “They work for me so I accept that responsibility and we’re going to fix this problem”, he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program on Friday. A third of the people infected used Flint water, which had high levels of lead. An emergency manager was appointed to Flint in July 2013.
“You send Mr. Earley from Flint to Detroit”.
“Flint is a place I’ve been devoted to helping”, said Mr. Snyder, a Republican.
“This is a positive step forward for the city of Flint”, Snyder said in a statement.
He writes the state intends to “fully outline” its “legal and factual concerns with the order”.
For months and months the problem existed and was ignored at the state level before local protestors, including a Flint pediatrician and out-of-state researchers came in and demonstrated that a problem existed.
Gov. Snyder admitted to failures on the state’s part.
Another emergency manager, Louis Schimmel, who temporarily ran the cities of Hamtramck, Ecorse and Pontiac, defended Earley, saying bruised feelings are unavoidable.
However, the city’s government continues to charge people for the poison water and then threatening to foreclose their home or take their children if they refuse to pay. In fact, a recent report published by The Guardian showed that public water supplies across the country were experiencing similar issues.
Specialist Raymond Hood with the Army National Guard sits in a warehouse full of bottled water for Flint residents. They gave their political support to the decision to switch to Flint River water. They’re bypassing the city supply for a nearby township’s water. The U.S. Justice Department is assisting the Environmental Protection Agency with their investigation of the incident, and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has begun his own inquiry. The agency admitted this week that it should have acted sooner, and the regional EPA head resigned on Thursday.
As for the EPA’s top official, Gina McCarthy, she defended the agency’s role, claiming the EPA “did its job”.
Dennis Muchmore, Snyder’s chief of staff, sounded the alarm on the crisis, which was received with lukewarm response from state government. Instead he and other Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, have attempted to shift all blame onto the shoulders of the Republican governor. However, President Obama denied Synder’s request for a disaster declaration.
Some $5 million in federal aid has been freed up to immediately assist with the water crisis.
Advertisement
The Flint Water Advisory Task Force said its recommendations are more detailed and comprehensive than what the EPA ordered.
