Valacak says his department hasn’t made a direct link between Flint water and bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Flint resident Tony Palladino Jr.’s sign reads “Synder’s dirty little secret” atop a crossed out city of Flint on the map on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 outside of the Capitol in Lansing, Mich., in protest aga…
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Governor Rick Snyder has asked President Obama to declare a state of emergency in Flint over the cities water supply crisis.
Snyder’s request is expected to be reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It may also help uncover how much was known about the potential for contaminating the public water by disconnecting from the Detroit system and tapping into the Flint River.
Governor Rick Snyder has declared a state of emergency in the city.
The United Way of Genesee County is taking donations to pay for bottled water, filters and prevention efforts in Flint. If it is approved, the individual assistance could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and the public assistance would help agencies such as city schools and the water system. Mayor Karen Weaver told a Detroit radio station this morning she was glad to see Snyder move forward with the request. But in August, researchers from Virginia Tech performed in-home testing and found elevated levels of lead in the drinking water. She says it’s been “a long time coming” in the effort to get federal aid for Flint.
“Mayor Weaver has requested that the powers and authority now vested in the city administrator be transferred to the mayor”.
The announcement early Friday from the office of Bill Schuette says he’ll seek to determine what, if any, MI laws were violated.
Drinking water that lacked treatment for corrosion caused lead to leach from old plumbing in Flint for about 18 months.
Adults have already reported high-blood pressure and even blindness due to the lead, but it can take years for certain problems to manifest in children, particularly learning disabilities and cognitive impairments. The agency’s director stepped down last month. “Flint residents are the victims in this crisis and they deserve a more urgent response equal to the gravity of this crisis”, he said in a statement earlier this week. FEMA has appointed a disaster recovery coordinator.
According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality wasn’t treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. A National Guard spokesman said the plan called for getting 30 soldiers into the city by Friday.
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“We are now working very closely with local leaders and are reaching out to researchers who have been involved with the issue [so] we can work together on making sure Flint residents have access to safe, clean water”, Dave Murray, press secretary for Snyder, told CNN.
