President Barack Obama on Saturday signed an emergency declaration for the state of MI, clearing the way for federal aid to help resolve the water crisis in Flint.
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Bernie Sanders on Saturday called for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign over Flint’s drinking water crisis.
“The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water”. “But aid under that designation tends to be far less and far more limited, allowing, for instance, for debris removal and emergency measures, not the kind of permanent work Snyder is seeking to have done replacing water lines with lead in them”.
An official at the Genesee County health department says the agency has been “bombarded” with phone calls from anxious residents, a day after state officials said the number of Legionnaires’ disease cases had increased. The president also offered assistance in finding other available federal assistance, the news release said.
That clears the way for federal aid to a city that’s been battling contaminated water since 2014.
Flint, which is about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit, returned to using that city’s water supply in October after tests found elevated levels of lead in the water and in the blood of some children.
The more corrosive water from the Flint River leached lead from the city pipes more than Detroit water did, leading to the problems.
Despite the legal limitation, the governor is considering an appeal to exhaust “every opportunity to provide resources” for residents, Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said.
State officials ignored months of health warnings about the foul-smelling water as residents complained it was making them sick, break out in rashes and lose hair.
Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday he will investigate the water crisis to determine whether any MI laws have been violated. The state Department of Environmental Quality acknowledged it should have added corrosion-control chemicals to the water to help treat it.
Cher will donate water to the residents of a city that is struggling with a drinking water crisis linked to lead contamination.
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A state of emergency has been declared by Flint’s own mayor since mid-December. If he wants more, he must ask Congress. If he were to declare a disaster area in Flint, usually reserved for natural disasters rather than manmade ones, more funding would become available.
