Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who wrote the energy bill, said last week she proposed an amendment that would provide $550 million to Flint – $50 million upfront – but that it was spurned by Democrats, prompting Sens.
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“We’re here to investigate what possible crimes there are, anything from involuntary manslaughter … to misconduct in office”, the investigator, Todd Flood told reporters in Lansing.
Flood, a former county prosecutor, added that government officials will not be spared any harsh charges if it is to be proven that they were negligent under civil law.
The quality of the city’s drinking water came into question in 2015 after the source of the water supply was changed the Flint River.
Last month, the president signed an emergency declaration for Flint, setting in motion a federal response but setting no specific funding commitment for the city, which has been struggling with high lead levels blamed on corrosive river water leaching lead from old service pipes.
The city and the state have been named in multiple lawsuits filed on behalf of residents who claim they were harmed by Flint’s water, which showed rising levels of lead while the river was being used as well as elevated levels of total trihalomethanes and repeated problems with bacteria in the water. Nine full-time investigators were handpicked by the group to examine what happened in Flint, which has rankled residents for almost two years and has become an issue on the presidential campaign trail. “It’s an opportunity to help people, and we want to help people”, he said.
“I’ve got lots of rashes on my arms and stuff”, said resident Terry Shumaker. So I’m still going to have to see them.
Flint is under a state of emergency because of lead-tainted water. The documents are expected to be produced by 1 March, and the state has yet to the challenge the subpoena.
Snyder, a former accountant who has been keen to fatten the state’s savings account in his five years in office, will call for shifting $165 million he had planned for the rainy day fund to a new Michigan Infrastructure Fund, according to details provided to The Associated Press.
The mayor of Flint, Michigan, threw down the gauntlet Tuesday, announcing she has a $55 million plan to remove lead pipes from the entire city in one year – and “shame on” Gov. Rick Snyder if he doesn’t support it.
She says the success of her plan requires federal and state funding.
It wasn’t until a local pediatrician published evidence of a huge spike in lead poisoning among Flint children in October that state officials admitted the water was unsafe to drink. “We can not afford to wait any longer”.
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“I invite Governor Snyder and his team to pledge their full cooperation to help us get this done”, Weaver said. “If you don’t pay your water bill they will put a tax lien on your property that includes your back water bill…16,000 people have lost their homes…Now they keep saying they put a “pause” on shut-offs [notices] since we made it a huge national deal…and we’re still getting water bills”.
