Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, declined to testify about what led to the crisis before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on Wednesday, citing plans to stay home and propose an additional $195 million in state funding to address the crisis.
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“That’s a significant investment in the people of Flint”, Murray said.
Weaver wants to partner with the state in a month, with priority given to high-risk households.
After repeated assurances from government officials that the new water was safe to drink, Flint residents finally learned this fall that they had been exposed to lead and Legionnaires’ disease and told to rely on filtered or bottled water.
His proposal Wednesday drew mostly positive reaction from lawmakers who will consider the legislation in the coming months and likely approve a plan in early June.
“Experts say that the best plan is to first coat the pipes with phosphates to inhibit corrosion, then conduct a study to determine which pipes need to be replaced”, the statement said.
Immediately following the hearing, Mayor Weaver, along with USCM CEO & Executive Director Tom Cochran and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin who were designated by USCM President Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to lead the Conference’s fact-finding mission in Flint last week, will be available for questions outside of room HVC-210.
Officials say $37 million already has been approved.
The family went to live with Rodriguez’s sister.
Flint switched back to Detroit water in October after tests found high levels of lead in samples of children’s blood.
I am from Flint, Michigan.
The documents, obtained by Progress Michigan, also showed that the response to Flint’s water crisis was not only slow but also highly unequal. Around half of the service lines in Flint are made with lead so when the poorly-treated water came rushing through the pipes, the water supply was poisoned. A federal rule requires that 15 percent of the annual award to a state loan fund be available exclusively for loan assistance to small public water systems – those regularly serving fewer than 10,000 people.
Flint is under a state of emergency because state regulators allowed the city to switch its water source in 2014 without adding anti-corrosion chemicals. Another lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of MI, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, and parent/resident Melissa Mays, names the members of the Flint Receivership Transition Advisory Board and State Treasurer Nick Khouri as plaintiffs.
When asked if Snyder could be exempt from the investigation due to executive privilege, Todd said: “No one can get away from a crime”.
Kildee has been urging the Michigan DEQ to approve some of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund money in the form of low-interest or forgivable loans to replace lead service lines on private property.
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Flint’s water troubles, concerns about other aging water infrastructure and the Detroit school’s district dire financial outlook – it needs a $720 million infusion of cash over a decade to avoid bankruptcy, according to Snyder – overshadowed more nuts-and-bolts budget details this year, such as funding for education, municipalities and workforce development.
