Michigan State University and a Flint hospital are putting a team together to keep a long-term eye on the lead problem, from offering nutrition tips to residents to health monitoring.
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Flint’s mayor says she expects Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s request to President Barack Obama for an emergency and major disaster declaration amid the city’s water crisis to result in more help for the city.
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.
Lead leached into the tap water of some city residents following the decision to temporarily switch to the Flint River for drinking water.
Snyder’s request will be reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will advise the president on whether the declarations should be granted, the statement said.
Snyder is asking a state Receivership Transition Advisory Board, which continues to monitor Flint finances, to transfer to Weaver executive authority that had been reserved for the city administrator under former Emergency Manager Jerry Ambrose.
In an effort to save money, the city switched from the Detroit-based system and began using water from the Flint River a year ago.
The governor’s request seeks federal tax dollars to give individuals grants for temporary housing and repairs to their homes and low-priced loans for covering uninsured loss of property.
Meanwhile, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced an investigation into the ongoing crisis to see if any laws were violated. Before speaking with reporters at the time, Snyder met with Weaver in Lansing for more than 30 minutes and apologized a second time for the state’s role in the catastrophe. Governor Snyder and his administration could have protected Flint residents, but instead they turned a blind eye, even assuring residents that their water was safe.
Schuette promises his investigation will proceed “without fear or favor”.
Snyder has declared an emergency in Flint because of lead in water.
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Frustrated residents have called for the Republican governor’s resignation after high levels of deadly lead were found in Flint’s drinking water.
