Cher is offering assistance to the people of Flint, Michigan, whose water supply has been contaminated with lead since 2014.
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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.
The damage stems from a decision two years ago by the state – which had taken over the city’s budget amid a financial emergency – to save money by switching Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
“This emergency assistance is to provide water, water filters, water filter cartridges, water test kits, and other necessary related items for a period of no more than 90 days”, a White House statement declared.
On Thursday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder submitted a request to the president to call a state of emergency. That was a ideal storm for that lead to leach out of the pipes into the drinking water and into the bodies of children.
The emergency declaration will enable $5m of funding to be used to provide water for the city. Snyder said Saturday that Obama initially had denied the disaster declaration request based on the legal requirement that such relief is intended for natural events, fires, floods or explosions.
Lead poisoning is unsafe for anyone, but Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has pointed to research showing how lead exposure can affect a developing child’s IQ, resulting in learning disabilities.
On January 14 Snyder asked President Obama to declare a federal emergency after the governor had issued a state emergency on January 5.
Residents soon began complaining that the foul, cloudy water was making them vomit, break out in rashes and lose their hair.
A state task force recently faulted Snyder’s Department of Environmental Quality for not requiring Flint to treat the river water for corrosion and for its derisive response to the public’s fears.
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The New York Times also reports that Michigan’s attorney general opened an investigation into the lead contamination on Friday to see if any laws were broken amidst the crisis. In October, Snyder appointee Dan Wyant, DEQ’s director, admitted his department had improperly interpreted the federal Lead and Copper Rule created to protect drinking water.
