Snyder says Flint residents “will not have to pay for water they can not drink”. State officials first denied that Flint’s water had high levels of lead that adversely affect people physically and mentally for decades.
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Snyder also signed a $28-million appropriation bill to send relief to Flint at the Michigan Press Association Legislative Luncheon in Grand Rapids Jan. 29. Snyder said he had been notified of public health emergency days before the announcement.
And while Flint Mayor Dr. Karen Weaver agrees with Snyder that the water system’s lead contamination was due to the government’s failure at every level, she feels that the state is the one ultimately responsible, according to Think Progress. The others included the EPA’s Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water Joel Beauvais, EPA Researcher Miguel Del Toral, Virginia Tech Professor of Environmental and Water Engineering Marc Edwards and Michigan’s current Director of the Department of Environmental Quality Keith Creagh. He said that $75 million would refund 30,000 Flint citizens’ water bills and the other $75 million would aid in any damage that the polluted water caused to pipes, water heaters, pumps, and other equipment.
A $100 million lawsuit has been filed against McLaren Flint hospital and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on behalf of four patients who allegedly contracted Legionnaires’ disease while being treated at the hospital.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, said “there’s a good argument to be made” for assisting with bills because government “at every level” failed the city’s water customers. The Associated Press reports that Snyder’s office was well in the know of the outbreak due to Flint water since last March. We want to make sure we identify every place that is high risk. At 6:37 PM Thursday the governor released his own statement via Facebook repeating that the did not know about the Legionnaires outbreak until January 2016.
On March 12, Stephen Busch, a DEQ district supervisor, wrote back to Henry and challenged his assertion that the DEQ had declined to meet since being initially informed in October 2014 about a rise in Legionnaires’ cases. Most people are exposed to it through vaporized water in warmer climates, making it especially prevalent in nursing homes and assisted care facilities. Busch said the department never was asked for a meeting, but he agreed a multi-agency partnership would be beneficial moving forward.
Chaffetz also said he would issue a subpoena to Susan Hedman, the EPA’s former Midwest region chief who resigned as criticism arose of her handling of the water crisis.
“The EPA questioned, internally, whether they had the authority to go public with the information they had”, he said.
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“It’s hard to find moral justification in having (residents) pay for water that is not suitable for consumption nor, until recently, for bathing”.
