President Obama declares state of emergency in Flint, Michigan

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders urged Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to step down in light of his state’s ongoing and fatal water crisis that has sickened thousands of residents and left more than 30,000 Flint, Michigan households with undrinkable tap water.

The situation in Flint, Michigan, has become so dire that residents have told the New York Times that they are considering a move outside of the city.

FEMA will deliver water, water filters, water filter cartridges, water test kits, “and other necessary related items” for about three months, the release said.

Flint went back to Detroit water in October, but some fear the old pipes were so damaged that they must be replaced, at costs estimated as high as $1.5 billion. The state is required to provide a 25 percent match.

According to FEMA, a major disaster “can be a result of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornados or major fires”. “For so long, our voices have gone unheard”, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in response to Snyder’s request for federal disaster aid. Control during the water crisis has been in the hands of the city administrator.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has received Michigan’s request for a disaster declaration in Flint.

The president’s actions authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate responses and provide 75% federal funding. Poor record keeping over the decades means Flint isn’t sure exactly where it’s lead service lines are.

Though the United States has successfully eliminated lead from paint, auto exhaust, water, and soil, it still shows up in millions of children across the country.

$31 million for a year’s worth of filters and other water supplies.

President Obama has signed a MI emergency declaration submitted by Gov. Rick Snyder to give federal aid to Flint during the water crisis.

On Wednesday, a Virginia Tech university professor who has spent months studying Flint’s water crisis said the failure to treat Flint River water to make it less corrosive could have been responsible for the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. One of the main questions people wanted answered is: Exactly what did the Governor know, and when did he know it? But the recent report from a task force appointed by the governor blamed the state Department of Environmental Quality, saying that the officials there had taken a lax approach to enforcement and that they responded to concerns about Flint’s water with “aggressive dismissal, belittlement and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved”.

Almost two years have passed since safe drinking water flowed from Flint faucets. The editorial asks for an immediate reimbursement to Flint residents who have had to pay for poisoned water since April 2014.