Michigan Congress Passes Bill Allocating $30 Million to Assist Flint Residents

The formation of the committee came on the same day that the Senate voted unanimously to send $30 million to Flint to help with water bills in the city.

The organizer of a drive to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he plans to start circulating petitions on the Easter Sunday religious holiday and he believes he will need “a miracle” to collect the almost 790,000 valid signatures needed. The estimates do not include vacant properties. “The state also is reviewing the city’s data regarding lead lines and following up with site visits to confirm the information”.

Wang said JM Eagle pipe can last more than 100 years and he offered the city a 50-year guarantee.

The numbers and locations of lead service lines in Flint is significant, because Mayor Karen Weaver, who appeared with Kaufman, wants them removed as quickly as possible.

Meekhof, R-West Olive, initially resisted holding legislative hearings on Flint, but said Tuesday he thinks “enough work has been done on the investigatory” side to allow the committee to focus on public policy solutions. The money will help Flint with unpaid water bills.

State regulators never required that the river water be treated to make it less corrosive, causing lead from plumbing and pipes to leach into the water supply.

Weaver said she is also working closely with the White House and Flint’s representatives in the Michigan Legislature and U.S. Congress to secure full funding for her lead pipe removal project, as well as long-term funding to fully fix the city’s water-distribution system.

As expected, the Michigan Senate has approved $30 million to help pay Flint residents’ water bills in the aftermath of the city’s lead-contamination crisis.

“Our plan is to provide credits, covering the cost of water used for drinking, cooking and bathing”, Snyder said in a statement.

Flint’s drinking water became contaminated with lead while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager and temporarily switched its drinking water source, as a cost-cutting move, while it waited for a new Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline to Lake Huron to be completed.