Latest developments in Flint water crisis

An archway on a planter straddles the Flint River in downtown Flint, Mich., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.

Snyder disclosed the figure during a tele-town hall event Wednesday with almost 8,000 listeners.

In October 2014, General Motors stopped using Flint River water at its engine plant because the company was seeing rust of vehicle parts.

Durbin says Democratic Sens. Durbin offered few details, but said the measure would “protect children from water that is deadly or poisonous”. Because the Flint River water required high levels of chlorine to disinfect, the water became acidic and started destroying the coating of lead pipes in the water system. At the time, Flint’s finances were under control of a state-appointed emergency manager.

Flint officials had long chafed at purchasing water from Detroit, which, they alleged, overcharged them and sometimes raised rates by large amounts in a single year. But a one-time infusion of gallons of fresh water doesn’t do much to address the systemic failures of government that led to the water crisis in the first place. Those numbers include donated items, as well as state purchased items, the news agency reported.

Majority Republicans favor the law. A state plan to save $15 million on Flint’s water bills may now cost $1.5 billion in clean-up, Moore said in his online petition for help from President Barack Obama.

The groups and Mays also seek appropriate relief to remedy the health and medical harms to Flint residents from the lead contamination.

Baird’s name also figured in controversies over pay increases of 80% and 90% awarded to certain Treasury Department investment officials, and a state furniture contract involving Snyder’s cousin. “$500,000 coming out of my own pocket (which is everything I’ve made on tour up to this point) & the other 1/2 being met by@AvitaWater”. He will report to her as an independent consultant and be paid through private donations.

Flood mostly declined to discuss which laws may have been broken, except to note there are prohibitions against misconduct by public officials.

The state Senate is expected to approve a $28 million supplemental budget request earmarked for the water crisis.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Interim Director Keith Creagh said water samples show “things are trending better”, but he stressed the results are not statistically valid.

The focus of the committee, the governor’s office said, is to make recommendations about the health of residents exposed to lead and determine potential upgrades to infrastructure.

Members will serve three-year terms expiring December 31, 2018.

The suit calls for a federal court to order the city and state governments to carry out additional water testing and to replace all lead water pipes at no cost to Flint residents. But the state neglected to add the chemicals that would have prevented corrosion in the pipes, and thousands of people drank the contaminated water.

Environmental and human rights groups are suing Flint and MI officials, saying they aren’t doing enough in response to the city’s drinking water crisis.