Snyder lawyer called Flint water ‘scary’ before lead crisis

— Mike Gadola, Snyder’s chief legal counsel and now an appeals court judge: He wrote in October 2014 that using Flint River water was “downright scary”, and noted that his mother lived in the city and he grew up there. In the emails examined by the Detroit News, this reportedly happened after General Motors said the city’s heavily chlorinated river water was rusting engine parts. Gadola, Snyder’s then-legal counsel, called the idea of using the Flint River as a water source “downright scary”.

Flint is no stranger to financial hardship, which is why more and more residents are concerned with the possibility of declining property values and a reduction in overall tax revenue. The tainted water has left children with elevated lead levels, which have been linked to learning disabilities and other problems.

The state ultimately helped Flint switch back a year later, after improperly treated water corroded old pipes and leached lead into homes and businesses. The state would do just that a month later after lead contamination was exposed.

The warnings and concerns were not addressed, however, and in January 2015, Earley rejected returning Flint’s water source to the Detroit system. But he said Treasury Department officials concluded the cost to reconnect Flint to Detroit water – an extra $1 million per month – was deemed more than the cash-strapped city could afford.

The governor said that anger and frustration from the people of Flint directed at him serves as motivation, even in the face of people who tell him he’s not doing enough fast enough.

“The right people were raising the right issues, they were sounding the alarms”, said John Truscott, a public relations strategist who was the spokesman for former GOP Gov. John Engler.

“There’s no reasonable person who can believe at this point that every top advisor to Rick Snyder knew that there was an issue, but Snyder knew nothing”, Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, said in a statement.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder answered questions today about new emails released this week concerning the Flint Water Crisis, as he signed legislation sending $30-million to Flint residents to reimburse their city water bills.

“The water you think you are using to drink, you would use to cook, you’re using for bathing – that’s to say you shouldn’t have to pay for that”.

The portion not picked up by the state is for sewer services, which were not affected by the switch to Flint River water.

All along, Flint residents have been paying the highest water bills in the nation, according to a survey by an environmental nonprofit called Food & Water Watch.