Michigan governor signs $28M bill to address water crisis

[rooster59]

Michigan governor signs $28M bill to address water crisis

JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press
DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press


GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law $28 million more in emergency funding on Friday to address Flint's lead-contaminated water, and said he didn't know some state workers in the city had received bottled water last year while officials were still telling residents that tap water was safe to drink.

It's the second round of state aid for the city since the crisis was confirmed in the fall, bringing the total allocated to nearly $39 million. The Republican governor said the funding will provide immediate resources in Flint, but is not the end of state assistance.

Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water after Flint switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. Some children's blood has tested positive for lead, which has been linked to learning disabilities, lower IQ and behavioral problems. Flint has reconnected to Detroit's system for now.

"It's time to stand up and recognize that things could have been done differently," Snyder said before signing the aid legislation. "Mistakes were made. ... We're going to solve them."

Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators, some of whom have resigned or have been suspended. But he remains the target of criticism, including longshot efforts to recall him from office. In pledging again to fix the problem, he said, "how do you learn from things that didn't go right to be even stronger and better for the long term?"

News that employees at a state building in Flint received fresh bottled water came Thursday in emails released by Progress Michigan, a liberal group critical of Snyder.

Snyder said Friday he had "no knowledge of that taking place."

The governor's spokesman Dave Murray said the water was for both employees and residents visiting the building, which includes the Department of Health and Human Services, starting in January 2015. He said he didn't know if workers promoted that it was available.

Murray said one water cooler was placed on each floor and next to public drinking fountains. Water was provided until the summer, he said, and then returned in October after a public health emergency was declared. Another state spokesman said earlier it was provided continuously in the building.

The coolers were introduced after Flint officials warned residents about elevated levels of a disinfection byproduct called trihalomethane in the city's water. The city notified water customers at the time that it was in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act but described the water as safe to drink.

A state legislative leader from Flint says the suggestion that the public also could drink from the water coolers is "insulting." Angela Wittrock, a spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, said it's "lunacy" to suggest water delivered to state employees "was also meant for the 100,000 people of Flint who, by the way, were consistently being told their water was fine."

Democrats on a U.S. House committee asked Snyder on Friday for documents related to Flint's water crisis.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Michigan and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland have complained that the Oversight Committee's Republican chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, rejected their request for Snyder to testify at a hearing next week.

"The American people deserve a full accounting of this man-made disaster," Lawrence said.

Flint residents are now warned to drink only filtered or bottled water because of lead contamination in the city's supply. The latest state funding is intended to pay for bottled water, faucet filters, testing kits, additional school nurses, medical treatment and to help the city with unpaid water bills. There also is funding to hire outside experts to assess whether Flint's water system infrastructure must be replaced or repaired.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-30

[impulse]

Off topic, but related to Thailand, this is why I drink bottled water in Thailand, in spite of the fact that BKK water passes all kinds of tests for quality.

The water Flint used was apparently of an acceptable quality to drink when it left the treatment plant, but because of its pH, it leached lead out of the pipes on the way to consumers.

Knowing what little I know about the pipes and the variations in BKK water as conditions in the Chao Phraya change from season to season, it's bottled water for me- even if the tap water is pristine when it leaves the treatment plant.

[Scott]

I think the only thing leeching out of Bangkok pipes is plastic.

[elgordo38]

28 million is only a drop in the bucket to solve this problem. Tricky Ricky should be in jail. The politicians are all about saving money these days. In this case with poor mostly black people they were an obvious target.

[impulse]

I think the only thing leeching out of Bangkok pipes is plastic.

You may be right. But are you willing to bet your loved ones' health on it?

I claim to know absolutely nothing about Bangkok pipes. But just looking at the buildings, I'm inclined to believe some of the infrastructure predates plastic pipes. Perhaps they've all been lined?

I'm hoping someone who does know will post here.

[Scott]

I think the only thing leeching out of Bangkok pipes is plastic.

You may be right. But are you willing to bet your loved ones' health on it?

I claim to know absolutely nothing about Bangkok pipes. But just looking at the buildings, I'm inclined to believe some of the infrastructure predates plastic pipes. Perhaps they've all been lined?

I'm hoping someone who does know will post here.

One of the things about the relatively poor maintenance in Bangkok is that I doubt that all the pipes have been replaced. Oh, and I don't know that the stuff leeching out of plastic pipes (or bottles) is particularly good for you, but good luck finding water that hasn't been pumped through plastic or stored in plastic or comes from a source polluted with plastic already.

[Chicog]

28 million is only a drop in the bucket to solve this problem. Tricky Ricky should be in jail. The politicians are all about saving money these days. In this case with poor mostly black people they were an obvious target.

He's squirming a bit now that it transpires that they were shipping in water for state employees even while they were telling residents the water was safe to drink...

[impulse]

28 million is only a drop in the bucket to solve this problem. Tricky Ricky should be in jail. The politicians are all about saving money these days. In this case with poor mostly black people they were an obvious target.

He's squirming a bit now that it transpires that they were shipping in water for state employees even while they were telling residents the water was safe to drink...

Red herring. Almost every place I've ever worked in the USA (all private sector) has had a water cooler, regardless of how good the tap water was. Some of them used 5 gallon bottles, some used an RO filter and refrigeration system, but it wasn't because the tap water was unsafe.

Where else are you going gather to gossip?

Edit: I'm not excusing anything, but they'll have to come up with actual water analysis that shows lead, or a gap in the required testing that shows negligence (or worse). That'll be the smoking gun, and I'm sure they'll find it.

[Chicog]

28 million is only a drop in the bucket to solve this problem. Tricky Ricky should be in jail. The politicians are all about saving money these days. In this case with poor mostly black people they were an obvious target.

He's squirming a bit now that it transpires that they were shipping in water for state employees even while they were telling residents the water was safe to drink...

Red herring.

Judge for yourself....

The controversy over Flint’s water contamination took another turn on Thursday, as a newly revealed document shows state workers were trucking in their own water supply in January of 2015, almost a year before the governor acknowledged the lead problem.

The document, a facility notification sent by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB), refers to a notice about a violation of drinking water standards that had recently been sent out by the City of Flint.

“While the City of Flint states that corrective actions are not necessary, DTMB is in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied floor,” said the notice, which was obtained by the liberal advocacy group, Progress Michigan.

The water coolers were to be installed next to the drinking fountains so that state workers could “choose which water to drink.”

The document was obtained by Progress Michigan, a liberal group that demands accountability from state and city officials. It is dated January 7, 2015.

However, state officials repeatedly insisted Flint tap water was safe to drink for nearly all of 2015, with Governor Rick Snyder only acknowledging the problem in October of 2015. He declared a state of emergency on January 5, 2016 – about a year after the notice was sent out.

“It appears the state wasn’t as slow as we first thought in responding the Flint Water Crisis. Sadly, the only response was to protect the Snyder administration from future liability and not to protect the children of Flint from lead poisoning,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, in a statement. “While residents were being told to relax and not worry about the water, the Snyder administration was taking steps to limit exposure in its own building.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/330537-michigan-state-workers-water-supply/