Flint residents, grappling with toxic lead contamination in their drinking water after city officials opted to save money by changing their water supply, are now garnering the highest levels of attention, not only from the state but the federal government.
CBS News is reporting that the White House issued an order calling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to “alleviate the hardship and suffering” on residents in the city.
The state’s top legal official, Attorney General Bill Schuette said on Friday he was investigating the water crisis to determine if any Michigan laws were violated, according to WTVR Richmond.
In a statement, Schuette said: “The situation in Flint is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with even the most basic parts of daily life. While everyone acknowledges that mistakes were made, my duty as attorney general requires that I conduct this investigation.”
Schuette’s announcement and the announcement that Obama has signed an emergency order comes on the heels of a hectic few days that have seen Governor Rick Snyder declare a state of emergency for Flint and call up the National Guard to assist in passing out bottled water.
On Friday, it was also learned that 12 petitions calling for the recall of Governor Snyder had been filed with the state Board of Canvassers. One petition called for the governor to step down, “for failing to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Flint, which has resulted in a state of emergency for Genesee County because of toxic lead levels in the drinking water.”
Additionally, Flint residents were dealt another blow on Wednesday when Governor Snyder announced there had been a surge in the number of cases of legionnaires disease in Flint over the past year, possibly linked to the tainted water in Flint. There were 87 cases in Genesee County from June 2014 to November 2015 — and 10 of those cases resulted in death.
Democratic presidential contender, Bernie Sanders has stepped into the fray, joining outraged Flint residents and calling for the resignation of Governor Snyder, reports CBS News.
“There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign,” Sanders said in a statement.
Now that all the players have finally entered the arena, we will watch and wait to see if the citizens of Flint will get what they deserve; some sort of justice for the unspeakable situation they have had to go through.
In the meantime, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, a onetime resident of Flint, returned to town on Saturday, calling on President Obama to come see for himself what is going on in Flint, according to ABC News.
Moore is also calling for the U.S. Attorney General to arrest Governor Snyder because, “he knew that toxins, pollutants, and eventually lead was leaching into the water and being sent into the taps of people’s homes.”
