A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $116,000 of the $150,000 needed for the team to recover its costs. Rick Snyder to resign over 'indifference' to Flint water crisis", "Democrats call for state treasurer to resign for role in Flint water crisis", "Donald Trump, Rubio Try to Stay Clear of Flint Water Crisis", "Donald Trump visits Flint church, asked to leave politics out of speech", "Hillary Clinton speaks out on Flint's water emergency", "Hillary Clinton infuriated by Flint water crisis, outraged by Gov. "[427], On January 24, actor and clean drinking water advocate Matt Damon called for Snyder's resignation. May 17 – It is reported that 128 blood tests in Flint may have registered falsely low lead levels. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. On November 6, 2017 a retrospective cohort study was published in the Journal of Public Health Policy regarding birth weight outcomes in Flint in the early stages of the water crisis. [409], On December 31, 2015, the editorial board of the MLive group of Michigan newspapers called upon Snyder to "drop executive privilege and release all of his communications on Flint water," establish a procedure for compensating families with children suffering from elevated lead blood levels, and return Flint to local control. [335], At his annual State of the State address on January 19, Snyder apologized again, and asked the Michigan Legislature to give Flint an additional $28 million in funding for filters, replacement cartridges, bottled water, more school nurses and additional intervention specialists. [211] The Michigan House Appropriations Committee passed the bill the next day, while the Senate approved it on January 28. [327], On November 15, 2016, Chief Judge Richard B. Yuille, Circuit Court of Genesee County, entered a Case Management Order, wherein he appointed attorney Corey Stern, of Levy Konigsberg, L.L.P., "Lead Counsel" for all plaintiffs maintaining claims in the Circuit Court of Genesee County for personal injuries and property damage sustained as a result of the Flint Water Crisis. [321], On June 22, 2016, the Michigan Attorney General's Office filed a civil suit against engineering firms Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) who were hired to consult Flint water plant officials after the switch to the Flint River in April 2015. [11], On January 11, 2016, the Virginia Tech research team led by Edwards announced that it had completed its work. [445], Robby Soave, writing in Reason magazine, said that administrative bloat in public-sector trade unions was to blame for the crisis: "Let's not forget the reason why local authorities felt the need to find a cheaper water source: Flint is broke and its desperately poor citizens can't afford higher taxes to pay the pensions of city government retirees. [229][needs update], Among the Michigan congressional delegation, only Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Cascade Township, opposed federal aid for Flint. Its writers said of it, "Policy makers, government leaders, and decision makers at many levels failed the residents of Flint," said Agustin Arbulu, Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. "[262] In response, Snyder asked Obama for emergency funding under FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, which provides housing assistance and replacement of personal property. [523], Flint, a television film based on the crisis starring Queen Latifah, Betsy Brandt, Jill Scott, Marin Ireland and Rob Morrow premiered in October 2017. [191] On December 29, 2015, the Task Force released its preliminary report, saying that MDEQ bore ultimate blame for the Flint water crisis. [237] The American Red Cross has also been deployed to Flint to deliver bottled water and filters to residents. The results show an increase in the fraction of children with elevated lead blood levels immediately pre/post the water switch (from 2.2% to 3.7%); invoking a Bonferroni correction, Gómez argues the change is not statistically significant. We know the problems here and they will be addressed. And the extent to which they went to cover this up exposes a new level of arrogance and uncaring that I have never encountered. April 18 – Weaver recommends staying with the. [224][225], On March 15, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee examining the Flint water crisis revealed the EPA, state, and municipal officials attempted to fix the situation behind the scenes according to hearing witness and former EPA regional administrator, Susan Hedman, who cited legal and enforcement challenges as the causes for her actions. During 2018, 10,531 excavations were performed, yielding a hit rate of only 15%. "The presence of racial bias in the Flint water crisis isn't much of a surprise to those of us who live here, but the Michigan Civil Rights Commission's affirmation that the emergency manager law disproportionately hurts communities of color is an important reminder of just how bad the policy is. [480], The Detroit Pistons donated $500,000 to the United Way of Genesee County from their FlintNOW fundraising campaign from the previous night's game. [397], The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has made it apparent that reform needs to be made nationwide to improve water infrastructure. The original 2015 study of Hurley records involved a total of 1,473 children "younger than 5 years" whose address could be mapped to a site inside Flint in two pre/post 8.5 month periods. "[384] In a subsequent interview, Clinton referred to her work on lead abatement in housing in upstate New York while a U.S. to hire Flint residents at water sites", "State unveils big plans for Flint recovery after water crisis", "Grants up to $100,000 offered to communities affected by Flint water crisis", "Michigan governor will drop lead limit below federal cap", "Michigan Gov. [68] Because chlorine reacts with heavy metals like lead and iron, high levels of both in Flint's water may have been responsible for the decreased amount of chlorine available. [283][284][285] MDEQ and MDHHS released a joint statement later that day indicating Peeler, Scott, Cook, and Rosenthal had been suspended without pay. "We are not suggesting that those making decisions related to this crisis were racists, or meant to treat Flint any differently because it is a community of color. [426], On January 18, Nontombi Naomi Tutu, daughter of Desmond Tutu, said in a speech at the University of Michigan–Flint, "We actually needed the people of Flint to remind the people of this country what happens when political expediency, when financial concerns, overshadow justice and humanity. June – The researchers responsible for developing the machine learning model, Eric Schwartz and Jake Abernethy, form BlueConduit, a for-profit, social venture aimed at leveraging data science and machine learning to find and remove lead pipes around the country. [508], Tabernacle Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, donated 70,000 pounds of water to Flint. Hanna-Attisha's sample numbers were large, both for the pre-switch and post-switch time periods and for Flint children (1,473) and for children not exposed to Flint water (2,202). The new Lead and Copper Rule in Michigan requires that all lead contaminated pipes be replaced within the next twenty years. From the MDHHS, Nancy Peeler, Corinne Miller, and Robert Scott were charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to commit misconduct in office, and willful neglect of duty. [521], Fight for Flint was a boxing fundraiser at Flint's Dort Federal Event Center featuring Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns, along with brothers Andre Dirrell and Anthony Dirrell; Mike Hernandez, Troy Albrine Jr., Rakim Johnson; and female boxers Jackie Kallen, Fatuma Zarika and Alicia Ashley. The switch is made the following day. ", January 12 – An MDEQ study for the first half of 2017 claims 90% of water samples were at or below 7, March 12 – Data from MDEQ Quality shows the spike in samples from Flint elementary schools that tested above 15 ppb of lead, the threshold under the EPA, April 2 – A new study by the MDEQ reports that elevated lead levels were found in 4 percent of final water samples from. Says risky to switch water source again", "Gov. however is that during the 11-year period, the "crisis years" are actually the third and fourth lowest years for lead blood levels. [408], On October 8, 2015, the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press wrote that the crisis was "an obscene failure of government" and criticized Snyder. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. [474], The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians donated $10,000 to the Genesee County Sheriff's Department. [455] Many factors such as "POU device costs, lead absorption from water, and economic losses associated with reduced IQ" were taken into account to determine the cost-benefit of each device. The Flint Activist Just Signed A Book Deal", "Dr. Mona tells CBS 'Sunday Morning' she still doesn't drink Flint tap water", "A Film On the Flint Doctor Who Exposed the Water Crisis", "Rapper Jon Connor releases 'Fresh Water For Flint' in XXL Magazine article", "Jon Connor - Fresh Water For Flint ft. Keke Palmer", "Flint, Michigan's King 810 Release New Single "We Gotta Help Ourselves, "KING 810 - We Gotta Help Ourselves (Audio)", "Composer pens song to highlight Flint water crisis", "The Paradox of Water and the Flint Crisis", "Flint, Michigan, and the Politics of Safe Drinking Water in the United States", "EPA documents related to Flint drinking water", United States Environmental Protection Agency, "Articles on the Flint water crisis found using search terms, "Articles on Flint water crisis found using search terms, Political decisions, racism, ineptitude: Digging into the origins of the Flint water crisis, Water crisis in Flint, Michigan, draws federal investigation, How Flint, Michigan, Saved Money and Poisoned Its Children: City Declares Water Emergency, The House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee's first hearing on the contaminated drinking water in Flint, MI (February 3, 2016), The House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee's second hearing on the contaminated drinking water in Flint, MI (March 15, 2016), The House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee's third hearing on the contaminated drinking water in Flint, MI (March 17, 2016), "But A Flint Holds Fire" by Andrea Ramsey, "Flint Water Crisis is ONGOING 6 Years Later--Jordan & Jenn LIVE From Flint" on site interview of Flint residents, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flint_water_crisis&oldid=993171948, Environmental disasters in the United States, Water supply and sanitation in the United States, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from May 2018, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The money has gone to fund not only immediate aid for the Flint crisis (such as bottled water distribution), but also to build community organizations and infrastructure in Flint; however, it has not gone to repairing the Flint water system, which remains the responsibility of local and state governments. No need to register, buy now! [121], In 2011, Genesee County initiated the switch to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA); the KWA would supply water to both Genesee County and Flint.