Flint water crisis

Governor Snyder was grilled by a congressional committee yesterday investigating the Flint water crisis. 

But the governor also spent some time in Washington D.C. asking for more federal money for Flint.

The governor says he spent some time before the hearing voicing support for a bill that would spend more than $200 million on Flint’s water woes. The bill includes $100 million for Flint’s water infrastructure and more money for children’s health programs. 

State health officials have confirmed a tenth death connected to a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Genesee County.

The latest case involves a patient from Shiawassee County. The patient wasn’t counted originally as part of the outbreak, because health officials didn’t know the patient had spent time in a Genesee County hospital

Dr. Eden Wells is the Chief Medical Executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service.   She says state health officials found the latest fatality during a review of all Legionella cases in Michigan in 2014 and 2015.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified before a congressional committee on Thursday, March 17.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held two previous hearings on the Flint water crisis. You can watch those hearings here and here.

Watch part 1 of Thursday's hearing below:

Governor Rick Snyder and EPA Adminstrator Gina McCarthy are about to go on the hot seat as they take their turn in front of a congressional panel looking into the Flint water crisis.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is holding firm on its decision that certain funding the state of Michigan is requesting to help with the Flint water crisis is “not appropriate.”

This goes back to January, when President Obama approved an emergency declaration for Flint. But he denied Gov. Rick Snyder’s request for a disaster declaration because Flint’s water crisis is man-made, not a natural disaster.

The emergency declaration will bring up to $5 million in direct funding to Flint. A disaster declaration could have brought millions more.

A U.S. House committee held a second hearing on the Flint water crisis Tuesday, taking testimony from some key players in that disaster.

Former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley, former mayor Dayne Walling, former EPA official Susan Hedman, and Virginia Tech engineering professor Marc Edwards – whose independent research team helped reveal the high levels of lead in Flint water late last year – all testified.

But the hearing was defined largely by blistering criticism leveled at the U.S. EPA for failing to step in sooner.

A special state legislative committee started looking into the Flint water crisis today.

Committee chairman Sen. Jim Stamas (R-Midland) set the tone for the four Republicans on the six member joint Senate-House panel.

“It is my sincere hope that this committee will stay focused on solutions and not finger pointing and political positioning,” Stamas told the committee as it began its session this morning.

The two Democrats on the panel stressed the need for accountability.

Ex-Flint mayor Dayne Walling and former emergency manager Darnell Earley testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, D.C., earlier today. While no longer live, you can watch this morning's hearing below. For text highlights, follow the conversation through the Twitter hashtag #FlintMR. 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The state-appointed emergency manager who oversaw Flint, Michigan, when the city's water source was switched to the Flint River says he relied on state and federal experts, but the experts failed him and Flint.

  Darnell Earley says in prepared testimony for a House hearing Tuesday that he was overwhelmed by challenges facing the impoverished city and relied on experts from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to advise him.

The city of Flint could get some additional federal money to help it recover from its water crisis.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro met with Mayor Karen Weaver and Congressman Dan Kildee in Flint today.

Castro says they talked about giving Flint additional Community Development block grant funds.

“We believe there is merit to that package, and would like to work with them to pencil in exactly what that would look like,” says Castro.

People in Flint say they have questions they want answered at this week’s congressional hearings into the city’s water crisis.

Starting Tuesday, former emergency manager Darnell Earley, former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and Gov. Rick Snyder are scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform committee.  

Current and former officials with the Environmental Protection Agency are also scheduled to appear before the committee.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver says she has a list of questions.

Some high-level decision-makers behind the Flint water crisis will answer to Congress this week.

The House Oversight and Government Reform committee has hearings scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday.

The head of a national mayor’s organization says he expects to use Flint as an example of the need for federal investment in local infrastructure when the next president takes office.

Tom Cochran is the CEO of the United States Conference of Mayors. He was part of a delegation in Flint last week to discuss ways to help the city rebound from its water crisis.

Cochran says the problem extends beyond Flint. 

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A U.S. House committee chairman leading hearings on the Flint water crisis sparked by lead contamination has visited the city.

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the oversight panel, met with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver Saturday at the Flint water plant. He also attended a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency open house.

Chaffetz says the "system totally failed and people need to be held accountable."

Weaver says she's pleased by his visit and urges passage of a federal aid package for Flint.

Researchers at Virginia Tech will spend the next week comparing current lead levels to the same homes they tested back in August. Those were the first tests that demonstrated a serious lead problem.

Today, attorneys filed 10 more individual lawsuits on behalf of children allegedly exposed to lead in Flint’s drinking water.

Attorney Corey Stern specializes in cases involving lead poisoning. He works primarily in New York and New Jersey. He’s working with a team of local attorneys in Flint. They’ve now filed nearly two dozen lawsuits on behalf of 50 Flint children.

The lawsuits are seeking damages from private consulting and engineering companies (Lockwood, Andrews and Newman (LAN), Rowe Engineering and Veolia) involved in the city’s switch to the Flint River. 

Researchers from Virginia Tech are back in Flint to test people’s tap water, but some residents are not willing to have their water tested again.

Last summer, tests by Virginia Tech were the first to show elevated lead levels in Flint’s drinking water.

Virginia Tech Ph.D student says testing the same homes is the best way to know if things have changed, but he says they are running into some resistance from homeowners.

The fundraising efforts for Flint just keep coming.

Several Michigan TV stations will come together March 15 to host “Flint Water Crisis: 4 Our Families,” a telethon that will last from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. to raise funds for the Community Foundation of Greater Flint's Child Health and Development Fund.

Detroit’s WDIV-TV will host the telethon, and it will air on stations WEYI-TV in Flint, WILX-TV in Lansing, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, and WWTV/WWUP-TV in northern Michigan.

The telethon will be hosted at Art Van Furniture in Flint.

Flint area business leaders are turning to social media as a way to counter negative publicity about the city’s drinking water crisis.

The Flint/Genesee Chamber of Commerce has launched a #ChooseFlint campaign, where it encourages people to share images of Flint on Facebook and other social media.

Heather Kale is with the Chamber. She hopes #ChooseFlint will persuade people to visit Flint.

The state of Michigan and city of Flint are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit connected to Flint’s drinking water crisis.

The Natural Resources Defense Council filed the suit in January alleging violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The suit is not seeking monetary damages, but an order to remove all lead service lines, as well as provide medical treatment for people exposed to lead tainted drinking water.

Attorneys for the government say the lawsuit should be dismissed for a lack of legal jurisdiction and other issues.

Another class action lawsuit was filed today in connection to the Flint water crisis.

This is at least the fifth lawsuit filed in federal court because of high levels of lead in Flint’s drinking water.