Class action suit filed by residents over Flint water Associated Press Flint '
A lawsuit stemming from Flint's lead-contaminated water was filed Monday
on behalf of the city's residents against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as well as
other current and former government officials and corporations. The federal
lawsuit ' which is seeking class-action status ' alleges that tens of thousands
of residents have suffered physical and economic injuries and damages.
It argues officials failed to take action over 'dangerous levels of lead' in
drinking water and 'downplayed the severity of the contamination' in the
financially
struggling city. Snyder's spokesman didn't immediately respond to an Associated
Press email seeking comment on the suit, which seeks a jury trial and
unspecified
damages. Numerous lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Flint residents since a
public health emergency was declared last year. The latest lawsuit was
filed on behalf of seven residents. Flint, with a population of about 100,000,
had switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River as a way to
save money until a new pipeline to Lake Huron was ready. But during those 18
months, the corrosive water leached lead from the city's old plumbing because
certain treatments weren't added to the water. Snyder, whose administration
repeatedly downplayed the lead threat, now calls it a 'disaster. A report by
the state auditor general released Friday found that state environmental
regulators made crucial errors as Flint began using the new drinking water
source
that would become contaminated with lead. It says staffers in the Department of
Environmental Quality's drinking water office failed to order the city
to treat its water with anti-corrosion chemicals as it switched to the river in
April 2014, but also said the rules they failed to heed may not be strong
enough to protect the public. The report came as crews in the city started to
dig up old pipes connecting water mains to homes. No level of lead in the
human body is considered safe, especially in children. The river water also may
have been a source of Legionnaires' disease, which killed at least nine
people in the region. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver announced Sunday that Union
Labor Life Insurance Co. committed to bring $25 million in low-cost loans to
help remove lead pipes and improve water quality. She said the loans will help
her Fast Start initiative that's designed to replace all lead service lines
in the city. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
