Snyder activates National Guard to help in Flint
Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau 11:36 p.m. EST January 12, 2016
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The Virginia Tech Research Team is wrapping up its work on Flint water.(Photo:
Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday night activated the Michigan National
Guard to assist with the ongoing crisis of the lead contamination of Flint's
drinking water.
"As we work to ensure that all Flint residents have access to clean and safe
drinking water, we are providing them with the direct assistance they need
in order to stretch our resources further," Snyder said in a news release late
Tuesday.
"The Michigan National Guard is trained and ready to assist the citizens of
Flint."
Members of the National Guard are expected to staff fire stations and
distribute bottles of water and water filters, freeing members of the American
Red
Cross to handle the door-to-door distribution of those items, Snyder Chief of
Staff Jarrod Agen said. There were no immediate plans to use tanker trucks
to distribute water, he said.
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Flint filter delivery casts doubt on what Snyder said
The Guard was last activated in Michigan in 2012 to assist with the Duck Lake
Fire.
Some National Guard members will get to Flint Wednesday and the number deployed
is expected to increase to more than 30 by Friday, Agen said.
Snyder also on Tuesday asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
coordinate responses to the Flint crisis by other federal agencies.
"This request will identify federal agencies that have programs, authorities
and/or technical expertise that could be utilized in the ongoing response and
recovery efforts in Flint to be made available," according to a statement
issued by the governor's office.
"Such federal agencies may include the Department of Health and Human Services,
Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development,
and Army Corps of Engineers."
Snyder issued the executive order to mobilize the Guard amid ongoing criticism
that he and his administration have moved too slowly to respond to the crisis.
The request for a larger role by FEMA stops short of asking for federal
financial aid, which Snyder officials have said requires more time.
Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA's director of public affairs, said on Twitter the agency
has approved Snyder's request for additional help and has appointed a federal
disaster recovery coordinator to support Michigan's efforts.
Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in 2014 after its supply
source was switched from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and
Sewerage Department to water from the Flint River treated at the city water
treatment plant.
Immediate complaints about the odor, smell and taste of the water were
downplayed and largely ignored by the state before the Department of
Environmental
Quality acknowledge in October it had failed to require the addition of needed
corrosion control chemicals, resulting in lead leaching from pipes and fixtures
into the water.
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Link:
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/01/12/snyder-activates-national-guard-help-flint/78716544/
