Flint Secures More Funding For Drinking Water Fixes
By Peak Johnson
Michigan will spend $47 million in order to provide safe drinking water in Flint by replacing lead pipes and giving away bottled water.
According to The Detroit News, the recently announced funds come “in addition to $40 million previously budgeted to address Flint’s widespread lead-contamination crisis.” The total will come to $97 million, as Michigan also plans to put $10 million aside in order to cover unexpected costs.
The funds were secured as part of a settlement to a lawsuit filed last year.
“We think this proposed agreement provides a comprehensive framework to address lead contamination in Flint’s tap water,” Dimple Chaudhary, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told The Detroit News. “It covers a number of critical issues related to water safety.”
This deal will address the longstanding problem through improvements to water lines and provide immediate relief through the bottled water program.
“This is a win for the people of Flint,” Melissa Mays, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. “When the government fails to uphold democracy and protect our rights to clean water, we have to stand up and fight. The greatest lesson I’ve learned from Flint’s water crisis is that change only happens when you get up and make your voice heard.”
The Post reported that “Michigan and the city of Flint have agreed to spend the next several years replacing roughly 18,000 aging underground pipes.”
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement that the “settlement continues the state’s commitment to providing the resources necessary for the residents of Flint to recover from the crisis.”
According to The Detroit News, the lawsuit filed was led by the “Natural Resources Defense Council, Flint resident Melissa Mays, the ACLU of Michigan, and the Concerned Pastors for Social Action.”
The deal “covers a four-year period and comes 10 days after the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $100 million emergency grant to Michigan to fund infrastructure upgrades in Flint, where lead-contaminated water damaged service lines.”