Week 1 legal aspects

Prepared remarks on the Flint Water Crisis

Gov. Rick Snyder Jan. 19, 2016 – 7 p.m.

Tonight will be a different State of the State. There is so much we could discuss about how we can make

our great state even greater, better, and stronger over the next year. But tonight I will address the crisis

in Flint, first and in-depth.

To begin, I’d like to address the people of Flint. Your families face a crisis – a crisis you did not create

and could not have prevented.

I want to speak directly, honestly, and sincerely to let you know we are praying for you, we are working

hard for you, and we are absolutely committed to taking the right steps to effectively solve this crisis.

To you, the people of Flint, I want to say tonight—as I have before—I am sorry and I will fix it.

No citizen of this great state should endure this kind of catastrophe.

Government failed you – federal, state, and local leaders – by breaking the trust you placed in us.

I’m sorry most of all that I let you down.

You deserve better. You deserve accountability. You deserve to know that the buck stops here, with me.

Most of all, you deserve to know the truth and I have a responsibility to tell you the truth. The truth

about what we’ve done and what we’ll do to overcome this challenge.

Tomorrow I will release my 2014 and 2015 emails regarding Flint to you, the citizens, so that you have

answers to your questions about what we’ve done and what we’re doing to make this right for the

families of Flint. Anyone will be able to read this information for themselves at Michigan.gov/Snyder.

Because the most important thing we can do right now is to work hard and work together for the people

of Flint.

I know apologies won’t make up for the mistakes that were made—nothing will. But, I take full

responsibility to fix the problem so that it never happens again. Let me tell you what we’ve done so far,

and what we will be doing in the coming days, weeks, months, and years to keep our commitment to

you. To make Flint an even cleaner, safer, stronger city than it was before. Because that’s what you and

your families deserve.

We are working to do whatever we must until this crisis is resolved. The people of Flint have chosen a

new mayor. And I personally commit to work hand in hand with Mayor Weaver so we can rebuild the

trust that’s been broken.

I have already taken steps to bring new leadership to the DEQ – these are individuals who understand

the severity of the problem and who will effectively communicate to the people of our state.

For those whose mistakes contributed to this disaster, we are fully cooperating with investigations and

will hold those individuals accountable. And let me be perfectly clear to all of state government. In the

future, a situation like this must come to my desk immediately. No delays. No excuses. Period.

We will provide resources to help anyone and everyone that is affected. Just as we’ve provided since

we first knew of this crisis.

In addition to emails, tonight I’m releasing a comprehensive timeline of the steps we’ve taken and the

actions underway to solve this crisis.

Here are the facts.

1. First, this crisis began in spring 2013, when the Flint City Council voted 7-1 to buy water from

Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). Former Flint Mayor Walling supported the move, and the

Emergency Manager approved the plan. DWSD provided notice of termination to be effective

one-year later and, on April 25, 2014, Flint began using water from the Flint River as its interim

source.

2. Second, soon after the switch from Detroit water to Flint River water, residents complained

about the water – the color, the smell, rashes, and concerns with bacteria. Ultimately, localized

boil water advisories were issued by the City of Flint in August and September of 2014, each

lasting several days.

3. Third, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the federal Environmental Protection

Agency began communicating about lead concerns in February 2015. Sadly, both were

ineffective in fully addressing and solving the problem. DEQ misinterpreted the water safety

regulations and the EPA did not act with sufficient urgency to address the concerns of one of its

experts about DEQ’s approach and the risk of lead contamination. In May 2015, lead service

lines to one residence were removed and replaced due to high lead levels. But still, they both

failed to systemically identify and solve the problem.

4. Fourth, in July 2015, my office proactively asked about the quality of Flint water, test results and

blood testing. The DEQ told us that Flint was in compliance with the lead and copper rule. They

told us there was one concern with one house that was later corrected and that there was

nothing widespread to address. The DHHS also told us that the elevated blood lead levels were

to be expected because they followed a normal seasonal trend. This conclusion was later shown

to be incorrect when DHHS conducted a deeper analysis of the relevant data.

5. Fifth, In August, Prof. Marc Edwards from Virginia Tech and Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha sounded an

alarm about lead in Flint’s water. But tragically, based on what DEQ and DHHS had seen on the

ground, they initially failed to reach the same conclusion. I want to thank the Professor, the

Doctor and the Concerned Pastors of Flint for bringing light to this issue. We are actively

investigating why these agencies got this so wrong.

6. Sixth, on September 28, 2015, I was first briefed on the potential scope and magnitude of the

crisis on a phone call with DEQ and DHHS. On October 1, 2015, DHHS epidemiologists validated

Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s findings, confirming the lead problem in Flint’s water supply. At this point, I

immediately ordered them to develop and implement a 10-point plan that included the

immediate distribution of water filters, immediate water testing in schools, and expanded water

and blood testing for anyone who might be exposed. About 12,000 filters were distributed, 700

water tests and 2,000 blood tests were conducted within the first three months.

7. Seventh, on October 8, I announced that the Flint system would be reconnected to the Detroit

water system to end any further damage, and later that month I announced the independent

Flint Water Task Force to review the actions taken so far and to make further recommendations

to address this crisis.

8. Eighth, the Task Force issued its initial actionable recommendations and identified critical

problems in mid-December. Specifically, they pointed to a primary failure of leadership at the

DEQ and a culture there that led to this crisis. The task force was right, and I immediately took

action, appointing new leadership at the department.

9. Ninth, I declared an emergency in Flint on January 5 so that we could access additional

resources and mobilize additional support, including the Michigan State Police and the National

Guard. These critical resources were needed to help families get clean water and end any risk or

exposure for every resident in Flint. I also requested a presidential declaration of federal

emergency, which was granted. And to the members of our Congressional delegation who are

here tonight, this is a challenge we must work together to solve, and we look forward to

working with you to bring additional support from the federal government for the people of

Flint.

10. Tenth, to date, more than 37,300 cases of water, more than 53,700 water filters, and more than

7,300 water testing kits have been distributed. More than 21,300 homes have been visited. I am

increasing the support from the National Guard starting tomorrow to ensure that every house

we need to visit in Flint gets visited as soon as possible. And I am appealing the president’s

decision not to grant a major disaster declaration. We’ll continue to deliver water and filters.

We will not stop working for the people of Flint until every single person has clean water every

single day. No matter what.

That’s why today, I made an official request to the Legislature to fund a series of immediate actions to

provide everyone in Flint clean water, and care for Flint’s children. In addition to the $9 million

supplemental appropriation for Flint made in October 2015, the request today is for $28 million, with

$22.6 million from the general fund. It includes:

1. Additional bottled water, filters, and replacement filters for anyone who needs these resources.

2. Assistance for the City of Flint to help with its utility related issues.

3. Testing and replacing fixtures in schools, day care facilities, and other higher risk locations.

4. Treatment of children with high lead levels, including diagnostic testing, nurse visits, nutrition

counseling and environmental assessments.

5. Services will be available for the treatment of potential behavioral health issues such as ADHD

for those who have or could have had an elevated blood lead level.

6. We will also work with local primary care providers and hospitals to educate the community

about toxic stress and how to identify early developmental delays.

7. Support for child and adolescent health centers and additional support for children’s health care

access

8. An infrastructure integrity study for pipes and connections, using outside, independent experts

An important note: this will not be the last budget request for Flint. Additional resources will be needed

for water related needs, health care needs, educational needs, economic development needs, and

more.

If you would also like to aid Flint, please to to HelpforFlint.com to volunteer or donate. If you are a Flint

resident who needs help getting the water you need – go to HelpforFlint.com

Those are the facts of what we’ve done and what we’re doing. But just as important to solving short-

term needs are providing real long-term solutions so that nothing like this ever happens again in ANY

Michigan city.

We began that process by creating the independent Flint Water Task Force and asking them to report on

exactly what happened, what accountability measures must be in place, and what investments need to

be implemented.

This month, I issued an Executive Order to ensure state and local leaders have everything they need to

clean up the mess, and ensure anyone with lingering health concerns is quickly, compassionately, and

effectively treated. I know that there will be long-term consequences – but I want you to know that we

will be there with long-term solutions for as long as it takes to make this right.

There can be no excuse. When Michiganders turn on the tap, they expect and they deserve clean, safe

water. It is that simple. It is that straight-forward. So that is what we will deliver.

To the families in Flint. It is my responsibility, my commitment to deliver. I give you my commitment

that Michigan will not let you down again.

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