Snyder disappointed with federal denial of funding for Flint
LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday he's disappointed the federal government has rejected his appeal of an earlier denial of certain funding requests to assist the state in addressing the Flint drinking water crisis.
Snyder, in a March 3 letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had requested funding under programs related to emergency protective measures and the Individuals and Households Program.
The two funding streams were denied under the federal emergency declaration for Flint. One would have covered costs for provision of food and water and other essential needs, removal of health and safety hazards, activation of state or local emergency operations centers, and emergency measures to protect further damage, the release said. The other, the Individuals and Households program, would have provided money for homeowners to repair damage from a disaster that is not covered by insurance, including septic or sewage systems and well or other water systems.
In a March 14 letter to Snyder, FEMA official Elizabeth Zimmerman said FEMA is providing assistance intended to address immediate emergency needs related to the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water, including more than 2 million liters of water, 55,000 water filters and 236,000 replacement cartridges, plus technical assistance.
"The remaining response efforts required to address the long-term health concerns associated with the water contamination fall under the authorities of the state and other federal agencies currently responding to the incident," Zimmerman said.
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Snyder said in a news release "it is disappointing that the federal government has rejected yet another request for funding to help Flint residents with the city’s recovery from the water crisis, including needs both now and in the future."
He said "this denial is especially frustrating as it would have provided aid to individual households in Flint."
The federal government recently granted the Snyder administration a Medicaid waiver to expand health care coverage for Flint residents.
Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in April 2014, when the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched its drinking water source from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit water system to Flint River water treated at the Flint water treatment plant.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality failed to require the addition of needed corrosion control chemicals as part of the treatment process and the corrosive Flint River water ate into pipes, joints and fixtures, sending unsafe lead levels into Flint homes and businesses. The city returned to Detroit water in October, but a potential hazard remains because of damage to the water distribution system.
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Records show the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to act quickly on concerns about lead in the water, and Snyder said the catastrophe represents failures at the local, state and federal levels of government.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660, pegan@freepress.com or on Twitter @paulegan4