Michigan Senate approves $30 million to help pay Flint water bills

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:14pm EST

Michigan Senate approves $30 million to help pay Flint water bills

Residents of Flint, Michigan, one of the poorest cities in the United States, will get $30 million to help pay their water bills after a lead contamination crisis, under a bill unanimously approved by the Michigan Senate on Tuesday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, plans to sign the bill, which had been passed unanimously by the state's House last week.

"The safety and well-being of Flint families remains our top priority," said Snyder, whose administration has faced harsh criticism for its response to the contamination crisis in the city of about 100,000 residents.

As a cost-cutting measure in 2014, Flint switched its water system from Detroit to a local river. The more corrosive water from the river leached lead from water system pipes, leading to unacceptably high levels of lead in hundreds of homes.

The funding would provide Flint residents credits to cover residential water bills from April 2014 through this April or until the water is clean, Snyder's spokeswoman Laura Biehl said.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKCN0VW274

[aaaaaa5a]

1. That's not nearly enough. NT

[The Blue Flower]

2. A total waste of $30M

The debt should be cancelled and the money used to take care of the citizens of Flint. This is the state paying itself. Means nothing.

[Initech]

3. It's the rich giving money back to themselves.