Rick Snyder (After Poisoning 10s of Thousands Of Flint Residents): "I Want To Solve This Problem"
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In a wide-ranging interview on the eve of his state of the state address, Snyder said he knew last summer about his top aides concerns that Flint residents were getting blown off by the Michigans Department of Environmental Quality. The MDEQ waved off his offices concerns, Snyder said. He accepted responsibility for the lack of adequate follow up, but the twice-elected GOP governor said he would not heed calls for his resignation.
I want to solve this problem, Snyder said. I dont want to walk away from it. Both MDEQs director and chief spokesman were forced to resign, and Snyder has taken several stepsalbeit belatedlyto help Flint identify the extent of the contamination and to respond to it. He said more action will be revealed in Tuesday nights address.
The slow and possibly deadly poisoning of Flint, a hard-bitten industrial town of nearly 100,000, began in April 2014, when the city switched its water source from Detroit to the Flint River to save money. Residents concerns were ignored for 19 months until independent tests by Virginia Tech and a local hospital revealed dangerous levels of lead exposure. Only then did Michigans environmental agency admit to violating federal regulations requiring the treatment of Flints water to avoid corrosion of the citys ancient water pipes, a lapse that caused the lead poisoning. The fateful decision to switch Flints water source was made by an emergency city manager appointed by Snyder. In early 2015, months before the lead poisoning was publicly announced, an analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency discovered dangerous levels of lead in Flints water. An appointee of President Obama forbade the results from being released to the public.
Last month, I wrote a flattering column about Snyders leadership style that did not address the Flint water crisis. ( Ed. - ) We revisited the issue Monday as part of a broader column Ive got in the works. This is an edited transcript:
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http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/352793/snyder-calls-flint-his-katrina-catastrophic-failure-leadership