Governor Rick Snyder is finally getting serious about the water crisis in Flint:
Snyder today issued an Executive Order activating the Michigan National Guard to assist with distributing supplies at the five water resource sites established in Flint.
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Members of the National Guard are expected to start arriving in Flint as early as Wednesday to assist with response efforts and plan to increase to over 30 personnel by Friday. The support of the National Guard will enable American Red Cross volunteers, who have been staffing the water resource sites since Jan. 9, to join the efforts of the water resource teams going door to door in Flint neighborhoods to distribute bottled water, water filters, replacement cartridges and testing kits.
He also requested FEMA get involved:
This request will identify federal agencies that have programs, authorities and/or technical expertise that could be utilized in the ongoing response and recovery efforts in Flint to be made available. Such federal agencies may include the Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Army Corps of Engineers.
The Detroit Free Press says Governor Snyder’s actions now raise even more questions:
Snyder's statement also raises questions about the speed and scope of the state's response since Oct. 1 and why state officials did not immediately instruct Flint residents, on Oct. 1, not to drink the water without a filter. A 10-point plan for Flint water that Snyder released Oct. 2 said the state was making water filters and water testing available to residents, but did not include a warning not to drink the water without a filter.
Meanwhile, whistle-blower Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha—the Flint pediatrician who’s lead testing blew this whole tragic scandal wide open—will now head up a team of doctors addressing the contamination:
Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint plan to announce Thursday that a joint team of 35 epidemiologists, educators and nutritionists will begin creating ways to mitigate developmental and behavioral challenges faced by children poisoned by lead-tainted water.
She went on to say:
“This is a community-wide trauma that was caused not just by the lead but also by the deceit from government agencies,” she said. “I feel we have this unique opportunity to build a new response. We don’t have to sit back and see all those kids go into special education. That’s why it’s an emergency now. Yeah, water and filters are being passed out here, but now we need to buffer these exposures."
Dr. Hanna-Attisha and her team will have a tremendous amount of work in the days ahead.