Obama signs emergency order over Flint water

DETROIT — President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration Saturday that clears the way for federal aid for Flint, Michigan, which is undergoing a drinking water crisis.

The White House also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will coordinate all disaster relief efforts to “alleviate the hardship and suffering” on residents. FEMA has been authorized to provide water, filters, cartridges and other items for 90 days. Flint can get up to $5 million in direct funding, though the state must match 25 percent and more money can come through an act of Congress.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder requested emergency and disaster declarations late Thursday, saying needs “far exceed the state’s capability,” and added that emergency measures could cost $41 million. Snyder said Saturday that Obama denied the disaster declaration request based on the legal requirement that such relief is intended for natural events, fires, floods or explosions.

The tap water in Flint, population 99,000, became contaminated after the city switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River while a pipeline to Lake Huron is under construction. The corrosive water lacked adequate treatment and caused lead to leach from old pipes in homes and schools.

Flint returned to the Detroit system in October after elevated lead levels were discovered in children, and could tap into the new pipeline by summer. But officials remain concerned that old pipes could continue to leach lead, to which exposure can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children as well as kidney ailments in adults.

The National Guard has been distributing free water, filters and other supplies, and FEMA workers already were providing logistical and technical support.

The U.S. Justice Department is helping the Environmental Protection Agency investigate the matter, and state Attorney General Bill Schuette has opened his own probe.