Flint water

Flint water crisis: Emails from governor's office show shifting of blame

By Ali Breland

Emails released Wednesday regarding the Flint water crisis show that officials in the Michigan governor’s office initially sought to blame the crisis on city and local officials.

On Sept. 24, reports emerged of doctors urging Flint to stop using water from the Flint River after finding abnormally high levels of lead in the blood of Flint children. The next day, then-Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore wrote to Gov. Rick Snyder and top aides: “The real responsibility rests with the county, city and KWA [Karegnondi Water Authority].”

In the same email, however, Muchmore acknowledged that state official Andy Dillon “did make the ultimate decision,” approving the city’s switch to the new water source. Muchmore defended this decision, stating, “It was still the right position for the long-term benefit of the city and its future.”

The next day, Muchmore noted that the Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t find evidence of more major changes in lead levels and that “some of the Flint people respond by looking for someone to blame instead of working to reduce anxiety,” and that, “residents are caught in a swirl of misinformation.”

The Michigan governor’s office is exempt from public-records requests, but Snyder, a two-term governor first elected in 2010, released emails he sent and addressed to him regarding the Flint water crisis.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has staunchly called for Snyder’s resignation, stating in a campaign release: “There are no excuses.” Sanders added: “The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing.”

President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Flint on Wednesday, qualifying the city for $5 million in aid, but declined to upgrade the designation of the Flint crisis to “major disaster.”

The president expressed sympathy for the city, saying, “If I was a parent out there, I would be beside myself that my kid’s health could be at risk.”

On Tuesday, Snyder apologized.

"Government failed you — federal, state and local leaders — by breaking the trust you placed in us," Snyder said. "You deserve better. You deserve accountability. You deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. Most of all, you deserve to know the truth.”