When the story broke that the residents of Flint, Michigan were being poisoned with lead in their water, protests broke out across the state. Gov. Rick Snyder has refused to resign, despite many demanding he do so.
Snyder gave his first nationally televised interview this week, sitting down with CNN's Poppy Harlow and broadcasted on Jan. 30. The interview was an uncomfortable look into a governor that is on the hot seat, and Snyder was unable to convince many that the city is in good hands.
Failure in Flint
Despite pledging to send $28 million in state funds to the city, Snyder admitted in a letter to President Obama last month that it would cost $767,419,500 to update and replace the water system in Flint.
Obama countered, announcing that $80 million would be sent from the federal government to Michigan to help improve the water infrastructure.
During his interview with CNN, Snyder admitted he knew about the poison water back in October, but didn't declare a state of emergency until three months later in January. "All the other efforts weren't as much as I would have liked," Snyder said. "So the point is, now that was the point of calling the National Guard out, about making attempts to visit every home in Flint."
Snyder has released 270 pages of emails and other documents confirming when he allegedly found out about the situation in Flint, but many were heavily redacted. In the batch of emails, a controversial conversation was found, detailing a state nurse who spoke to a young mother about the health issues impacting her son who was exposed to the water.
"It is just a few IQ points...It is not the end of the world,” the nurse was quoted as saying.
Corporate influence
Flint's water issues started back in 2011 when the economy hit a wall. The water supply was transferred from Lake Huron to the Flint River, which was found to be nearly 20 times more corrosive than their previous supply.
The water began to smell, taking on a yellow-brown tint that local residents were quickly able to notice.
With the infrastructure faltering, CNN's Harlow pointed out that the governor had cut corporate taxes by $1.7 billion a year, when many recommended that the funds be used for rebuilding in city's like Flint. Snyder deflected the question, instead putting the blame on government officials. "This is a case of a handful of government officials making extremely poor decisions that had massive consequences for people."
