More charges in Flint water crisis expected Tuesday

FLINT, Mich. (WOOD) — More charges connected to the Flint water crisis are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has called a news conference for 10:30 a.m. in Flint. It’s not yet known how many people will be charged or with what.

The drinking water in Flint was contaminated with lead after the city switched its water source in 2014. Authorities still haven’t given the all-clear to drink the tap water without using a filter. So far, nine people — eight state employees and a city worker — have been charged in connection to the crisis.

Speaking to 24 Hour News 8 political reporter Rick Albin on Monday, Gov. Rick Snyder said efforts to help Flint are continuing.

“We’ve made a lot of progress, but our work isn’t done,” he said. “This is a terrible tragedy. And again, the people of Flint went through a lot and they’re still suffering.”

There is progress in getting usable filtered water for residents, but the governor says but the efforts go far beyond just the water.

“It was also about helping the overall community in many respects. So with respect to education, we’ve seen big improvements. We’ve put nurses in the schools. We’ve got additional preschool opportunities for over 400 kids. In terms of nutrition and health care, we’ve expanded the Medicaid program, Healthy Michigan, a lot in the Flint area in terms of people who were exposed to lead. Double-up food bucks, access to food banks in terms of healthy produce and such, which helps not only the lead question but the overall economic well-being,” Snyder said. “And then we’ve created jobs. There’s over 800 new jobs in the process of being created in Flint. That’s a lot of jobs. So that’s all happening, but we have to recognize how do we make sure we’re continuing to bring people along. It’s a longer-term recovery cycle on some of these issues, and we’re going to follow through.”

The governor also cited a study suggesting all of the state’s infrastructure is in need of upgrades to the tune of about $4 billion each year for decades. He will likely bring that topic up when he gives his State of the State address in January.

First posted on WOOD TV December 19, 2016.