Michigan says delivering water to Flint residents is an ‘unnecessary’ burden
The Michigan administration, under Rick Snyder, is filing a motion seeking relief against a federal court order requiring the government to deliver bottled water to all Flint residents who do not have access to filtered water.
In court documents, Snyder argues that it would require a “Herculean effort” and the equivalent of a military-style operation in order to meet those requirements, with costs estimated at $10.45 million a month, or $125 million annually. Snyder’s government argues in the documents that such an effort “increases the scope of the State’s emergency response to an unnecessary and insurmountable degree, particularly in light of the injunction’s time constraints.”
— Judge rules Flint residents can sue Michigan over water crisis —
“The required injunction far exceeds what is necessary to ensure Flint residents have access to safe drinking water,” argued attorneys for Michigan Treasurer Nick Khouri and the Flint Receivership Transition Advisory Board on Thursday.
However, Michigan Democratic Leader Jim Ananich spoke out against the motion, saying, “If the governor had made a Herculean effort to address this crisis from the start, they wouldn’t need to continue this legal maneuvering.”
Under the current federal court order, four cases of water per resident must be delivered each week to residents who are found not to have a working water filter in their home due to the high levels of lead in the water.
