President Obama will head to Flint, Mich., for the first time next week to meet with residents affected by the city’s lead-contaminated water, Flint’s congressman confirmed Wednesday.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., confirmed Obama will head to the eastern Michigan city of about 100,000 people next week. A White House official said the visit will occur May 4.
“I thank President Obama for keeping the focus on Flint families affected by the city’s water crisis, and I look forward to welcoming the president to my hometown,” Kildee said.
“All Americans should be focused on the ongoing public health emergency. A city of 100,000 people continues to not have safe drinking water and has been exposed to high levels of lead. As a nation, and as Americans, we must come together to help Flint families recover from this terrible tragedy.”
It will be the first time Obama has gone to Flint. He declared a federal emergency in the city in January and visited Detroit that month, but did not make the short trip north to the beleaguered city.
A White House official said Obama will meet with residents to hear about how they’re dealing with the crisis. In addition, the president will receive an in-person briefing about the federal response and will make a speech to residents.
A Medium post from the White House indicated the trip was sparked by a letter from an 8-year-old girl, Mari Copeny, who wrote to the president to ask him to visit the town.
Anna Heaton, spokeswoman for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, said the Republican governor does not plan to meet with Obama.
“We are just receiving the information about the president’s visit,” she said. “As of right now, the governor is not scheduled to be in Flint next Wednesday.”
In April 2014, a state emergency manager appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on a symbolic vote from the Flint City Council to change the city’s water source to a new local authority. While a pipeline was being built, a state official decided the city would get its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
The Flint River water, however, was so acidic that it caused the lead pipes bringing water from the city’s cast iron mains into homes to corrode. Lead leached off the pipes and into drinking water throughout the city.
The state and the federal government have declared a state of emergency, and Flint residents are not able to drink the water coming out of their taps.
A report done by the state indicated state environmental officials are at fault for the crisis. Three people, two state regulators and one city official, have been charged with state crimes, and the Michigan attorney general’s office continues to investigate the incident.
More than 500 Flint residents are claiming $220 million in damages from Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency for negligence in allowing the crisis to happen.
The Justice Department is investigating the crisis as well.
