Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday defended the announcement that Flint, Mich., residents can drink filtered water in most circumstances as good news after its lead water crisis, and reiterated that he won’t resign.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday morning, Snyder said the decision by him and President Obama to drink filtered Flint water during Obama’s visit on Wednesday might have been a political stunt, but it was done to show Flint residents they can drink their water.
“This is a way to improve the quality of their life,” he said. “They can move away from bottled water. It’s been found safe to use the filtered water for everyone but small children and pregnant women largely.”
When asked why he hasn’t decided to resign his office, Snyder said he feels a responsibility to fix the problem that many say he played a key role in creating.
“You don’t walk away from that,” he said. “You take responsibility, and I have, and the value system I was raised on is you want to fix it as much as anyone.”
In April 2014, a state emergency manager appointed by 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.
Snyder declined opportunities to slam the Environmental Protection Agency, which also knew about lead contamination in Flint homes but didn’t tell the public for months.
“I don’t want to criticize someone about the past, I want to be looking forward,” Snyder said.
