DALLAS -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he won't resign despite intensifying calls for him to step down.
The state House's Democratic minority leader, Tim Greimel, joined the choir amid latest round of emails released by the state and other documents related to the ongoing water contamination crisis in Flint.
They include fresh disclosures that critics say suggest the Treasury Department initially reconnecting Flint to Detroit's water system due to the cost, despite the contamination that spread after the city's cost-saving move to get water from the Flint River.
Snyder also on Wednesday said he's appealing the federal government's denial of disaster status. In his request, Snyder warns that the crisis has cost at least $140 million and that figure is expected to grow.
Greimel said Wednesday that Snyder should resign because of "actions of negligence and indifference."
"Gov. Snyder has created a culture that lacks a commitment to transparency and accountability and that is obsessed with spreadsheet totals, public relations positioning, and 'pass the buck' politics that put the health of 100,000 people in jeopardy and may have taken the lives of nine Michiganders," he said.
Greimel is the first state lawmaker to join calls for Snyder's resignation over Flint's lead-contaminated water crisis. On Feb. 22 the Board of State Canvassers unanimously approved a recall petition for removing Snyder for declaring "a state of emergency in the County of Genesee and the City of Flint pursuant to the constitution of the state of Michigan and provisions of Act No. 390 of the Public Acts of 1976".
Flint's water crisis began after the city, under oversight of an emergency manager appointed by Snyder, broke off from the Detroit Water and Sewerage System in 2014 to save money when its contract to receive Detroit-supplied water ended.
The city began pulling water from the Flint River and intended to use it until later this year when it will get its water from a new pipeline being built by the partially bond-financed Karegnondi Water Authority. The Flint River water wasn't property treated and corroded pipes throughout the system, creating damage and contamination that remained even after the city did switch back to Detroit water last fall.
Greimel made his declaration after terms of the emergency loan agreement to help Flint transition from emergency management, obtained by Michigan's Democratic Party through a public records request, stated that Flint could not enter an agreement with its former water supplier, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, without approval from the state treasurer.
The emergency loan agreement with Flint, signed April 29, 2015 provided the city with $7 million to eliminate the city's deficit and allow the emergency manager to leave. At the time Flint was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose.
State Treasurer Nick Khouri in a statement contested the accuracy of the statements about the terms of the loan. "At no time did the loan agreement with Flint prohibit the city from returning to the Detroit Water System," he said. "It required the city only to notify, and receive state approval, before making such a decision.
"At no time did the state receive a request from the city, to move back to DWSD, between April 29, 2015 and October 2015, when the City reconnected to DWSD, with state financial assistance," he said.
The loan agreement came a little over a month after the Flint City Council voted to switch off river water and return to Detroit's Lake Huron supply, but the vote lacked any teeth as the final word rested with the emergency manager who opposed it over the cost.
Snyder said he remains fully committed to remaining in office and fixing the problems with the water in Flint and the problems within state government that caused the crisis in the first place, according to a statement provide by Anna Heaton, the Gov.'s deputy press secretary.
"We need to restore safe water to the pipes of Flint and we need to restore trust in their government to the people of Flint. Finding solutions, fixing problems and moving Flint forward by working together will deliver safe water and real results for the people of Flint now and far into the future," she said.
Snyder filed an appeal on Thursday with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance denied under the original request for a disaster declaration on top of an emergency declaration that was approved.
So far only $5 million of federal money has been pledged directly to the Flint water crisis under a federal emergency declaration although President Obama has pledged aid in other forms and several federal bills are pending that would dramatically bolster financial help.
"While government and independent experts say the quality of the water is improving, there is a long road ahead for Flint's recovery," Snyder said. "We are continuously working on ways to help the people of Flint recover from this health crisis. Assistance from our federal partners could go a long way in moving Flint forward."
In his fiscal 2017 budget, Snyder requested an additional $195 million to help restore safe drinking water to Flint. The funding would come on top of $37 million already approved from a supplemental budget action, bringing total state funding for Flint to $232 million.
Snyder said that the appropriation includes the $37 million to help with water infrastructure; $15 million for food and nutrition; $63 million for the health and well-being of Flint children and other vulnerable residents; and $30 million to provide water bill payment relief for Flint. The $30 million portion of the budget has already been approved and signed into law.
He also proposed that $50 million be set aside in a reserve fund for legislative oversight of the Flint programs after a six-to nine-month period. Lawmakers would have the opportunity to assess where the resources can be deployed most effectively with good accountability, efficiency and result, he said.
