Michigan Governor Says Flint Water Crisis Is ‘A Disaster’ Akin To Katrina

Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during a "Day of Service" honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at the University of Michigan - Flint in Flint, Mich., Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Monday is the 30th anniversary of the federal holiday ho... Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during a "Day of Service" honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at the University of Michigan - Flint in Flint, Mich., Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Monday is the 30th anniversary of the federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. (John M. Galloway/Detroit News via AP) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS
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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) called the water contamination crisis in Flint “a disaster” similar to Hurricane Katrina in an interview with National Journal published Monday.

When asked if the comparisons to Katrina—largely considered the biggest domestic blunder of former President George W. Bush’s administration—were unfair, Snyder told the magazine: “No. It’s a disaster.”

The city’s high levels of lead in the water supply can be traced back to a 2014 decision to switch its water source in order to save money while under state bankruptcy management. Snyder said there were “multiple failures at multiple levels.” President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Flint on Saturday afternoon.

Snyder called the crisis “a negative” for his time in office.

“It’s clearly a neg­at­ive on what we’ve ac­com­plished since I’ve been gov­ernor,” Snyder told National Journal.

He also dodged the magazine’s questions about exactly when the state found out about the Flint water supply’s toxic lead levels. Read the full interview here.

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  1. Avatar for jsfox jsfox says:

    A disaster that ought to have you in court and then in jail, but barring that certainly out of office yesterday.

  2. “It’s clearly a neg­at­ive on what we’ve ac­com­plished since I’ve been gov­ernor,” Snyder told National Journal.

    “A positive was when we saved money by switching their water supply to the Flint River. Well, that’s all water under the bridge now.”

  3. This is Obama’s Katrina. Liberal Media is just being …itself and not blaming him.

  4. I agree entirely. It was his law that setup these emergency take over from democratically elected officials. He is the one who specifically choose the individuals who would run Flint. Who then decided that hey, we can save a few buck by poisoning the town. And then, if that’s not enough, once it came to his attention…he sat on it, letting them continue to poison the town for months longer.

    This guy is culpable at every turn…from idea, to implementation to cover up.

  5. “Akin”??? Perhaps, but with one very very important distinction:

    Katrina - Natural disaster

    Flint - Entirely man-made, quite possibly deliberate, and definitely motivated by avarice

    Any questions? I’ve got one: when will the FBI be starting its investigation?

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