A critical aid package for Flint, Mich. and other communities affected by water contamination will be considered by the senate as part of a broader water policy bill, according to news trickling out of Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
The $220 million measure would authorize $100 million to cities declared emergency areas due to drinking water problems. Rejected last week in the energy policy bill passed by the senate, it was attached to the Water Resources Development Act—an infrastructure funding bill sponsored by Environment and Public Works Committee leaders, Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
The relief package was first proposed in February, not long after the state of Michigan and the Obama administration declared Flint a disaster area. Despite the situation, it has faced stiff resistance in the upper chamber.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) objected to the use of federal funding, and put a hold on the measure amid the energy policy bill debate. The move effectively blocked a vote on the assistance. Senators ultimately approved the package without the Flint relief, even though it did include giveaways to oil and gas shippers.
The opening on Tuesday of this new avenue for passage has supporters of Flint assistance cautiously optimistic.
“This is an important step,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), applauding her colleagues for finding “a new path forward to get urgently needed help for families in Flint.” Recognizing that the federal help for the poisoned city of Flint is still a politically contentious topic, Stabenow promised she was ”not giving up until this gets done.”
According to The Hill, senators found funding to offset the measure by taking money from a Department of Energy program aimed at increasing government vehicles’ energy efficiency.
Flint residents are still waiting on much-needed funding to replace residential pipes that saw lead leach into their water, following a decision in 2014 to change the city’s source of drinking water–a move that required temporary use of the corrosive Flint River. Local officials appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder (R-Mich.) made the move in an effort to save money.
The city’s mayor, Karen Weaver, estimates it will cost upwards of $55 million to complete all the necessary repairs.
