“If this helps, good… But you can’t buy back trust in government—or the water coming out of your faucet.”
By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-20-2020
The Flint water crisis began in 2014 after the city switched the Flint River as its drinking water source to save money. (Photo: George Thomas/Flickr/cc)
Six years after residents in Flint, Michigan began relying on their polluted local river as a drinking water source at the behest of Republican state officials looking to save money, the state on Thursday announced details of an historic $600 million settlement, reached after 18 months of negotiations.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel noted that the settlement still has to be approved by a federal judge, but revealed that once finalized, the state would set up a claims process through which tens of thousands of Flint residents could receive compensation. Continue reading
