Policy changes stemming from Flint crisis may get pushed into 2017

Gov. Rick Snyder talks with reporters on Sept. 20, 2016. He said Flint water reforms may be on tap for 2017.

LANSING, MI -- Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich sat on a joint legislative committee that was supposed to come up with policy recommendations stemming out of the Flint water crisis. After four months of waiting for those recommendations to materialize, he decided to introduce his own legislation.

A bill the Flint Democrat plans to introduce Wednesday would hold Michigan to a lower lead standard than the federal 15 parts per billion. Under the bill it would be 10 parts per billion by the end of next year and then 5 parts per billion. The goal, Ananich said, would be to get to zero.

The subject of lead in water came to a head in Michigan when a water source switch and more corrosive water allowed lead to leach into city water supplies in Flint, exposing an unknown number of children to the toxin.

Ananich noted that Republicans including Gov. Rick Snyder have called for changes to the Lead and Copper Rule. At a congressional hearing earlier this year, Snyder called the federal rule "dumb and dangerous."

Snyder when asked about policy changes stemming from the water crisis on Tuesday noted that the legislature already had a lot on their plates.

"This is important so we're going to continue to work towards getting something done. It's just a question with an election season and a short legislative session how much can be accomplished given what they already had on their list of action items," Snyder said.

But Ananich said changes like the one he is proposing Wednesday should be done now, not next year after the House churns over to new members unfamiliar with the issue.

"I think we should be leading the country on having the highest standard and I think this is the time to do it," said Ananich.

He questioned the slowness of the report from the Joint Select Committee on The Flint Water Public Health Emergency and other efforts at making policy changes.

"If it's just a stall tactic to never actually deal with it that's what they should say as opposed to saying 'oh we're going to work on it later,'" Ananich said.

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