The Latest: Snyder aide email blamed Flint for water crisis

A day after local doctors reported high levels of lead in Flint children, Gov. Rick Snyder's chief of staff told him the "real responsibility" for the city's water issues rested with local government officials.

The next day, Muchmore wrote to Snyder and other top aides that critics were focusing on the lead issue and "looking for someone to blame," but two state agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "can't find evidence of a major change" in lead contamination.

The funding, which follows the Legislature's $9 million allocation toward the crisis in the fall, would pay for more bottled water, filters, health treatment, water testing and help the city offset unpaid water bills.

The money also would cover the replacement of plumbing fixtures in schools, day cares and medical facilities.

The second-term Republican pledged during his annual State of the State speech Tuesday night to fix the emergency in Flint and to have greater transparency by releasing his own emails on the matter.

Lead contamination can lead to behavior problems and learning disabilities in children and kidney ailments in adults.

The National Guard, state employees, local authorities and volunteers are distributing lead tests, filters and bottled water.

The governor submitted his appeal on Wednesday, likening the crisis to a flood and saying that the city's lead-contaminated water is a "natural catastrophe in the sense that lead contamination into water is a natural process."

The second-term Republican pledged during his annual State of the State speech Tuesday night to fix the emergency in Flint and to have greater transparency by releasing his own emails on the matter.

Lead contamination can lead to behavior problems and learning disabilities in children and kidney ailments in adults.

The National Guard, state employees, local authorities and volunteers are distributing lead tests, filters and bottled water.