Whitmer: Flint deal a good step

LANSING, Mich. – A $600 million deal between the state of Michigan and residents of Flint who were harmed by lead-tainted water is a step toward making amends for a disaster that upended life in the poor, majorityBlack city, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday.

State officials and lawyers for Flint residents announced the settlement, which Attorney General Dana Nessel said likely would be the largest in Michigan history, with tens of thousands of potential claimants. It is designed primarily to benefit children, who were most vulnerable to the debilitating effects of lead that fouled drinking water after Flint switched its source to save money in 2014 while under supervision of a state financial manager.

City workers followed state environmental officials’ advice not to use anti-corrosive additives. Without those treatments, water from the Flint River scraped lead from aging pipes and fixtures, contaminating tap water in homes and businesses.

The disaster made Flint a nationwide symbol of governmental mismanagement, with residents of the city of nearly 100,000 lining up for bottled water. A criminal investigation that has resulted in only misdemeanor no-contest pleas so far was resumed last year.

“What happened in Flint should have never happened, and financial compensation with this settlement is just one of the many ways we can continue to show our support for the city of Flint and its families,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said.