Flint $600Mln Settlement to Clean Drinking Water, Boost Services - Michigan Governor

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2020) The state of Michigan's $ $600 million settlement with residents of Flint over polluted water supplies includes providing a new infrastructure for safe, clean drinking water and expanded social programs, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a video statement on Wednesday.

"Last week, the State of Michigan agreed to a $600 million settlement of the civil lawsuits brought against the State of Michigan by Flint residents," Whitmer said. "This includes ... a 2020 budget that included $120 million to clean up drinking water through investments in water infrastructure."

Whitmer said the settlement also covers a 2021 state budget that includes millions of Dollars for Flint's ongoing nutrition programs, child health care services, early childhood programs, lead prevention and abatement, school aid, services to seniors and other programs supporting the city's residents previously exposed to lead and other contaminants.

The Michigan government will also work "to help the city complete lead service-line replacement and create an Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate as well as appoint a clean water public advocate and an environmental justice public advocate, Whitmer said.

The Michigan government will ensure new lead and copper water quality standards that are the strictest in the United States, Whitmer added.