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Updated: Thursday, 2:26 p.m. -- Gov. Rick Snyder's office issued a statement denying a report by the Flint Journal on the MLive website that said the governor order the state Department of Environmental Quality to withhold information about tests on water in Flint.
The statement says:
Gov. Rick Snyder never ordered a state agency to withhold information about lead testing in Flint schools, but instead quickly announced the results of water tests in 13 school buildings at a press conference in the city on Oct. 8.
The Governor’s Office strongly denies allegations published online by MLive on Wednesday that the Snyder ordered the Department of Environmental Quality to withhold results of testing in the schools.
No child was ever at risk during the testing period, as the district had issued advisories telling students and staff not to drink water in the schools on Sept. 25.
Flint schools were under order not to drink the water since Sept. 25, 2015. On Friday, Oct. 2, the day after learning about elevated lead levels in in the city, Snyder responded aggressively with a an action plan that included testing the water in the schools and distributing filters.
The state verified the data given the inaccuracies of sampling that had been problematic. As soon as the water samples were tested and the results verified, Snyder announced the results at a press conference in Flint on Oct. 8, where he also announced the state would help reconnect the city to water from Detroit.
The health and safety of Flint residents is the top priority of the Governor as we look for ways ensure everyone in the city has clean water, and long-term problems created by lead exposure are addressed.
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From Earlier Today
In an ongoing effort by the media and investigators to determine what Gov. Rick Snyder knew about the Flint water crisis -- and when he knew it -- comes this:
Gary Ridley of The Flint Journal writes that Snyder and other state officials allegedly withheld lead testing results for several days from frustrated county health officials while they worked to find ways to present the information to the public. The Journal cites emails it obtained:
Local health officials say the governor and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality withheld lead testing results, including results from a Flint elementary school, while the agency discussed the best way to present the information to the public.
But, Snyder's office said Wednesday that information was shared quickly after testing and denied withholding any information.
"MDEQ explained that the Governor prohibited releasing all Genesee County lead results until after the press conference," wrote Jim Henry,Genesee County's environmental health supervisor.
Henry told the paper Wednesday that county officials didn't learn of the test results until they were distributed following a press conference.
"The email seems to reflect someone summarizing a discussion at a meeting, and we are unsure what actually was said there," Snyder Press Secretary Dave Murray said, according to the newspaper report. "We do know that the testing began on Oct. 2, it took some time to test 13 buildings, action was taken immediately and the Governor held a press conference in Flint to discuss the results on Oct. 8. There was no delay during that time period.
"People were quickly informed of the results in the schools, and that action on the fixtures with elevated levels was taken immediately."