US President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration that clears the way for federal aid for Flint, Michigan, which is undergoing a drinking water crisis.
The move follows a call for the arrest of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder by the documentary film maker Michael Moore.
Moore started a petition calling for Snyder’s arrest on January 6 which to date has already garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
“Thanks to you, sir, and the premeditated actions of your administrators, you have effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children in my hometown of Flint, Michigan.
And for that, you have to go to jail,” Moore stated in his petition.
The tap water in Flint, population 99,000, became contaminated after the city switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River while a pipeline to Lake Huron is under construction.
The corrosive water from the Flint River lacked adequate treatment and caused lead to leach from old pipes in homes and schools.
Flint returned to the Detroit system in October after elevated lead levels were discovered in children, and could tap into the new pipeline by the (northern) summer.
But officials remain concerned that old pipes could continue to leach lead, which can cause behaviour problems and learning disabilities in children as well as kidney ailments in adults.
The White House also said on Saturday the Federal Emergency Management Agency will co-ordinate all disaster relief efforts, providing water, filters, cartridges and other items for 90 days. Flint can get up to $US5 million ($A7.30 million) in direct funding, though the state must match 25 per cent and more money can come through an act of congress.
Republican Governor Rick Snyder requested emergency and disaster declarations late on Thursday, saying needs “far exceed the state’s capability” and added that emergency measures could cost $US41 million.
Snyder said on Saturday that Obama denied the disaster declaration request based on the legal requirement that such relief is intended for natural events, fires, floods or explosions.
The decision to use the river was made while a Snyder-appointed emergency manager was running city government because of its financial problems.
The US Justice Department is helping the Environmental Protection Agency investigate the matter, and state Attorney General Bill Schuette has opened his own probe, which could focus on whether environmental laws were broken or if there was official misconduct.