"It's always good to take responsibility for what you are a part of and what you are the lead of, but citizens are concerned about the lack of transparency and the lack of understanding of what really took place", Johnson said. "You deserve to know the buck stops here with me".

His words did little to quiet his critics. State Senator John Proos says it was only fitting for Snyder to spend much of the speech on the Flint water crisis.

Governor Snyder declared a state of emergency over the water contamination on January 5, weeks after Flint Mayor Karen Weaver also declared a state of emergency. One of the great public health tragedies of our time.

Although protesters have called for his resignation, Snyder said Tuesday that he will be working on this situation "for as long as it takes to make this right". They seek individual damages for Flint residents - an estimated 500 and counting - who have complained of health issues and worry about future ailments.

Outside, a boisterous crowd chanted "What do we want?"

People have reported suffering from rashes, hair loss and other problems since the city, under a state-appointed emergency manager, switched to water from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money, according to lawyers acting for residents. Decisions made by state officials over the last year-and-a-half have led to a community being forced to use water from the Flint River - a source that has been found to contain unacceptable levels of lead. Residents have been paying between $100 and $200 a month for the contaminated water that runs yellow and brown, and often smells like sewage water.

Flint, the birthplace of General Motors that once employed 80,000 autoworkers, but which now faces widespread poverty after auto jobs largely left the city, has been reeling from the discovery that its water contains dangerously high levels of lead. The National Guard, state employees, local authorities and volunteers have been distributing lead tests, filters and bottled water.

Flint has returned to Detroit water, but many residents are relying on bottled water.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, center, speaks during the Democratic response after Governor Rick Snyder's State of the State address in Lansing on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016.

"If you make the mess, you clean it up", he said.

Following a speaking engagement at a Martin Luther King Day event in Flint, the Republican governor said her tactic doesn't help solve the problem.

A federal lawsuit had already been filed, attorney Bill Goodman said.

Flint isn't the only crisis Snyder is dealing with at the moment.

"I think that we do need to know for sure what he knew and when he knew it, and it sounds like we may able to find that out in those emails. Stuff is revealed that hasn't been revealed", he said. That declaration would provide more money and resources than the emergency declaration.

"They need financial aid".

"There's real danger that the injury is going to be permanent and lifelong in them", Dr. Philip Landrigan, Dean of Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, told CBS News.

Elevated levels of lead can cause serious neurological problems, especially in children.

"I feel like if we don't help ourselves, who's going to help us?" said owner Jacklyn Berry.