UN following Flint water crisis developments

The 17-member committee would recommend ways to help people exposed to lead, study Flint's water infrastructure and determine possible upgrades.

Brooks says Snyder's regret for what has happened appears "genuine".

Another email, from Gov. Rick Snyder's then-Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore in September, referred to those raising the alarm as "the anti-everything group".

Governor Rick Snyder and the Mayor of Flint will both provide an update to the ongoing water crisis in Flint on Wednesday. Flint Mayor Karen Williams Weaver is a 1980 Tougaloo College graduate. However, aging pipes resulted in lead contamination, damages of which could be irreversible. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint earlier this month. The hospital is where more than 2,000 children have been tested for lead since the water switch was made in 2014.

"I don't care what political stripe you might be".

Snyder also said he has asked the federal government to expand medicaid to anyone under the age of 21.

State regulators never required that the river water be treated to make it less corrosive, causing lead from plumbing and pipes to leach into the water supply.

Tests have shown high lead levels in some children after the switch.

Flint has reconnected to Detroit's water system while awaiting the completion of a new pipeline from Lake Huron.

Other samples collected by the EPA from throughout the system show chlorine is present but levels in some areas could be improved.

The crisis has even attracted the attention of the United Nations, which is "looking at the human implications closely", according to Baskut Tuncak, a UN expert on hazardous substance and waste.

The complaint by the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, Concerned Pastors for Social Action and resident Melissa Mays says service lines from water mains into homes should be replaced at no cost to customers. Education is arguably the most important tool in escaping poverty, but lead poisoning severely inhibits learning and can permanently mentally disable children.

Flint officials had long chafed at purchasing water from Detroit, which, they alleged, overcharged them and sometimes raised rates by large amounts in a single year. His office also will defend the state against lawsuits brought by Flint residents.

Senate Republican leader Arlan Meekhof wonders if another investigation is really needed and the Schuette decision is premature in that another report from former senator Ken Sikkema has not been released.

However, he said that is a long-term project and declined to comment on the lawsuit.

"We're trying to take action that is specific, that's focused, that's urgent and speaks to the people's needs", he said.

His administration has estimated that replacing as many as 15,000 damaged lead service lines could cost as much as $55 million. Lead, a malleable and affordable metal, has been used for water pipes since the Roman period.

"I am not confident that he can serve in the best interest of the Flint citizens", Garrett said of the attorney general.

Democrats question whether the special counsel would be impartial.

That "action" came in the form of Snyder's appointment of attorney Todd Flood, whose job it was to investigate whether or not any state laws had been violated in dealing with Flint's water situation.