LANSING (WWJ) -- The state of Michigan’s Flint water civil settlement was officially approved on Wednesday.
Judge Judith E. Levy at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan permitted the “historic” settlement amount of $626.25 million.
This money will be used to settle a series of civil lawsuits over the state's failure to protect residents from dangerous and deadly lead in their water, WWJ's Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reports.
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“For those who have endured the damage done by the Flint water crisis, I know this day brings only partial relief to what remains unimaginable hardship, but I hope this important settlement can be acknowledged as a positive step in the healing process,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “The people of Flint deserve accountability and to be compensated for any injuries they suffered.”
Additional information on this settlement is expected to be provided after review of Judge Levy’s 178-page opinion.
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The water crisis began in 2014 after officials authorized the switch from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a water source for Flint in a money-saving move.
Then, lead infiltrated the system through aging pipes.
Initially, state officials denied it and put up a strong defense against residents who said they had developed strange rashes and other health ailments. After outcries from doctors, tests were conducted and they were forced to concede that lead was at dangerously high levels.
A public health emergency was declared in Flint in 2016.