The White House will decide soon if President Obama will declare a federal emergency in Flint, Michigan. The declaration will provide federal funds for relief coordination among local and state agencies and actors, will help ensure clean water, and will assist with housing and property loss. The Detroit Free Press reports:

The governor requested federal financial aid for both individuals and state and government agencies involved in assisting Flint residents and repairing a public water pipeline infrastructure damaged by corrosive river water blamed for lead contamination. [...]Flint’s water contamination crisis would only qualify for federal emergency status — not natural disaster assistance — since it was a man-made disaster.

Again, it seems like tasking committees made up of some of the very agencies and people whose decisions led to the disaster in Flint may not be the most effective course of action. In a situation where penny-pinching with no regard for people led to wide scale poisoning, perhaps federal money will help officials make better decisions. But the issue here is still their stunning disregard for the people they serve, and the bodies charged with cleaning things up and with the lifelong task of assisting people hurt by lead have virtually no representation from actual citizens of Flint. There’s also the rather procedural distinction between “man-made disaster” and “natural disaster,” with lives in need of assistance in the balance.

This news comes after news that Flint citizens are filing a class-action suit against the city, the state, and the governor. The suit details how citizens are still being billed for—and in some cases penalized for—the contaminated drinking water from the Flint River. Whatever decision President Obama makes, there is plenty of work to do.