Todd Spangler

Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON — Michigan’s U.S. senators and a key congressman want to know if a reported freeze on all new Environmental Protection Agency grants and contracts under the Trump administration will impact $100 million approved late last year to help Flint in the wake of its water crisis.

On Tuesday, multiple news agencies — including ProPublica, the Associated Press and others — reported that the Trump administration had ordered the freeze, as well as telling agencies not to make any statements on social media or answer media questions.

At Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he had seen the reports but did not know if they were true and was looking into it. Meanwhile, media contacts at the EPA did not respond to questions from the Free Press about whether the reported freeze could impact efforts in Flint, where high lead levels were detected after the city switched water sources in 2014 and an emergency declaration was issued last year.

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In December, Congress passed a long-sought water resources bill which included at least $120 million for Flint, including at least $100 million to help the city replace and repair its water infrastructure, which includes miles of aging lead pipe. On Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both D-Mich., and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, asked for assurances that there will be no delays in making the funding available to Flint.

“We are concerned that your directive to halt all EPA grants and agreements may jeopardize much-needed federal funding, already passed by Congress, from quickly and directly reaching Flint families recovering from this crisis,” the three said in their letter to Trump and Catherine McCabe, the EPA’s acting administrator while nominee Scott Pruitt awaits expected Senate confirmation.

While any broad freeze on grants could potentially impact Flint’s funding under the legislation passed in December, it’s unlikely to halt it altogether, given that the bill made clear that the $100 million was to be awarded to a municipality that is or has been the subject of an emergency declaration due to lead contamination — a category only Flint falls under. And since it was written into legislation, the administration would most likely be required to follow through on granting it.

Still, it could be delayed by a bureaucratic hold on new contracts and grants if one is put in place while the Trump administration gains its footing.

In their letter, the three members of Congress acknowledged they did not know if the Flint money was in jeopardy, asking for clarity on whether the freeze halts the funding or in any way hampers the EPA from overseeing and enforcing an emergency order on Flint’s drinking water issued a year ago.

“Throughout your campaign, which included a visit to Flint, you pledged to help the city and to take actions to prevent a similar crisis in any other community,” the letter said. “Given these promises, and the enactment of legislation to provide funding to address Flint’s water infrastructure, we would strongly oppose any actions by your Administration that result in delaying resources to Flint.”

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.