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The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality repeatedly gave assurances that water from the Flint River was safe, when in reality it had dangerous levels of lead, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says. Snyder tells Congress that he did not learn that Flint's water was contaminated until Oct. 1, 2015 — nearly 18 months after the city began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. Snyder said he took immediate action, reconnecting the city with Detroit's water supply and distributing water filters and testing residents — especially children — for elevated lead levels. (3/17)

Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday he's disappointed the federal government has rejected his appeal of an earlier denial of certain funding requests to assist the state in addressing the Flint drinking water crisis. Snyder, in a March 3 letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had requested funding under programs related to emergency protective measures and the Individuals and Households Program. (Egan, 3/16)

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating health and safety conditions, including lead problems, in New York City’s public-housing system, according to court documents and city officials. Prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office are investigating whether the New York City Housing Authority, the largest public-housing agency in the country, made false claims for payment to the federal government related to safety conditions at city housing complexes, according to court filings. The investigation began last fall, court records show. (O'Brien, 3/16)

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are conducting a sweeping investigation of environmental health and safety conditions, including cases of elevated blood lead levels, in public housing and homeless shelters and the possibility that the New York City housing and homeless agencies filed false claims to federal housing officials for payment related to the conditions. (Navarro and Rashbaum, 3/16)

Standing glumly behind the screen door of the brick house she has called home since 1971, Mary Schell shares the bad news: "We have it." "It" is confirmation that the water in her home contains high levels of lead. Schell and her husband tested their water in the fall after town officials discovered in October that 11 homes in their neighborhood had high levels. A subsequent round of testing in December found six homes exceeding federal limits. (Hughes, 3/16)