Michigan restricted Flint from switching water in loan deal

(AP) — The state of Michigan restricted Flint from switching water sources last April unless it got approval from Gov. Rick Snyder's administration under the terms of a $7 million loan needed to help transition the city from state management, according to a document released Wednesday.

[...] critics in the Michigan Democratic Party said that the loan document, obtained by the party through a public records request, shows that his administration tied Flint's hands and prevented earlier action.

A month before the loan, a state official notified Snyder's aides of a surge in Legionnaires' disease potentially linked to Flint's water — long before the governor, who said he was not made aware of the deadly outbreak, reported the increase to the public.

The governor has said he did not clearly know the full extent of the water's danger until around Oct. 1, when state health officials confirmed elevated blood-lead levels in children.