FLINT, MI -- The Environmental Protection Agency is asking two federal judges to suspend action on pending Flint water crisis lawsuits brought against it by city residents due to the federal government shutdown that began on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

The EPA filed motions for stays in the cases, one of which is scheduled to begin with a bench trial in less than four months, on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The claims process for a nearly $700-million water crisis settlement with the state of Michigan is expected to continue uninterrupted, a court official told MLive-The Flint Journal.

Special Master Deborah Greenspan said in a court filing last month that payment letters to more than 25,000 individuals with approved water crisis claims are expected to

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