UPDATE 5 p.m., March 23: Freedom Industries pleaded guilty in federal court March 23 to three environmental crimes, officials said.

The crimes are in connection with the Jan. 9, 2014 Elk River chemical spill of MCHM.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said Freedom, which owned and operated the facility from which the chemical MCHM spilled into the river, pleaded guilty to negligent discharge of a pollutant, the unlawful discharge of refuse, and violating a permit condition.

According to U.S. District Court documents, the company also paid a criminal debt payment of $650 on March 23.

Sentencing of the company is scheduled for June 29, 2015.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency - Criminal Investigation Division.

Original Story, 10 a.m., March 23 (From AP): Freedom Industries is set to answer to a pollution charge stemming from last year's chemical spill into a river in Charleston, WV.

Two former Freedom owners and two lower-level employees pleaded guilty to a pollution charge last week and will be sentenced in June.

The spill of thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning agent into the Elk River went into West Virginia American Water's intake 2 miles downstream on Jan. 9, 2014. It prompted a tap water ban for 300,000 residents for days.

Another former Freedom owner, Dennis Farrell, and former President Gary Southern face trial later this year on charges related to the spill. In addition, Southern faces charges related to Freedom's bankruptcy.

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UPDATE: Freedom Industries pleads guilty in court