A former Freedom Industries Inc. president was charged for the second time this month in connection with a West Virginia chemical spill that contaminated water for 300,000 residents, this time in an indictment accusing him and three company officials with polluting the Elk River near Charleston. <\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors also announced separate charges today against two other people, a plant manager and environmental consultant, for violating the federal Clean Water Act. <\/p>\n
The leak from one of Freedoms tanks sent about 7,500 gallons (28,400 liters) of a cleaning agent used in coal-mining operations into the river, contaminating drinking water in the states largest city and sending more than 100 residents to the hospital. <\/p>\n
The spill, West Virginias fifth major industrial accident since 2006., forced some residents of the U.S.s third-poorest state to buy bottled water for more than a month. <\/p>\n
Just a mile upstream from Charlestons primary source of drinking water, the conditions at the Freedom Industries facility were not only grievously unacceptable but unlawful, Attorney General Eric Holder said today in a statement. They put an entire population needlessly at risk. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Gary Southern, Freedoms former president, was accused by the government of lying in the companys bankruptcy filing, which was triggered by lawsuits following the spill. <\/p>\n
Southern, an executive of the Charleston-based company since 2009, allegedly lied in the hope of protecting about $8 million in personal assets, according to court papers. <\/p>\n
Robert Allen, Southerns lawyer, said he was a little surprised that locally based federal officials proceeded with the indictment because he asked that they step down in the earlier case, arguing they couldnt be fair. <\/p>\n
They were victims of the spill themselves, Allen said in a phone interview. <\/p>\n
Named in this weeks indictment along with Southern are Dennis Farrell, another company ex-president; William Tis, a former secretary; and Charles Herzing, a onetime vice president. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Visit link: <\/p>\n
Ex-Freedom Industries Officials Indicted Over Elk River Spill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A former Freedom Industries Inc. president was charged for the second time this month in connection with a West Virginia chemical spill that contaminated water for 300,000 residents, this time in an indictment accusing him and three company officials with polluting the Elk River near Charleston. Federal prosecutors also announced separate charges today against two other people, a plant manager and environmental consultant, for violating the federal Clean Water Act Continue reading