U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said
Monday a federal investigation launched last week into the Elk River chemical
spill that contaminated water for 300,000 West Virginia
Goodwin released the following
statement:
“As the immediate water crisis
begins to ease and West Virginians regain
access to drinkable water, I want to make three things clear. One, my office
will continue working as quickly as possible to find out exactly what happened
here, including the complete timeline of the release and what was done—or not
done—before and after it. Two, if our investigation reveals that federal
criminal laws were violated, we will move rapidly to hold the wrongdoers
accountable. And three, companies whose facilities could affect the public
water supply should be on notice: if you break federal environmental laws, you
will be prosecuted. Our drinking water is not something you can take chances
with, and this mess can never be allowed to happen again.”
A leak at the Freedom Industries
storage facility sent an estimated 7,500 gallons of crude HCHM into the
Elk River less than two miles from West Virginia American Water’s Kanawha
Valley plant. The company issued a Do Not Use order to its customers in parts
of nine counties. The order began to be lifted Monday afternoon on a zone by
zone basis.
