Representatives of the company
responsible for the Jan. 9 chemical spill that contaminated the water supply of
300,000 West Virginia
Attorneys for Freedom Industries
will ask a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to hire experts and
environmental consultants to help assess what happened in the chemical leak.
Freedom officials said they want to make the moves before evidence from
the incident is removed or destroyed. The company is under orders from the
state Department of Environmental Protection to begin removing the tanks on the
site by March 15.
Additionally Freedom seeks to hire
more attorneys for its legal team and a financial advisory.
More than 10,000 gallons of the
chemical MCHM and a lower amount of PPH which was blended with the main
chemical leaked into the Elk River at the
company’s Etowha River Terminal. Hours after the spill the contaminated water
entered the West Virginia American Water treatment facility in Charleston
Subsequently the tainted water
caused 300,000 people to be unable to use their water for more than a week.
Although the all-clear to use the water has been given, many still remain
unwilling to trust test results that show non-detect levels of the contaminant
in the water system.
Soon after the spill, Freedom
Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of its bankruptcy
filing, the company was approved to borrow up to $4 million. So far the company
has indicated spending about $1 million on the cleanup—most of that on attorney
fees and transportation to remove the remaining chemical off-site.
The hearing is set for 10 a.m.
Friday at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston
