West Virginia's Contaminated Water

[Kitsune]

If I see a company "Freedom Industries", "Patriot Industrial", "Liberty Manufacturing," etc, I will be extremely suspicious about what they are doing expecting them to be nefarious

[LadyTevar]

WV Gazette (link will die after 2 days)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- There is still no firm timeline for when 300,000 Kanawha Valley residents will have safe water, but it will be, at a minimum, "several days," Jeff McIntyre, the president of West Virginia American Water Company, said at a press conference at the state Capitol Saturday.
There has been no water since a Thursday chemical spill contaminated the Elk River and the water supply of eight West Virginia counties, and part of a ninth.

McIntyre said that they are testing water around the clock to determine the concentration of "crude MCHM," the chemical that spilled, but he refused to release the results of those tests.

"You cannot make decisions like this from any one result and I will not provide any one result," McIntyre said.

He said West Virginia American's system, by far the largest water utility in the state, was too big to judge with a limited number of samples.

The Centers for Disease Control have said that levels of the chemical, used to wash coal, must be below 1 part per million.

On Friday, it was reported that water was testing at 1.7 parts per million.

Secretary Karen Bowling, of the Department of Health and Human Resources, said that 73 people had gone to area emergency rooms and five have been admitted to hospitals with chemical-related symptoms.

Also at the press conference, Mike Dorsey, with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said that they now think that 7,500 gallons of crude MCHM leaked into the river.
That's at least a 50 percent increase from previous estimates, which pegged the leak at 2,000 to 5,000 gallons.

Dorsey said that the chemical leaked out of a one-inch hole in the 35,000-gallon steel tank.

Dorsey said that the licorice-odor associated with the chemical is "apparently not" harmful to breathe. The odor has been prevalent in much of Charleston, and is still noticeable near the Elk River.

Officials said that they are continuing to bring in clean water for affected residents.

Jimmy Gianatto, director of the state Division of Homeland Security, said that the state has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has brought in 1.4 million liters of water to date.

He was expecting FEMA to supply an additional 1.6 million liters today and tomorrow.

Water distribution centers have been set up across the area.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin did not attend the press conference.

[LadyTevar]

BTW: There was a side-article to the one I just posted:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Faced with limited information and no regulatory guidelines on a chemical that's put drinking water off limits for 300,000 West Virginians, government scientists have come up with a level of "Crude MCHM" they believe is safe.

Federal and state officials are touting the number - 1 part per million - and hopefully noting chemical concentrations in the region's Elk River water supply are dropping ever closer to that figure.

At the same time, Tomblin administration officials and West Virginia American Water are refusing to make public the results of their testing. And they're saying precious little about how the number was derived, or what exactly it really means.

[LadyTevar]

BUT NOW, for the *REAL* WTF:

Freedom Industries Execs Old Comrades

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Freedom Industries, the company whose chemical spill is responsible for the contamination of much of the Kanawha Valley's water, has existed in its current form for less than two weeks.

On the last day of 2013, Freedom Industries, which distributes chemicals used in coal mining, merged with three other companies: Etowah River Terminal, Poca Blending and Crete Technologies, a Delaware company.

Poca Blending, in Nitro, and Etowah River Terminal, in Charleston, now comprise the two branches of Freedom Industries.

The company's website says the Charleston branch, which spilled the chemical, "can process large volumes of chemical rapidly, and cost effectively."

Smells from the spill were reported early Thursday morning, but Freedom mostly stonewalled media inquiries -- releasing only a bland news release through a public relations firm -- until a 10-minute news conference Friday evening.

At the news conference, Freedom Industries President Gary Southern gave few details about the company, made several statements seemingly in conflict with what government officials have said, and was whisked away by a public relations handler with reporters still shouting questions.

Prior to the news conference, the most extensive public statement from anyone connected with the company came Friday afternoon from Kathy Stover-Kennedy, the girlfriend of Freedom Industries executive Dennis P. Farrell.

Stover-Kennedy stressed that the spill was an accident and said that Farrell has received threatening and frightening messages from people around the world.

"I'm not asking for anyone's sympathy but a little empathy wouldn't hurt. And just so you know, the boys at the plant made and drank coffee this morning! I showered and brushed my teeth this morning and I am just fine!" Stover-Kennedy wrote on her personal Facebook page.

"There has been criticism from many about how Freedom Industries is handling this," she continued. "Denny is not a spokesperson and has no desire to be. His expertise was much needed elsewhere. If he had taken the time to talk to the numerous media networks, giving statements, he would not have been able to react to the situation and perform his job accordingly. It wasn't his decision to hire a spokesperson and it isn't his job to be one."

Details are still scant about Farrell and the company's two founders, but some details about the men, Southern and Carl L. Kennedy II, are known.

Freedom Industries was founded in 1992 by Southern and Kennedy, according to filings with the West Virginia secretary of state.

Kennedy is still listed as "incorporator" on the secretary of state's website, but a woman who answered the phone at Freedom Industries said he left the company "years ago."

In 2005, federal prosecutors charged Kennedy with failing to pay more than $200,000 in income taxes, according to reports at the time. In 1987, he pleaded guilty to selling between 10 and 12 ounces of cocaine, according to reports.
Kennedy grew up in Montgomery and went to college there at the former West Virginia Institute of Technology, where he met Farrell, according to the reports.

Farrell is listed as Freedom Industries' president on the company's website, although he does not appear on the secretary of state filing and a woman who answered the phone at would call him only an executive.

Kennedy and Farrell became friends and eventually went into business together. In 2002, they opened a sports bar in Montgomery called The Bank Bar and Grill.

They also owned two buildings at the corner of Virginia and Capitol streets in downtown Charleston.

The secretary of state lists Farrell as the "organizer" of Etowah River Terminal, a chemical storage facility, which was founded in 2001.

It failed to file an annual report in 2005 and had its business license revoked, but re-formed in 2011.

No one answered the phone at Etowah, but its website lists its location as and shows pictures of the current site of Freedom Industries.

The site, just a few feet from the Elk River, has 13 bulk tanks and a total liquid storage capacity of 4 million gallons, according to the Etowah website.

Etowah's business license was terminated when it merged with Freedom Industries on Dec. 31 of last year.

It appears that Southern became president and Farrell became a top executive when the two companies merged.

Southern is also listed as president of Enviromine, which makes products to help remediate environmental problems from mining.

The secretary of state filing for Enviromine lists an address for Southern in Marco Island, Fla.

Mike Murphy, an Enviromine employee, confirmed that Southern is still with the company but would not provide any more information.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Question for the libertarians that are reading this thread: What do you propose be done to the company? Should they be subject to a class action lawsuit? Multiple independent lawsuits? Fines from the government? I sincerely want to know what actions you believe should be taken. Other companies will need to look at this situation and realize that they can't let it happen to them if they want to stay in business. Otherwise they'll half-ass preventative measures.

[Kitsune]

Question for the libertarians that are reading this thread: What do you propose be done to the company? Should they be subject to a class action lawsuit? Multiple independent lawsuits? Fines from the government? I sincerely want to know what actions you believe should be taken. Other companies will need to look at this situation and realize that they can't let it happen to them if they want to stay in business. Otherwise they'll half-ass preventative measures.

If that much. . . . .They don't seem to stop spilling Coal Slurry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Creek_Flood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Cou ... urry_spill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_F ... urry_spill

[LadyTevar]

Napolean? Why don't you take your questions to the Libraterians to another Thread, hmm? I would not like seeing a thread about a serious health threat cluttered with political 'what-ifs'.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Alright, I'll keep it elsewhere.

[Simon_Jester]

I'm getting a picture of this exceedingly dodgy man (men?) playing a corporate shell game to stay in business, in an organization that is fly-by-season if not fly-by-night.

[Crossroads Inc.]

I'm getting a picture of this exceedingly dodgy man (men?) playing a corporate shell game to stay in business, in an organization that is fly-by-season if not fly-by-night.

To say the least, I mean how many times has this company been "created" ?

Also...

"I'm not asking for anyone's sympathy but a little empathy wouldn't hurt. And just so you know, the boys at the plant made and drank coffee this morning! I showered and brushed my teeth this morning and I am just fine!" Stover-Kennedy wrote on her personal Facebook page.

I just could NOT believe someone would actually say that! I mean, its almost cartoonish in terms of the:
"Well Gee I don't see what all this fuss is about, We think the chemicals are harmless! Drink up citizens!!!"

[LadyTevar]

The end is in sight. Levels have dropped to where the water co. is going to start flushing their system, and they will be going by zones, starting with those that have hospitals in the midst. I do not know if living near the hospital will mean my system will be one of the first flushed or not.

Gov. Tomblin News Conference

[LadyTevar]

I HAVE WATER!!!!
My zone was given the all-clear to flush about 5pm today, and I let the water run for a good 30 min. Still smelt of licorice, and I'm still not gonna drink any of it for a few days, but it was SO GOOD to take a shower again!!

However, the heat is on Freedom Industries, and it's going to be interesting to see if this goes as far as prosecution. For the moment, however, WV American Water will be issuing a 1000gal credit to all affected customers.

[Napoleon the Clown]

I'd be amused to see FI be forced to compensate all the businesses that had to close down over this whole thing. "You projections said you were supposed to make this much money? Okay, here you go." This includes the money that goes toward employee wages, which the employees should naturally receive.

Don't see it being especially likely, but it would be funny to see. Though I personally don't think the people in charge would learn anything from the company getting fucked over, since they probably have things set up nicely so they can jump ship and not be hurting at all. The joys of incorporation shielding the people in charge so thoroughly they aren't accountable in a meaningful way...

[LadyTevar]

Since we've already seen that this corporation is a circle-jerk shellgame played between 3 buddies, it's going to be interesting to see how much their paper-shuffling will save them.

However, there briefly was a report of licorice at the site where the company moved the chemicals for storage.
WCHS TV news
I love the quip about "Only place outside of Bhopal where people live this close to chemicals"

[LadyTevar]

Boehner Speaks

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that no new regulations are needed after a chemical spill in West Virginia last week left more than 300,000 people without safe tap water. He suggested the incident was not the result of less environmental and energy regulation but of the Obama administration's failure to enforce existing rules.

There are times when I just want to know WTF Boehner and his fellow Republicans are smoking. The GOP has waged a constant stream of attacks on funding for the EPA, and yet it's not *their* fault that a chemical tank's not been checked since 1991?

*snarl*

[Lonestar]

I'm getting a picture of this exceedingly dodgy man (men?) playing a corporate shell game to stay in business, in an organization that is fly-by-season if not fly-by-night.

That was Diamonds essential thesis regarding any resource extraction company that wasn't petroleum related in Collapse. To him, it's very common in that industry.

[Crossroads Inc.]

failure to enforce existing rules.

You know, I would LOVE to plunk down a full copy of The EPA text book and have this waste of Humanity point to where, just Where this mess could have been prevented by 'Enforcing Current laws"

That line is a WHORE of a sentence, lending itself to anyone!
Its as bad as "Law Abiding Americans" or "Fiscal conservative"

Lets be honest, for THESE blow hards, the "correct" amount of regulation is NO regulation.

[Thanas]

"Freedom industries"? I thought names like this exist only on TV. Bad TV.

[Gandalf]

There are times when I just want to know WTF Boehner and his fellow Republicans are smoking. The GOP has waged a constant stream of attacks on funding for the EPA, and yet it's not *their* fault that a chemical tank's not been checked since 1991?

*snarl*

It's not about Boehner is smoking. It's about what their voters might smoke.

You and I can easily see through the GOP whatever, but in a state where over 60% voted for Romney, do you think this will cost them those five electoral votes in a few years?

[Napoleon the Clown]

Boehner Speaks

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that no new regulations are needed after a chemical spill in West Virginia last week left more than 300,000 people without safe tap water. He suggested the incident was not the result of less environmental and energy regulation but of the Obama administration's failure to enforce existing rules.

There are times when I just want to know WTF Boehner and his fellow Republicans are smoking. The GOP has waged a constant stream of attacks on funding for the EPA, and yet it's not *their* fault that a chemical tank's not been checked since 1991?

*snarl*

Oh, I really doubt Boehner believes a goddamn word of it. He knows what he's doing. He said what he did because he wants to make Obama look bad for everything. If he thought he could get away with it, he'd blame Obama for the shitty Katrina response. He figures that he can save face more effectively by saying that Obama fucked the inspections up than if he were to admit there's not enough regulations in place.

[Broomstick]

It's not just the regulations - the Republicans have consistently worked to cut funding for inspectors for decades. If they can't repeal the laws they'll find ways to make those laws unworkable, in this case by not funding inspections. Then they'll say the laws/regulations are ineffective and should be repealed. Well, yeah, if you're only willing to pay to put three wheels on the car it's not going to run well.

[Kitsune]

It's not just the regulations - the Republicans have consistently worked to cut funding for inspectors for decades. If they can't repeal the laws they'll find ways to make those laws unworkable, in this case by not funding inspections. Then they'll say the laws/regulations are ineffective and should be repealed. Well, yeah, if you're only willing to pay to put three wheels on the car it's not going to run well.

Almost the exact same thing with the affordable care act and abortion. . . .Trying to in effect negate the laws without repealing them.

[Gandalf]

It's not just the regulations - the Republicans have consistently worked to cut funding for inspectors for decades. If they can't repeal the laws they'll find ways to make those laws unworkable, in this case by not funding inspections. Then they'll say the laws/regulations are ineffective and should be repealed. Well, yeah, if you're only willing to pay to put three wheels on the car it's not going to run well.

That's easily applied to the whole government. They work to stifle everything, and then make hay out of a clearly ineffective government. It's easy, and clearly has traction with some of the populace.

Boehner's got the universal RNC playbook, and he's running it step by step.

[Borgholio]

Freedom Industries files for bankruptcy.

http://news.yahoo.com/company-tied-west ... ector.html

By Tom Hals

(Reuters) - Specialty chemicals maker Freedom Industries Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, eight days after a leak from one of its storage tanks contaminated drinking water for hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents.

A chemical used to process coal spilled into the Elk River in Charleston, prompting the state's governor to declare a state of emergency in nine counties and ban the use of drinking water for more than 300,000 people in the region.

More than 200 people have visited hospital emergency rooms, complaining of nausea.

As a result of the January 9 leak, vendors have demanded that Freedom pay in cash, draining the company of finances and prompting it to seek bankruptcy protection, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charleston, West Virginia.

"Likewise, the defense of the numerous suits filed against the debtor will exhaust the debtor's liquidity," Freedom said in a filing.

The bankruptcy filing will put a stay on more than 20 lawsuits filed against the company over the spill.

The company filed an emergency motion seeking court authority to borrow an initial $4 million from WV Funding LLC.

The company estimated it had up to $10 million in both assets and liabilities, according to the filings.

The move for Chapter 11 protection came the same day a do-not-use water advisory was lifted for nearly all affected areas, clearing residents to shower and drink from the tap for the first time in more than a week.

Officials at West Virginia American Water, the state's largest water utility, told customers that "out of an abundance of caution, you may wish to consider an alternative drinking water source for pregnant women."

In the Chapter 11 filing, Freedom Industries acknowledges that a chemical known as 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or crude MCHM, apparently leaked from one of its storage tanks upstream on the Elk River, compromising the water supply and closing a number of businesses.

"The debtor understands the water service is in the process of being restored," the filing reads.

The Chapter 11 filing will help protect the company's assets, shielding it from further lawsuits while allowing it to remain in business.

Lawyers started filing lawsuits against the company less than 24 hours after the first alarms were sounded about the release of an industrial chemical into the Elk River.

One of the lawsuits was brought by a dialysis patient whose kidney transplant was delayed because of a lack of clean water. Another was filed by the owner of a local Mexican cafe who told employees not to come to work, causing them to lose days of pay, according to attorney Roger Decanio.

Freedom Industries was founded in 1986 and describes itself as a leading producer of chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Victoria Cavaliere in New York; Editing by David Gregorio, Jonathan Oatis and Gunna Dickson)

Nope, didn't see this one coming. No-sir-ee Bob.

[LadyTevar]

File now, before those lawsuits come in.

My water is still smelling of licorice, a full week after the spill. I am still drinking bottled water, and we are still being warned not to let children or pregnant women drink or have contact with tap water. Water distribution centers are remaining open throughout the weekend, and stores are still stocked up on bottled water.

The Governor, meanwhile, is on the case:
WCHS TV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Jeff Morris) – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said plant output at West Virginia American Water in the wake of the water crisis will follow recent Centers for Disease Control guidelines and continue to be tested at parts per billion.

Meanwhile, the governor said legislation is in the works to prevent this type of crisis from happening again is in the works.