Ex-Freedom Industries Owner Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail, $20,000 Fine

http://wvpublic.org/post/ex-freedom-industries-owner-sentenced-30-days-jail-20000-fine

A former executive of a chemical storage facility in West Virginia has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and order to pay a $20,000 fine. The charges stemmed a January 2014 chemical spill that left some 300,000 area residents without water for days.
Former Freedom Industries owner Dennis Farrell will serve time for federal pollution violations.
Four other ex-Freedom officials have been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay fines.
Ex-company President Gary Southern is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Federal prosecutors brought the case against the company and its top executives after an estimated 7,500 gallons of a coal cleaning chemical leaked from storage tanks and into the Elk River.
The company filed for bankruptcy eight days after the spill. It’s been fined $900,000, although a federal judge said that fine was symbolic due to outstanding debts.