Feds Open Probe on W. Va. Chemical Spill
Contaminated water supply for hundreds of thousands
Federal authorities launched investigations Friday into a West Virginia chemical spill that contaminated the water supply for as many as 300,000 people and closed businesses and schools in the populous heart of the state.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, whose jurisdiction overlaps the affected area, said his office has opened a criminal probe into the cause of Thursday's spill in the state capital of Charleston. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating, as are state agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
Thousands of homes and businesses in Charleston and surrounding counties were told not to drink or use their tap water on Thursday after officials determined that a leak from a chemical-manufacturer storage facility on the Elk River had infiltrated a water-treatment plant. President Barack Obama issued a federal disaster declaration for the state Friday, and officials scrambled to set up water-distribution centers.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?