"WV Water Crisis Settlements Provide Community Up To $151M"

"Hundreds of thousands of Kanawha Valley residents, businesses and workers will receive up to $151 million in compensation from West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical Co. for the effects of the January 2014 water crisis, under related class-action settlements made public late Monday afternoon.

West Virginia American will pay up to $126 million and Eastman Chemical up to $25 million under the deals, according to court records and lawyers in the case.

Exact distribution plans for the money still are being worked out, but lawyers for the plaintiff class said they believe the settlements will compensate everyone affected by the spill — from residents who had to purchase bottled water to businesses that had to close when they couldn’t use their water, to individuals who sought medical attention after being exposed to the chemicals that contaminated the region’s drinking water supply following the Jan. 9, 2014, spill at Freedom Industries."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette-Mail October 31, 2016.