"A former chemical company executive charged over a spill that fouled the drinking water of about 300,000 West Virginians pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors on Tuesday, according to federal court documents.

Dennis Farrell, a former executive with bankrupt Freedom Industries Inc, was among four company officials charged in the January 2014 leak of a coal-washing chemical into the Elk River near Charleston.

Farrell pleaded guilty to causing unlawful discharge of refuse matter and negligent violation of a permit in federal court in Charleston, the court records showed."

Elizabeth Daley reports for Reuters August 18, 2015. [2]