Anniversary Of MCHM Spill Passes, Concerns About Drinking Water Remain

Three years have passed since a West Virginia chemical spill during which thousands of gallons of chemicals used to process coal spilled into the Elk River.

The Huffington Post reported that about 300,000 West Virginia residents were left without drinkable water during that time. Residents were informed not to use the water for anything other than flushing toilets or extinguishing fires, while officials were working on removing the chemical known as MCHM from the water supply.

In some areas around West Virginia, the “do-not-use order” lasted for 10 days. Residents “were also instructed to run their faucets to flush their home plumbing systems of traces of the chemical, which has a sweet, licorice-like odor.”

Just last week, citizen groups and environmental advocates said the state has made progress “but that continued work to protect West Virginia’s drinking water needs to remain a priority,” according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

The groups gathered at the Capitol for a short ceremony to mark the anniversary of the catastrophic event.

“We wanted to be here today to send a message that we still care, we’re still paying attention to the protection of our water,” Angie Rosser, executive director of the Rivers Coalition, told the Gazette-Mail.                    

Evan Hansen, Rivers Coalition consultant and member of a state government commission studying drinking water safety efforts, was also in attendance and discussed legislation that had been passed after the chemical spill.

“We’ve made great strides in protecting our water,” Hansen said, “but there’s still work to be done.”

The bill’s purpose is “to regulate above-ground chemical storage tanks and to force public drinking water systems to plan for how they could prevent or respond to spills.”

Kevin Thompson, a lawyer for residents and businesses that sued West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical said that “lawyers are still working out the final details of a tentative settlement with West Virginia American and Eastman, which will pay up to $151 million to businesses and residents affected by the ‘do not use’ order issued during the water crisis caused by the Freedom spill.”

“This settlement covers everybody, whether they signed up with a lawyer or not,” Thompson said.

Details of how to file claims are among the details still being worked out in the case.

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