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Ex-Freedom Officials Head Back To Court In West Virginia Spill Case
By: Associated Press
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Two former Freedom Industries executives who face federal charges in a massive chemical spill last year are returning to court.
Ex-Freedom officials Gary Southern and Dennis Farrell are scheduled for a motions hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.
The January 2014 Freedom Industries spill in Charleston spurred a ban on tap water for 300,000 residents for days.
Southern and Farrell have pleaded not guilty.
Southern faces the stiffest charges. He could spend up to 88 years in prison if convicted of pollution charges and fraud related to Freedom’s bankruptcy case.
Their trials are slated for Oct. 6.
Four other ex-Freedom officials and the company itself pleaded guilty to pollution charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced in June, though two of them want it rescheduled.