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Deadline Nears to File Claims Stemming from Chemical Spill
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Residents face a Wednesday deadline to file claims in the class-action lawsuit over a 2014 chemical spill that left hundreds of thousands of West Virginians without tap water for days.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports 53,960 households and 2,275 businesses filed claims by late January to be compensated by the $151 million settlement.
It covers Kanawha Valley residents and businesses who received tap water from West Virginia American Water’s Elk River intake plant after a chemical spilled from a Freedom Industries tank into the river, or whose employer closed due to the spill and water system contamination.
The settlement allows residential households to file a claim form and get $550 for the first resident and $180 for each additional resident. Residents can file a form and provide receipts for expenses to obtain a greater settlement.