By KATE MISHKIN
Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Residents and businesses affected by the 2014 Kanawha Valley water crisis could begin receiving settlement checks in the mail in a matter of weeks.
In a letter dated Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services waived its right to recover portions of the settlement for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries — one of the last steps needed before settlement checks can be sent out.
Lawyers for the businesses and residents have also asked U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver to approve a $1 million settlement with Gary Southern, former president of Freedom Industries. The class-action lawsuit doesn’t directly involve Freedom Industries, but said West Virginia American Water didn’t react to the Crude MCHM, which spilled from a storage tank at Freedom Industries into the Elk River in 2014. The lawsuit also says Eastman Chemical didn’t do enough to warn Freedom Industries of the chemical’s danger. Both companies blame Freedom Industries, which admitted to criminal violations following the spill.
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