A proposed settlement has been reached between Charleston residents and a chemical company accused of not doing enough to safeguard West Virginia’s capital city from a spill that polluted the drinking water of 300,000 people in 2014.
According to court officials, attorneys for Eastman Chemical and Charleston-area residents and businesses proposed the settlement. Eastman is producer of a coal-cleaning agent that spilled.
It is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver. Its terms are sealed.
The trial for claims against West Virginia American Water is scheduled to start Thursday.
The chemical leaked from a storage tank of since-bankrupted Freedom Industries into the Elk River in January 2014, preventing the capital and nearby areas from using tap water for days.