Water Crisis Story Archives - Page 2 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Trial Delayed Involving Lawsuit in West Virginia Chem Spill

A federal judge is delaying the trial involving a lawsuit filed against a water company and a manufacturer that sold a chemical to a company involved in a massive spill in Charleston.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver told attorneys during a monthly status hearing last week he would need more time to review and rule on several motions. The trial had been scheduled to start July 12.

No new trial date was set. Copenhaver set another status hearing for June 10.

The class-action lawsuit was filed by residents and businesses against Eastman Chemical, West Virginia American Water and its parent company, American Water Works, over their roles in the January 2014 spill.

Eastman produced the coal-cleaning agent that leaked from a Freedom Industries tank.

W.Va. Jail Sued Over Response to Water Crisis

A lawsuit claims some West Virginia inmates were so desperate for water they tried to drink from toilets during a water crisis.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the suit was filed on behalf of inmates at South Central Regional Jail between Jan. 9-14, 2014. That was at a time when area residents were told not to use water for anything but flushing toilets and fighting fires due to a chemical spill in a river.

The West Virginia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in federal court in Charleston.

The suit contains many more allegations about how the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority handled the water crisis.

The state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety has defended allegations about how inmates were treated.

Citizen Groups Unite to Demand Water Justice

Representatives from 37 citizen groups fighting for “water justice” met Tuesday at the Capitol to release a letter of solidarity with Flint, Michigan.

The letter, dated February 9^th, parallels the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis with the water crisis currently unfolding in Flint.

“Two years ago, we stood in those same lines, visited local emergency rooms, and demonstrated in the halls of power because our water, too had been poisoned,” it says. Crystal Good, a West Virginian who had been affected by the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis read the letter at Tuesday’s press conference.

The letter and subsequent speeches from group leaders also called for government accountability and the protection of safe drinking water in West Virginia.

“Working together across race and class in the aftermath of this disaster, we are making real change. We don’t have all the answers, but we are gaining ground for safe, reliable water here in West Virginia, as you are in Flint, Michigan,” concluded the letter.

Other speakers called for The Public Service Commission to continue their investigation of what went wrong in West Virginia in 2014 and for congressional members to pass, instead of block, proposed federal water protections.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

LISTEN: New Site Explores Water Woes in W.Va.

An online interactive documentary launches today. WVWaterHistory.com outlines history that lead up to the Charleston water crisis of 2014 which left 300,000 for over a week without water. The site also explores other water challenges the state has and continues to face.

Maps, data and personal stories are laid out, like the thoughts of DJ Estep of Prenter, West Virginia.

Project coordinator Gabriel Schwartzman produced the content with support of a grant from the University of California at Berkeley. In a release Schwartzman said he hopes his work puts the recent water crisis in political context, and that his take away from the project is that West Virginians need public control of their water, instead of leaving that control to private business.

Puppet Protest Commemorates January 9th Chemical Leak

A protest featuring giant puppets was held in front of the Kanawha County Public Library yesterday, commemorating the January 9th chemical spill one year ago.

A local art group called the Vandalia Collective performed the ten minute puppet show in front of the Kanawha County Public Library in Charleston. The protest featured giant handmade puppets re-telling the story of the chemical leak just one year ago.

The various puppets played the characters of Mother Earth, the elements; water, fire, earth, and air, as well as puppets representing Freedom Industries, the coal company, and the chemical, MCHM.

“Puppetry is a very long-standing tradition in America and in Europe,” said Marcus Fioravante, the organizer of the event and puppeteer, “You know, you think about like Punch and Judy shows, and stuff like that. You know, it’s street art, it’s street performance, and that has existed, you know long before there was TV, and long before there was anything else, there was street art. And to me, it is a wonderful breath of life into activism, and I feel like you know, you can’t ignore a big puppet as much as you can ignore a person with a sign.”

Fioravante says the Vandalia Collective will perform the puppet show again next weekend, January 17^th at 2:00pm in front of the Capitol complex in Charleston.

Documentary Inspired by Water Crisis to Premiere at Culture Center

Mike Youngren has lived in Charleston for the last 20 years. A West Virginia Public Broadcasting alum, Youngren pursued filmmaking after retiring. When the January 9th chemical leak happened, Youngren decided the problem was widespread enough for people to stop to pay attention to what he had to say. With this in mind, he decided to develop his documentary, Elk River Blues.

Youngren’s film, Elk River Blues will have its world premiere on Friday, January 9th, at the Culture Center. It is a part of a list of special events occurring that same night commemorating the one year anniversary of a chemical spill into the Elk River near Charleston.