West Virginia spill: Ex chemical company president pleads guilty

                                                                                           (C)CNN

Gary Southern, 53, has pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Water Act. Southern, the former president of the chemical company, Freedom Industries, responsible for contaminating the water supply of more than 300,00 West Virginia residents in 2014 made his plea known on Wednesday, Reuters reports. He has acknowledged the fact that he failed to properly inspect the chemical holding tanks and did not make the repairs necessary to ensure that the facility could properly contain a chemical spill.On January 9, 2014, 7,000 gallons of a toxic chemical called MCHM leaked from its holding tanks into the Elk River in West Virginia. The leak was one and a half miles upstream from a water treatment facility supplying the city of Charleston with water. A do-not-use order was issued to 300,000 residents, some of whom could not drink or bathe in their water for more than a week.
The U.S. Attorney for West Virginia Booth Goodwin gave a warning that: "This should serve as a wake-up call to those who operate chemical storage facilities near our precious water resources. If you place our water at risk, you face prison time."
Southern was indicted in December along with Freedom Industries and five more company officials. They have all since pleaded guilty, and the company has declared bankruptcy.
Southern faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced in December on the counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act, negligently discharging refuse matter in violation of the federal Refuse Act and failing to have a pollution prevention plan the Reuters reports.