CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly five years since the chemical spill into the Elk River by a Freedom Industries tank, the 4.9-acre property will put up for auction.
Joe R. Pyle Auction Service will host the auction Thursday under the direction of bankruptcy trustee Robert Johns at the former Freedom Industries property, located in Kanawha County.
“This one has drawn quite a bit of interest,” Jared Shinn, the Director of Marketing at Joe R. Pyle Auction Service, said. “Not only from people looking to purchase the property, repurpose, utilize the property but given the nature of what has happened there, just some interested folks. People are really eager to see the property go to good use. Kind of wipe the memory away of what happened a few years ago.”
In January of 2014, the chemical MCHM leaked from one of the tanks on the property into the Elk River causing a nine-county drinking water emergency. The tanks have since been torn down. Johns said Freedom Industries did enter into a voluntary remediation program to clean up the results of what happened with the spill and it is important to know they have finished it.
“The State Department of Environmental Protection has certified that they have completed that remediation program,” he said. “We do have certification of the program at the sale tomorrow (Thursday) and copies at our website. That is the main concern of the buyers, are the environmental conditions. They have completed the remediation program.”
The sale Thursday will get underway at Noon with registration beginning at 11 a.m. According to the Joe R. Pyle Auction Service, proper photo I.D. is needed when registering along with the ability to put a 10% down payment at the close of the auction for the winning bid. They are also expecting a larger than normal crowd.
Shinn added the auction will be traditional, meaning somebody in the crowd will kick off bidding with a bid and then if somebody wants to advance the bid, they put their hand in the air. They will keep taking bids until the bidding stops.
“One of the beauties of the auction is it is crowd-driven,” Shinn said. “What the folks in attendance think it is worth that is what it will bring. We do know from the court order that it will go to the highest bidder so there is not a set minimum, no reserve, no minimum bids. Whatever it brings tomorrow (Thursday), that is what it will sell for.”
There are two subjects as part of this auction. Subject one is the 2-Story Commercial Building on 4.12 acres and subject two is the Commercial Garage on 0.77 acres.
Joe R. Pyle Auction Service was commissioned to this property as part of a bankruptcy liquidation. Shinn said this particular sale has nothing to do with the class action lawsuits against Freedom Industries.
“Folks that have made a claim of $3,000 or higher through the bankruptcy proceeding will receive any net proceeds from the sale,” he said. “I am not one to speak for how that will be divided up and how that happens but I do know that whatever is left from the sale will be distributed to folks who had those claims.”