CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The man who became the face of the Jan. 2014 Freedom chemical spill is scheduled for sentencing in Charleston federal court Wednesday.
Former President Gary Southern will be the sixth and final official to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston. So far, only former owner and officer Dennis Farrell has received any prison time.
While Farrell received 30 days in prison, federal prosecutors have recommended a stricter sentence for Southern’s role in the spill, seeking 21 to 27 months in jail.
Four other former officials were fined and sentenced to probation for their roles in the incident.
The 2014 spill, which released Crude MCHM into the Elk River, caused a crisis which contaminated water for hundreds of thousands of residents in nine West Virginia counties.
Southern faces a maximum of three years in prison for previously pleading guilty to three water pollution crimes: Negligent discharge of a pollutant, causing a discharge of refuse, and violating a condition of a Clean Water Act permit.
Southern’s sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Charleston federal courthouse.