LEWISBURG, W.Va. — A judge preliminary approved a class action settlement worth $4 million Monday in connection with a 2015 diesel spill.
According to the lawsuit, Kenneth Pritt was operating his tanker truck when the vehicle went off state Route 92 near Neola in Greenbrier County. The tanker separated from the truck and began leaking fuel into Anthony Creek.
“As a result of the diesel spill, contaminants were introduced into the Greenbrier River causing the city of Lewisburg to shut down its water treatment plants at 2:30 p.m. on January 24, 2015,” a press release said. “By the afternoon of January 25, 2015, the water supplies in these areas were exhausted, leaving parts of the community with no water.”
The lack of water caused businesses and schools to close, and left residents without clean water.
The settlement with Pritt, Woodford Transportation and Woodford Oil Company, includes paying $250 for each household and $150 for each additional person, $240 for each employee at businesses affected by the spill and $3,100 to each business that lost water access.
Eleventh Circuit Judge Robert Richardson presided over the case.