CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former Freedom owner and officer Dennis Farrell was the first former executive to receive time in federal prison Thursday when he was sentenced for his role in the Jan. 2014 chemical spill.
Dennis Farrell was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston to 30 days in federal prison, six months of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine.
Farrell, one of six executives to be indicted and the fifth to be sentenced so far, previously pleaded guilty in Aug. 2015 to unlawfully discharging refuse matter and violating an environmental permit by failing to have a pollution prevention plan.
Before his sentencing, Farrell apologized to the court for his role in the incident, which released Crude MCHM into the Elk River, and contaminated the water systems in nine West Virginia counties serving hundreds of thousands of residents for several weeks.
Farrell admitted that he was aware of the permit and knew that Freedom was required to have a storm water plan. He further admitted that he had the responsibility to ensure that Freedom complied with the permit by having a storm water and groundwater plan in place.
The last former executive to be charged, former Freedom President Gary Southern, who has pleaded guilty to three federal pollution crimes, is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 17.
On Wednesday night, federal prosecutors recommended that Johnston sentence Southern to 21 to 27 months in prison, saying that Freedom’s negligence caused a “catastrophic chemical spill.”