CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Federal prosecutors asked a judge to schedule a guilty plea hearing Wednesday for former Freedom Industries President Gary Southern.
Southern is facing charges that his negligence in operating the Etowah Terminal on the Elk River caused the January 2014 chemical spill.
The spill contaminated drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents in the Kanawha Valley for weeks.
Southern also faces charges that he tried to hide his fortune from Freedom’s bankruptcy case and civil lawsuits.