CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission voted to accept a settlement regarding the Paint Creek Chemical Spill Litigation.
The lawsuit against the trucking company, Gadsden, Gaillard and West LLC, had been in mediation since September. The trucking company made an offer of $500,000. The agreement that was met was for each county commission, the Kanawha County Commission and the Fayette County Commission, to receive $250,000.
“After extensive negotiations with the parties and the mediator, the trucking company has offered to the county commissions, plural, $500,000 total,” said Chris Settles, Deputy County Attorney.
The Commissioners agreed to put the money in a Special Fund, with some of it going towards their legal fees. The Fayette County Commission has yet to discuss or accept the offer from the trucking company, but the Kanawha County Commission agreed to the offer.
The commission said the remaining funds are expected to go toward “bringing Paint Creek back to its original glory.” Commissioner Lance Wheeler said the commission will allow the Paint Creek Watershed Association to be involved in how the remaining funds are used in the area.
“They were the ones that did all the hard work in getting that creek back to its glory,” said Wheeler.
A member of the Watershed Association was in attendance for the commission’s Thursday meeting. The man said the Association already has a few ideas on what they could potentially use money from the Special Fund for at Paint Creek.
“We could ask for additional money to help us do additional stream structures,” he said.
Commissioner Wheeler said they will undoubtedly hold conversations in a future meeting to decide with the Association on how the money gets used. Prior to that, the commission will aim to get some assistance from the federal and state governments.
“Let’s do everything we can to get money from the federal government and the state, and then use this money on the backend,” said Commissioner Wheeler.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the Commission back in January, states that approximately 3,000 gallons of Empigen, a hazardous material commonly used in cleaning products, spilled into the creek in the early morning hours of Aug. 25, 2022.