CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver wasn’t impressed with the some of the language in the proposed settlement in the class-action lawsuit connected with the 2014 chemical spill and water emergency that began in Charleston. Copenhaver told the attorneys during a hearing Monday to keep working on it and report back to him Monday afternoon.
The remaining plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit is West Virginia American Water Company. It was sued for how it responded to the spill of the chemical MCHM just above the intake of the company’s Kanawha Valley Plant on the Elk River. The maker of MCHM, Eastman Chemical, has already settled with the plaintiffs.
Judge Copenhaver read for the term sheet of the proposed settlement Monday. He took issue with some of the language centered around the word binding. Copenhaver called it “not an agreement at all. Not acceptable.”
The judge said he found “most concerning” language that could leave an opening for the water company to go to the state Public Service Commission at some point and file a rate case to try and recoup losses from the settlement. Copenhaver called it a “fool’s errand.”
“The loss must be born by investors and stockholders and not by victims,” the judge said.
An attorney for West Virginia American Water told the judge they would continue to work toward a settlement.
“We are committed to making it work,” he said.
Jury selection in the lawsuit is still set for Tuesday morning.
Charleston City Council member Karan Ireland, who is also a member of the steering for the group Advocates for a Safe Water System, said she’s not surprised the water company would try to get some of its money back.
“When you are investing you assume a certain amount of risk and to come back on ratepayers is no risk at all and that’s what we don’t want to see,” Ireland said.
The community group is also pushing for transparency, Ireland said.
“If we’re not going to have our day in court then certainly we should be allowed to wade through the evidence that would have been presented and the information that’s out there or should be out there,” she said.
The MCHM spill resulted in a “Do Not Use” order that impacted nearly 300,000 residents in parts of nine counties. The class in the lawsuit includes more than 224,000 residents and more than 7,300 business owners.