Almost one year after water for more than 300,000 West Virginia residents was contaminated because of a chemical spill , six former officials for the company responsible for the leak are facing federal charges . Seven-thousand gallons of a toxic chemical called MCHM leaked into the Elk River in West Virginia river on January 9 , 1½ miles upstream from a water treatment facility . The Elk River supplies the city of Charleston with water . A do-not-use order was issued to 300,000 residents , some of whom could not drink or bathe in their water for more than a week . The chemical MCHM is commonly used in the coal mining industry for cleaning , and was kept in tanks next to the river by the company Freedom Industries Inc. Several holes were found in the tank that leaked into the river . The Freedom Industries president at the time was Gary Southern , 53 , who was indicted on charges of negligent discharge of a pollutant in violation of the Clean Water Act , among other alleged violations . He also faces separate federal charges of wire and bankruptcy fraud . If convicted on all charges , he could face nearly 70 years in prison . Three former owners of Freedom Industries were also indicted . Dennis P. Farrell , 58 , William E. Tis , 60 , and Charles E. Herzing , 63 , were indicted on charges of negligent discharge of a pollutant and negligent discharge of refuse matter . They face up to three years in prison . The indictment for Southern , Farrell , Tis and Herzing alleged that their company failed to make sure the tank holding MCHM was inspected for cracks and to keep it maintained . The indictment alleges that these four men approved funding `` only for those projects that would result in increased business revenue for Freedom , or that were immediately necessary for required equipment maintenance . '' Two other men who worked for Freedom Industries at the time -- Michael Burdette and Robert Reynolds -- also face charges that they violated the Clean Water Act . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Department of Justice was committed to vigorously enforcing the Clean Water Act . `` ... The conditions at the Freedom Industries facility were not only grievously unacceptable , but unlawful , '' Holder said in the statement . `` They put an entire population needlessly at risk . '' An attorney for Southern , Robert Allen , said it was inappropriate for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Booth Goodwin to prosecute this case , because he , his colleagues and family were affected by the water contamination . `` If my family 's a victim , how can I prosecute somebody for causing that spill or allegedly causing that spill ? '' Allen said . `` How can I be fair or impartial ? '' Goodwin said he would address Allen 's concern `` in due course . '' Steve Jory , an attorney for both Tis and Herzing , said they hired experts to make sure the company complied with environmental regulations and were not owners of Freedom Industries at the time of the leak .
Phoenix Industries Inc. , leaked into Elk River a week ago . Then - company president , five others are charged in incident . Justice Department says they violated the Clean Water Act .