CHARLESTON — The Kanawha County Commission is suing a tractor-trailer driver alleging he and his employer are responsible for a chemical spill that caused issues in the county.
Dennis West; Gadsden, Gaillard & West; and Innospec Active Chemicals were all named as defendants in the suit.
The commission claims West was driving a tractor-trailer owned and operated by GGW on Interstate 77 on Aug. 24, 2022, and he was hauling approximately 12 totes of hazardous material that each contained approximately 275 gallons when he lost control of the vehicle, according to a complaint filed Jan. 19 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
West's tractor-trailer jackknifed and crossed the barrier wall on the interstate and then caught fire, according to the suit.
The commission claims West was intoxicated while driving the vehicle and was given a breathalyzer test at the scene and arrested for suspected driving under the influence. West also has an extensive criminal history in Montana, according to the suit.
Kanawha County emergency services responded to the crash site and its 911 telecommunications handled more than 40 phone calls related to the incident, according to the suit.
The commission claims the tractor-trailer crash and the subsequent clean-up blocked both north- and south-bound lanes for more than 19 hours.
As a result of the crash, all 12 of the totes that contained Empigen AS-F90 / Alkyl Dimethylamine leaked onto the West Virginia Turnpike and into local water streams, including Skitter Creek and Paint Creek, according to the suit.
The commission claims the chemical spill resulted in fish kills in the creeks totaling 33,446 fish. Residents living near Paint Creek have also reported wildlife has disappeared in the area.
The commission activated an emergency alert to all cell phones the following day for residents in the Paint Creek area, according to the suit, and also issued a media release instructing residents to avoid contact with the water, including their well water.
"Kanawha County residents living near Paint Creek...suffered and continue to suffer a loss of convenience due to fear that their land and water sources are, have been, or may be contaminated..." the complaint states.
The county sent West and GGW a notice of violation of the county's public nuisance ordinance on Nov. 14, 2022, however, the defendants failed to take corrective action.
Last month, the defendants agreed to provide the plaintiff with a plan to remediate the nuisance, but its plan, instead of remediating the nuisance, seeks to contest their responsibility, according to the suit.
"The only actions proposed...are that they hire environmental engineers to visually observe Paint Creek during significant rain events and install filtration structure, which Defendant(s) admit may not be effective," the complaint states.
The commission is seeking compensatory damages. They are represented by Isaac R. Forman and Casey E. Waldeck of Hissam Forman Donovan Ritchie in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 23-C-47
