Freedom Industries site to be auctioned next week

The former site of the company that spilled chemicals into the Elk River in 2014, contaminating the water for about 300,000 West Virginians, is going up for auction.

On Dec. 13 at noon, anyone interested in purchasing the former Freedom Industries site can place a bid. A website listing describes the property for sale as a building, plus a “commercial property on 4.9 +/- acres on the Elk River.”

A certain bid amount must be met the day of the auction, said Travis Williamson, a spokesman for Joe R. Pyle Complete Auction and Realty Service, the company handling the auction. He wouldn’t say what the minimum amount is.

If no one bids or the bid doesn’t meet the minimum amount, the property will go either to a nonprofit group or the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Williamson said. Net proceeds of the sale of the property will go to the people or businesses who filed a claim worth more than $3,000 in the class-action lawsuit that stemmed from the 2014 water crisis.

Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/kanawha_county/freedom-industries-site-to-be-auctioned-next-week/article_abd5c7ba-ec58-5bf7-9624-604180dc738b.html