Site of 2014 West Virginia chemical spill sold at auction

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The former site of a company that spilled chemicals into a West Virginia river has been sold at auction for $375,000.

WOWK-TV reports business owner Jim Shafer bought the Freedom Industries site on Thursday.

Shafer owns a steel fabrication shop near Clendenin and plans to expand to the Freedom Industries location along the Elk River in Charleston.

In January 2014, a tank at Freedom Industries leaked thousands of gallons of coal-cleaning chemicals that got into West Virginia American Water’s treatment plant 1.5 miles downstream. About 300,000 people were told not to drink or clean with the water for days.

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Information from: WOWK-TV, http://www.wowktv.com