A year ago today 300,000 West Virginians didn’t dare drink their water

Friday January 9th marked the One Year Anniversary of the devastating chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water for more than 300,000 residents in West Virginia.

On Thursday, three Freedom Industries executives charged in the chemical spill pleaded not guilty in federal court in Beckleye.

They are Freedom president Gary Southern, out on a $100,000 bond,  and former company officers Dennis Farrell and William Tis, out on $10,000 bonds.

The trial will start March 10.

This comes just as Attorney General Patrick Morrisey office's released a report saying the company knew of its facility's defects for years and that two tanks containing the chemicals that spilled each had at least one hole.

A coal-cleaning chemical know as MCHM leaked from a tank and entered the Elk River. It eventually overwhelmed filtering systems in the West Virginia American Water Plant just downstream causing Governor Tomblin to call for a State of Emergency.