Attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit in Kanawha County representing residents impacted by the Wayne water crisis.
The complaint, submitted late Thursday morning by Calwell Luce diTrapano, Powell & Majestro, and Forbes Law Offices, names American Electric Power, operating as Appalachian Power, and the Town of Wayne as defendants.
The lawsuit stems from vandalism at a substation on Jan. 13, which caused oil to spill into a nearby creek feeding directly into the town’s water supply. The town has been under a “do not consume” order for nearly three weeks, though it was updated Thursday morning to a “do not drink” order, allowing residents to use water for bathing, laundry, and dishwashing.
Calwell Luce diTrapano Attorney Dante diTrapano called the crisis “dangerous and catastrophic”:
“Water is one of the most basic needs and to have this outage not only occur, but to continue for so many weeks affecting thousands is dangerous and catastrophic. As alleged in the Complaint, these defendants’ failures allowed this to happen and to subsist for now over a month. This is utterly unacceptable for our clients and the entire community. It leaves the community asking questions and has now been reported and alleged, these defendants’ failures directly led to this dire situation.”
Powell & Majestro Attorney Anthony Majestro added:
“Not only has this community suffered without water, they have been forced to spend money for out-of-pocket expenses and losses, in an already economically impacted area. When water is impacted in this way and for this length of time, it deprives an entire community of their ability to function and is dangerous for all involved. We will always seek justice when our clients and communities are affected in this way and when companies, as alleged here, ignore safety standards, the civil justice system exists to correct those wrongs.”
Forbes Law Offices Attorney Jesse Forbes said it was “unacceptable” that residents went weeks without usable water:
“It is staggering that the days and weeks have now turned into more than a month without usable water for this community. There are thousands impacted. You are talking about children and elderly citizens in the freezing cold with no water. That is unacceptable and to have, as alleged, such lax security and other issues present in this situation that allowed this to so easily occur is shocking. We look forward to holding all responsible parties to account for this crisis and providing relief to the citizens and businesses in the area.”