Mountain Top Media
Mingo residents to file suit over failing sewage treatment plant, fraudulent billing
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — More than 20 Mingo County residents plan to file a lawsuit against the Mingo County Public Service District, alleging the district allowed a local sewage treatment plant to deteriorate into what they describe as a serious health and safety hazard while continuing to bill customers for services they say were never provided.
The complaint will be filed Friday in Mingo County Circuit Court and focuses on conditions near Dick Williamson Branch Road and Francis Drive. According to the lawsuit, the Rawl Sewage Treatment Package Plant has been in “steady deterioration” since the district acquired it in 2010 and is now effectively non-functional. The filing cites multiple inspections by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection that rated the plant’s condition as unsatisfactory.
Residents claim the failing system has resulted in raw sewage being discharged into ditches, storm drains, nearby waterways and onto private property. The lawsuit describes persistent foul odors that prevent people from using their yards, increased vermin including large rats, and unsafe infrastructure conditions. It also alleges the plant has been without electrical power for more than a year after a utility pole fell into the facility in early 2025.
In addition to environmental and health concerns, the plaintiffs accuse the Public Service District of fraudulently billing households for sewage treatment, despite knowing the plant was not operating.
The complaint references numerous notices of violation issued by state regulators, including dozens of permit violations between 2023 and 2024, and notes that regulators recently rejected the district’s proposed corrective action plan.
The residents, represented by attorneys with The Chafin Law Firm, are seeking a court order requiring the district to make the plant operational and bring it into compliance with permits, along with damages for negligence, property damage, nuisance and fraud. They are also requesting a jury trial.
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Second woman arrested when Pike escapee caught
RAWL, W.Va. — A woman who walked out of the Pike County jail Wednesday evening is back behind bars, and she brought someone with her.
Police say Whitney Hurley, 36, of Freeburn, walked away from the jail just before 6 p.m. Wednesday and disappeared. She was arrested following a brief pursuit at Rawl.
She is now charged in Mingo County with fugitive from justice, fleeing with reckless indifference and fleeing on foot.
Police also arrested Lynna Ray-Jean Cantrell, 18, of Matewan, and charged her with aiding and abetting in a jail escape.
Both women are currently being held in the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden, W.Va.
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