Freedom Industries
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trump inaugr slush
208 620 IND FORREST, CLIFFORD J. $1,000,000 12/20/2016 3 COLBERT LANE PITTSBURGH PA 15215 Founder and President of Rosebud Mining Company which is the third largest underground coal producer in Pennsylvania. Also owns Freedom Industries, the company that leaked the 7,500 gallons of toxic chemicals into the Elk River and contaminated the drinking water supply of 300,000 residents of Charleston, West Virginia. In March 2017, Trump issued an executive order calling for the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration initiative that critics charged would bankrupt the coal industry, to be scrapped.
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WENDY MCC AFP HUSb Later ag hand out water
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[### No one who gives away free water can be evil.
Slate
https://slate.com › news-and-politics › 2014/01 › west-v...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/01/west-virginia-chemical-spill-americans-for-prosperity-no-one-who-gives-away-free-water-can-be-evil.html)
Jan 13, 2014 — Exhibit A: Daily Kos diarist "dharmafarmer" writes on Jan. 11 about the chemical spill in West Virginia, the disaster that has left hundreds ...
No One Who Gives Away Free Water Can Be Evil
By David Weigel
Jan 13, 2014
Exhibit A: Daily Kos diarist “dharmafarmer” writes on Jan. 11 about the chemical spill in West Virginia, the disaster that has left hundreds of thousands of people without fresh water.* It’s a hop, skip, and jump to link Freedom Industries, the source of the spill, to Koch Industries.
In 2008, Freedom Industries was specially selected by Georgia-Pacific Chemicals as a distributor of G-P’s Talon brand mining reagents for West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, Kentucky and Michigan.
Georgia-Pacific Chemicals is, of course, a subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific, which was acquired by Koch Industries in 2005.
Exhibit B: a New York Times story from today about the questions raised by the disaster.
West Virginia law does not require inspections for chemical storage facilities — only for production facilities… “West Virginia has a pattern of resisting federal oversight and what they consider E.P.A. interference, and that really puts workers and the population at risk,” said Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a lecturer in environmental health at George Washington University.
Kimberly Guilfoyle Has Responded to Donald Trump Jr.’s Humiliating Engagement as Only She Knows HowKimberly Guilfoyle Has Responded to Donald Trump Jr.’s Humiliating Engagement as Only She Knows How
Read More
Exhibit C: a proud press release from Americans for Prosperity, the activist group chaired by David Koch, telling the media of a campaign to distribute fresh water in West Virginia.
“It is so exciting to serve our fellow West Virginians at this crucial time of need,” explained Wendy McCuskey, West Virginia state director of Americans for Prosperity Foundation. “We have had multiple residents tell us that they are picking up water for elderly neighbors who are not mobile and need clean water. We are so happy to be able to meet their need for clean water and ease this very difficult time for West Virginia families.”
Complete with photos:
PR problem solved! (AFP hasn’t answered my irritating question about the PR origins of the water handout.)
UPDATE: AFP’s Adam Nicholson explains the timing, which predates the media cage-rattling about Freedom Industries.
We were actually already planning to launch our WV chapter this Monday and had already sent a media advisory and email when we learned of the chemical spill. To provide context, we were at our all staff meeting off-site, and I was with Wendy when she got the first texts about the spill. I had already purchased my airfare to fly out to Charleston for the launch events and was working with Wendy on plans for introducing her to state reporters.{}_{}_
_{}_Within a few hours of learning of the spill we decided that not only would we postpone our chapter launch, but also do something to help the residents in need. Twelve hours after news first broke we had already purchased a truck full of water and had staff planning to drive out to WV to manage the efforts.
http://grist.org/news/the-men-who-poisoned-charlestons-drinking-water-now-have-a-new-business/
“Freedom Industries, the company whose chemical leak contaminated the tap water of 300,000 West Virginians, will cease to exist once it goes through bankruptcy, but that doesn’t mean its executives are out of the chemical business,” according to an excellent investigative report by *The Charleston Gazette*.
A January spill of a coal-cleaning chemical from one of Freedom’s rusty tanks triggered a major crisis for Charleston residents, who had to find alternate sources of water. Roughly a third of them experienced negative health impacts from the polluted water, experts estimate.
But while Freedom Industries is technically going out of business, its leaders are quietly starting up again under a new name, as the Gazetteexplains:
Lexycon LLC, a chemical company whose characteristics are strikingly similar to Freedom Industries, registered as a business with the West Virginia secretary of state about a month ago.
The companies share addresses and phone numbers, Lexycon was founded by a former Freedom executive and it has ties to at least two other current or former Freedom executives. …
After the Gazette emailed [Kevin Skiles and Bob Reynolds, former senior Freedom employees who now work for Lexycon,] to ask if the new company was affiliated with Freedom, the two men’s names disappeared from the Lexycon website and a new phone number was listed in their place. …
The companies’ descriptions of their businesses match, almost verbatim. …
Freedom Industries’ logo appeared on Lexycon’s exhibitor page on the Coal Prep [conference] website Wednesday afternoon.
More than 60 lawsuits have been filed against Freedom Industries over the spill, but the plaintiffs shouldn’t count on payouts because the company is quickly running through its cash by paying its high-priced lawyers.
Source
Freedom execs tied to new chemical company, Charleston Gazette
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Corporate Crime Reporter
Clifford Forrest and the Politics of Pollution in West Virginia
By Editor Filed in News January 21st, 2014
Who owns Freedom Industries, the company that leaked the 7,500 gallons of toxic chemicals into the Elk River and contaminated the drinking water supply of 300,000 residents of Charleston, West Virginia?
According to BusinessWeek magazine, that would be one James Clifford Forrest III of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Forrest lives in the upscale Fox Chapel suburb of Pittsburgh.
How’s the drinking water there?
Forrest is a political activist — spreading his wealth to anti-regulation politicians throughout West Virginia — including $2,250 to Senator Joe Manchin (D), $500 to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and $500 to Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R).
He also donates generously to anti-regulation PACs, which in turn give to West Virginia politicians.
So, for example, Clifford Forrest donated $5,000 and his wife Tracy Forrest donated $2,000 to the Secure Energy for America PAC, which in turn in 2010 dished out $7,500 to Manchin, $2,000 to Capito, $2,400 to Congressman Nick Rahall (D).
Forrest is founder and President of Rosebud Mining Company which is the third largest underground coal producer in Pennsylvania. Rosebud employs 1,400 people in its operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Rosebud has a checkered regulatory history, including facing fines and enforcement actions involving two miner deaths in Pennsylvania in 2005.
And in May 2011, Rosebud settled a lawsuit brought by Mine Safety and Health Administration accusing the company of warning underground workers ahead federal inspections.
Forrest supported Obama in 2008, but turned against him in 2012, telling Bloomberg News that if Obama was re-elected, the “war on coal” will continue and “it will be a battle for survival.”
The Forrest donations are sure to be an issue in the upcoming November elections in West Virginia.
In the Second Congressional district, Manchin’s former campaign treasurer, Nick Casey, is the presumptive Democratic nominee. In addition to the corporate Republican who will emerge from a crowded primary field, Casey will be challenged by former CBS News reporter Ed Rabel, who’s running as an independent and who places the blame for the deregulatory disaster in part on “Senator Joe Manchin and Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito for their unconscionable apologies for coal and the company that poisoned our water, threatened our lives, and wrecked our economy” and on “law enforcement for not arresting the corporate criminals and putting them in jail.”
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AI Overview
The query "Lexycon coal chemical trump" connects the defunct company
Lexycon, involved in the 2014 West Virginia chemical spill, with President Donald Trump's recent policies aimed at boosting the coal industry, including easing environmental rules for coal plants and promoting coal mining, sometimes under the guise of "clean coal," despite the company's environmental issues and the administration's push for deregulation. Lexycon, a successor to the original polluter, faced safety violations for mishandling chemicals, highlighting risks Trump's administration sought to minimize through regulatory relief for the sector.
- Background: Lexycon was formed after the 2014 Freedom Industries spill of coal-cleaning chemicals (MCHM) into West Virginia's Elk River, affecting drinking water.
- Violations: State regulators cited Lexycon for pouring chemicals without permits and lacking containment, finding the same hazardous chemicals at their site, demonstrating ongoing risks in the industry.
Trump Administration's Coal Policies (2025-2026 Focus):
- Deregulation: Signed executive orders (like EO 14261) to revitalize "clean coal," reducing regulations and making federal coal available.
- Exemptions: Granted two-year exemptions from strict EPA rules (like MATS) for coal plants, citing energy security, allowing less stringent pollution control.
- Promotion: Aimed to promote coal exports, lift mining barriers, and potentially classify coal as a "critical material".
The Connection:
- While Lexycon's issues predate Trump's recent orders, they exemplify the very industry risks his administration sought to downplay or ignore in favor of promoting coal, even introducing exemptions that environmentalists argue endanger public health and safety, as highlighted by the ongoing struggles with coal-related contamination and safety.
- Groups Sue After Trump Gave OK for 68 Coal Plants to Ignore Clean ...
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NRDC
- Year after West Virginia chemical spill, new firm racks up safety violations
Jan 16, 2015 — Lexycon is a replacement company that was founded by David Carson after Freedom Industries leaked a coal-cleaning mixt...
The Guardian
- Trump signs executive orders to boost coal, a reliable but ...
Apr 9, 2025 — it's an industrial revolution era power source and Donald Trump wants it to power the AI revolution. he believes coal i...
YouTube·FRANCE 24 English
[### Trump Tosses Lifelines to the Struggling Coal Industry
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › coal-plant-closures-indiana](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/climate/coal-plant-closures-indiana.html)
Dec 24, 2025 — A day after the Trump administration acted to throttle offshore wind farms, it tossed two lifelines to coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel and a ...Read more
Missing: Lexycon | Show results with: Lexycon
[### Trump and Science – Against the Current
againstthecurrent.org
https://againstthecurrent.org › atc197 › trumpscience](https://againstthecurrent.org/atc197/trumpscience/)
Attacks on emissions standards for toxic chemicals and waste products, the lifting of restrictions on fossil fuel extraction and transport, and other ...
[### Banned from usage by Trump Administration! Words and ...
Facebook · MS NOW{News Junkies}:
3 comments · 4 months ago](https://www.facebook.com/groups/msnbcnewsjunkies/posts/3125670170928172/)
The most unpopular two words in the Trump lexicon — “climate change” — are once again appearing on government websites and in documents ...Read more
[### Reinvigorating America's Beautiful Clean Coal Industry ...
The White House (.gov)
https://www.whitehouse.gov › News › Fact Sheets](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reinvigorating-americas-beautiful-clean-coal-industry-and-amending-executive-order-14241/)
Apr 8, 2025 — Reinvigorating America's Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241. Executive Orders. April 8, 2025.Read more
[### Trump eases regulations on coal, iron ore and chemicals
AP News
https://apnews.com › article › trump-coal-epa-clean-air-...](https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-epa-clean-air-exemption-mercury-7b800db8d6cf6fffbee28039f42d2daf)
Jul 17, 2025 — President Donald Trump is granting two years of regulatory relief to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturers and other industries as ...
[### Trump administration gives coal plants and chemical facilities ...
grist.org
https://grist.org › accountability › trump-administration...](https://grist.org/accountability/trump-administration-gives-coal-plants-and-chemical-facilities-a-pass/)
Aug 31, 2025 — In Texas and across the nation, scores of coal-fired plants and petrochemical facilities are allowed to bypass toxic emissions rules.
Missing: Lexycon | Show results with: Lexycon
[### water. In 2014, there was a huge spill of chemicals ...
Facebook · Climate Science and Environmental Issues
8 comments · 4 years ago](https://www.facebook.com/groups/968580683281312/posts/2068572979948738/)
West Virginia company Freedom Industries has filed for bankruptcy after leaking its coal cleaning chemicals into the Elk River and contaminating ...Read more
[### Op-Ed: W.Va. still has chemical spills: Same company
Digital Journal
https://www.digitaljournal.com › World](https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/op-ed-w-va-still-has-chemical-spills-same-company-different-name/article/423691)
Jan 16, 2015 — The real owner of Freedom Industries was revealed in the bankruptcy filing to be J. Clifford Forrest, a Pennsylvania coal baron. He had ...Read more
[### Clifford Forrest and the Politics of Pollution in West Virginia
Corporate Crime Reporter
https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com › news › cliffo...](https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/clifford-forrest-and-the-politics-of-pollution-in-west-virginia/)
Jan 21, 2014 — Forrest is founder and President of Rosebud Mining Company which is the third largest underground coal producer in Pennsylvania. Rosebud ...Read more
Missing: Lexycon | Show results with: Lexycon
[### 2014 Elk River Chemical Leak in Charleston, WV
Facebook · From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice
7 comments · 12 months ago](https://www.facebook.com/groups/629075958675198/posts/953561466226644/)
... J. Clifford Forrest. Forest is the principal owner of Rosebud Mining Inc., the 21st largest coal company in the country. Southern also ...Read more
Top answer: I've wondered how long it was slowly leaking into the water before the big leak that day.
[### SOURCES, NOTES AND CALCULATIONS Volume II Penguin Random House
https://assets.penguinrandomhouse.com › 2018/06](https://assets.penguinrandomhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/04143324/9780525558491_SN.pdf)
apiece from other coal industry giants, including J. Clifford Forrest, who owned. Freedom Industries, the company charged with leaking a coal- processing.Read more
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