Federal prosecutors are raising questions about what they called an "open-ended" request from former Freedom Industries official Gary Southern to travel to England if there is a family emergency involving Southern's ailing father, court records show.
In February, U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston sentenced Southern to 30 days in prison, a $20,000 fine and six months of supervised release for his role in the pollution crimes that caused the Freedom Industries spill that contaminated the drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people in Charleston and surrounding communities. Johnston sentenced Southern to well below the range of 18 to 24 months recommended by the advisory guidelines issued by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Southern had faced a statutory maximum of three years in prison, one year for each of the three pollution crimes he has admitted to: negligent discharge of a pollutant; discharge of refuse material; and negligent violation of a Clean Water Act permit. He could have been fined up to $300,000.
Southern served his 30 days at the D. Ray James Correctional Institution in Folkston, Georgia, and was released in late April.
In a motion filed on Tuesday, Southern's lawyers asked that Johnston pre-approve Southern for travel, while he is on supervised release, to his native England "in the event of a medical emergency in his immediate family."
"Mr. Southern's parents reside in England," the motion said. "In the latter part of 2013, his father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and since that time his health has deteriorated.
"The purpose of this motion is to request pre-approval for Mr. Southern to travel to England to visit his father and mother should his father's health continue to decline and a health emergency or emergencies arise. If that occurs, there may not be time to request court approval at that point," the motion said.
In a response filed Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Wright said that the government does not oppose Southern traveling to England "in the event of a family emergency."
But, Wright said, "As written, the request would allow Mr. Southern to travel beyond the supervision of the court and his probation officer for an indefinite period of time, potentially rendering his term of supervised release a nullity.
"The United States thus proposes that any desired travel by Mr. Southern (i) be limited to a finite period of time, not to exceed two weeks for any single instance, and (ii) be approved in advance by his probation officer for each specific instance of travel," Wright said.
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